Shelby Leemans

SAU Dance Marathon was a huge success. They exceeded their goal of raising $175,000 for the kids by raising $175, 103.03. This outstanding event wouldn’t have been possible without the help of this year’s PR/Marketing Director, Shelby Leemans.

Shelby is a junior at SAU and will graduate in 2016. Her hometown is our neighbor Moline, IL., and she majors in psychology with biology and chemistry minors.

She has a thing for graphic designs, watching Scandal and Grey’s Anatomy, and she studies EKG’s/radiology images in her spare time. (This is starting to sound like a dating profile.)

On campus, Shelby kicks butt in Dance Marathon but she is also an executive board member of the National Society of Leadership and Success (Sigma Alpha Pi). It is a new thing on campus—google it.

After graduation, Shelby plans to apply to work at the Children’s Miracle Network national office as a Dance Marathon manager while studying for the MCAT before going to medical school.

Shelby got involved with Dance Marathon when one of her co-workers was a past miracle kiddo from the University of Iowa DM. She planned a mini DM at Scott-Community College where Shelby heard her first family talk and she was inspired. The first thing Shelby did when she came to SAU was join Dance Marathon as a morale captain.

Shelby’s favorite part about DM is easily the families. Once she made a connection with the miracle families it really changed her perspective.

“Our kiddos are just regular kids – they want to do all the same things and most of them do, but they have to experience something no one ever should. I’m in it for these kiddos, so no one fights alone.”

Shelby’s advice for underclassmen is to get involved. She says to do something you care about. She found her Dance Marathon family and it transformed her from being an introvert to the most awkward, extroverted leader on campus (behind Mary Scheck of course).

Her favorite quote: Do what you feel in your heart to be right, for you’ll be criticized anyway.”

Fun facts about Shelby: She actually ISN’T a PR major, she’s obsessed with fonts and gets really offended if you use Comic Sans (trust me, don’t use it) and she came to SAU to major in Business and Graphic Design but after being introduced to DM she decided to pursue medicine.

Shelby and hard work can’t be explained in one short article, but this may give a sense of how compassionate and awesome she really is. If you’re ever looking for a good laugh, she’s your girl unless you use Comic Sans–then RUN!