Name: Anna Lee Bradley
Year: Sophomore
Major: Early Childhood Education
When the THON dancers sit in exhaustion after 46 hours on their feet and the THON total is revealed, everyone is thrilled with excitement. But, what got our dancers through those grueling 46 hours in the first place? Well, it was all of the students on Morale that cater to their dancer’s every need.Â
Just like the dancers, the Morale committee has been preparing for weeks for this big weekend. Morale’s job is one of the most important of THON weekend—they’re there to see their dancer make it to the end. Moralers are the behind-the-scenes celebrities. For this reason, Her Campus caught up with Anna Lee Bradley, a Moraler we saw running around on the THON dance floor this weekend to get a better understanding of the understated celebrities.
HC: What do you do for THON?
Anna Lee: My job is to take care of my dancer in whatever way they need, through distractions, stretches, and monitoring their health and their well-being.
HC: What goes into the preparation for THON?
Anna Lee: Well, preparation for THON on Morale involves weekly meetings that are each a few hours long. Then many committees become almost a part-time job in the weeks leading up to THON. It’s been a crazy and wonderful few weeks.
HC: What are the hardest hours for the dancers?
Anna Lee: The hardest time for the dancers is generally late Saturday night, early Sunday morning.
HC: What types of activities do you do to motivate the dancers?
Anna Lee: To motivate dancers we do various things, we give a lot of inspirational stories and quotes in notes and cards. But, more importantly we remind them of why they wanted to dance in the first place. Everyone has a reason that is important to them and keeping that in the dancer’s minds really keeps them going.
HC: What is your favorite part about THON?
Anna Lee: My favorite part about THON is Sunday morning when all the dancers are tired and hurting but are starting to realize what time it is in the weekend and everyone’s attitudes pick up. I love seeing the dancers overcome their walls.
HC: What’s it like being on the floor versus the stands?
Anna Lee: I honestly don’t know much about being in the stands. I am only a sophomore and I have done morale both years. On off shifts we aren’t allowed to be in the stands.
HC: What does THON mean to you?
Anna Lee: THON to me means love. All of the dancers standing for 46 hours to help the children at Hershey, and all of the students standing for 46 hours to help the dancers. It’s all of the students coming together for such an amazing cause.
HC: How do you feel at the end of the weekend after the total was shown?
Anna Lee: I cried when the final total was shown, I didn’t know what to do with myself. It amazes me that we could overcome so many barriers and raise $1,000,000 more than last year’s amazing total. I was speechless in the most incredible way.