When I came to the University of Michigan in the fall of 2018 for my first year, I remember walking across campus and seeing the giant bright footprints chalked all around with “Dance Marathon” written below, catching everyone’s attention as they walked by. I also remember thinking that it sounded like a cool dance organization, but that dancing wasn’t for me. Little did I know that DMUM’s mission aligned with my own career goal at the time, which was to be a pediatrician, and was not in fact a dance org! After going to a mass meeting and learning what DMUM was truly about, I was instantly hooked and registered for my first year as a dancer! I spent my freshman year attending House Parties, trying to volunteer, and bonding with my Core 4. My first and only in-person VictorThon in 2019 was an unforgettable experience. Standing on my feet for 24 hours was difficult and so much different than any other event I had taken part of before, but I left feeling amazed, proud, and so excited to apply to leadership. 

Fundraising had been intimidating for me as a dancer, but I succeeded in reaching my fundraising goal with the help of different fundraising events and my Dancer Fundraising Coord. When I applied to be a coord myself as a sophomore, I was placed onto the Fundraising Events Committee, where we planned a multitude of events ranging from our FT5k to bucketing weekends to bar nights and restaurant fundraisers. I not only gained professional skills in event planning and fundraising, but also learned how I could make fundraising more accessible for other students. As we were prepping for VictorThon 2020, COVID-19 struck the United States and VictorThon was moved to a virtual format. With the change to Zoom and a worldwide pandemic, I was intimidated to move up in leadership when I hadn’t yet experienced an in-person VictorThon as a leadership member. Other leadership members encouraged me to apply to the role of the Planning Director, which felt out of reach at the time, but after some research and my first ever virtual interview, I was offered the position! 

The transition to the Directors’ Council from my previous position during the beginning of quarantine was both interesting and difficult. I was learning about all of the inner workings of DMUM from normal years while also preparing for the possibility of us being virtual, which nobody had any experience in. For the Planning Associate Team, this meant starting off the year by preparing both in-person and virtual outlines for our events. We had to shift and learn very quickly, but with lots of teamwork, DMUM was able execute several different online events and initiatives, such as our FT5k, Pumpkin Carving, Cheers to the Little Victors, and PJ Party! Working with the other Directors and Planning Chairs on these events has been such a fantastic experience. While we weren’t able to bond and get to work in person in the same ways as we would have in the past, we were still able to build a sense of community that helped to make the year fun! Making the decision to switch to the second ever virtual VictorThon was also a difficult one, but I am so glad that we were able to decide far in advance to keep the best interest of our families and members in mind and to give us time to plan an amazing event for all of our audiences! I can’t wait to see everyone together for VictorThon 2021 from March 20th-21st!

While it wasn’t the DMUM experience anyone had expected, I couldn’t be more grateful for my time as Planning Director this year. I’ve grown as a leader in ways I never could have imagined before and will be able to leave college feeling proud of all that we were able to do for the kids during my time within the organization. Even virtual, DMUM has been able to be a place of community, creativity, and a lot of inspiration, so I cannot wait to return as a senior for one last great year! 

Hail to the Little Victors, 

Madeline