HuskyTHON is a year-long fundraiser at the University of Connecticut for Connecticut Children’s Hospital that ends with an 18-hour dance marathon in early March. As a senior, HuskyTHON 2026 was my fourth year participating on the UConn Marching Band (UCMB) HuskyTHON team. However, this year, I got the amazing opportunity to be one of the Dancer Representatives (DRs) for the UCMB team. I grew up as a patient at Connecticut Children’s for as long as I could remember, so I was excited to be more involved in this amazing organization, helping to lead my favorite group of people.
the beginning
When I got the text that I would be one of the DRs for the UCMB team, I was so excited. I applied for the role months prior, so it was not at the forefront of my mind. I was quickly added into a GroupMe with over 100 other DRs and organizations, where the journey began.
Meetings
The meetings started early. Throughout the fall semester, we met bi-weekly, talking about registration week, push days, fundraising tips, and more. However, when the spring semester started, this is where things really kicked into gear. We met every week leading up to Night-Of and had a couple meetings with everybody internal and behind the scenes. Attending those all-internal meetings was so thrilling. Sitting in a completely packed lecture hall full of everybody who felt a strong enough connection to HuksyTHON to become more involved was incredible.
fundraising
Fundraising started as soon as I was added to that GroupMe. Throughout the entire summer, the captains hosted different competitions among our organizations and provided tons of resources to kick-start fundraising before the school year started. I had to raise more money than I had as a dancer, so I was ready to get on it.
UCMB Fundraising
Once the fall semester started, fundraising with the UCMB team was so much fun. Every year, the UCMB hosts a fundraiser called “Pied of Connecticut,” after our “Pride of Connecticut” slogan, during the marching band season to raise money for HuskyTHON. At the end of rehearsals, different members will volunteer to be pied with whipped cream while others pay to “pie” them. Over the course of the season, as rehearsals got darker and colder, our members still showed out after every rehearsal with their flashlights to be pied, pie their friends, and raise money for Connecticut Children’s, totaling over $500.
Although the season ended in December, my fellow DRs of the UCMB team and I were doing everything we could, sharing fundraising tips from afar all the way to Night-Of.
Push Days
Being a DR on push days was so much fun. With just Unite as One in the fall semester and Day of Strength in the spring semester, we raised over $750,000. However, my favorite push day this year was Day of Strength, specifically Day of Strength After Dark. After our usual weekly DR meeting, everybody walked to the UConn Student Union together to participate in a mini-Night-Of, where we participated in different activities and listened to music (and even got some free food, which was nice). Staying until midnight when I had a class early the next day was worth it to see our grand total raised of $517,255 in 24 hours.
night-of
Night-Of was a long but rewarding day. This was my first year staying the full 18 hours and more. Getting there at 5:00 a.m. before the sun even came up was a really cool feeling. It was cool to see my fellow DRs and everybody at the all-internal meetings show out this early. With it being my first year, I was able to watch different awards being given to different people in various internal positions, some of which were names I recognized!
Just because it was the day of reveal, it did not mean the fundraising was over. We had periodic DR check-ins throughout the night to stay active in our fundraising and goals, while also being active in my team’s Slack channel. Seeing my team members come through all the way throughout Night-Of made me so proud of them, since as a university, we raised a total of $2,223,489!
Besides the fundraising aspect, spending 18 hours with my closest friends was great. We did almost every moral dance, watched all the performances and stories by the miracle children, and even had a fun time chilling. I am so grateful for this group of people, some of whom I have known since my first year participating in the Marching Band.
Final thoughts
While being a DR was definitely a lot more work than participating as a dancer, it was very rewarding and so much fun. I will forever be grateful for this opportunity.