This school year, I was lucky enough to serve on the management team for HuskyTHON, UConn’s largest fundraising organization. HuskyTHON is a close-knit community of students who raise awareness and funds for Connecticut Children’s, a free-standing hospital in Hartford, Connecticut. This year-long effort that includes events and fundraising push days culminates in an 18-hour dance marathon during the spring semester. When I went to my first HuskyTHON in 2023, I remember seeing the people on stage wearing their polos and blue jeans. I thought to myself, I want to be one of those people one day! I was fortunate to make that a reality this year when I served as the Director of Hospitality for HuskyTHON 2025. My successes and growth can be attributed to the mentors and friends who were on the HuskyTHON 2025 Steering Board. Composed of one executive director and five vice presidents, the HuskyTHON Steering Board oversees the management team and its initiatives and helps make the fundraiser a huge success. As a thank you for their hard work this year, I sought out to interview each steering board member to learn more about their personal experience with HuskyTHON. I call this series: Steering to Success.
Mikey Mahoney: Vice President of Internal Relations for HuskyTHON 2025
Mikey Mahoney, a third-year Nursing student, served as the Vice President of Internal Relations for HuskyTHON 2025. I was lucky enough to have Mikey as my direct VP this year and learned so much about her and her work ethic as a member of the management team.
Mikey found HuskyTHON through the Student Nurses Association (SNA) here at UConn. They were giving a presentation on HuskyTHON during one of their meetings and Mikey signed up to be a dancer. SNA did not have Dancer Representatives (DR) that year, so Mikey and two others were asked to be their DRs, which ignited Mikey’s passion for HuskyTHON. After being a DR her freshman year and a morale captain her second year, she wanted to get more involved in HuskyTHON and applied to be on the management team for HuskyTHON 2024. She served as the Director of Hospitality for HuskyTHON 2024, which truly helped her fall in love with internal relations as a whole.
Most recently, she served as the Vice President of Internal Relations for HuskyTHON 2025, where she was in charge of planning Night of and all events HuskyTHON related. She also oversees five positions: entertainment, special events and volunteers, hospitality, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and stewardship.
Mikey hopes she leaves a positive impact on the HuskyTHON community as someone participants know they can ask any questions to or go to if they need help. She strives to give each participant their own voice within the HuskyTHON community so everyone is able to shine in their own way.
While Mikey hopes participants remember many things about HuskyTHON, she wants them to cherish the little moments HuskyTHON has to offer. Whether your little moment is your favorite move in the morale mix, the new piece of merchandise you bought, or the miracle kid you talked to, Mikey hopes everyone finds the little moments that make the HuskyTHON magic come alive. This year, HuskyTHON was able to raise 2.1 million dollars for Connecticut Children’s, an effort that would be impossible without Mikey’s hard work.
Mikey, your love for HuskyTHON is clear in everything you do for this community. Thank you bringing the magic of HuskyTHON to new and old participants alike and for building the amazing family that is the internal relations sub-team. Thank you for steering us all to success.
Interested in making a difference? Join HuskyTHON!
Every HuskyTHON participant found HuskyTHON in a different way, and maybe this article is yours. Though HuskyTHON 2025 has come to an end, HuskyTHON 2026 is slowly approaching. If you’re interested in learning more about HuskyTHON and participating here at UConn, feel free to check out our website and follow our Instagram account @huskython to experience some of the HuskyTHON magic. Participants will be able to register in June of 2025 for our next dance marathon, so gear up for another year of fundraising with some of the most inspiring, dedicated people on campus.