With our capstone event, VictorThon coming up in just 4 days, I reflect on all the moments that have shaped my college experience. In 5 years when I look back on my life at the University of Michigan, I know DMUM will be the very first thing that comes to mind. 

Like most people, I joined DMUM because I was encouraged by some friends that I would mesh well with the community. Not to mention the mission of DMUM is something I have always been passionate about. In my freshman year, I held the role of a Dancer Captain. My very first VictorThon experience showed me that I had not been taking full advantage of all the amazing things DMUM has to offer, and I quickly set out to become more involved. I held the role of the Campus Relations chair in my sophomore year, and I served as the External Director in my junior year. Year by year, my life became more tied with DMUM, and now in my senior year I serve as the Executive Director, and I could not be more proud to call myself a member of DMUM. I don’t know when it happened, but DMUM has become an integral part of my life, and I have become a better person and leader because of it. I know I am not the only person that feels this way. 

Throughout my years in DMUM, I have learned more about myself and about the culture of DMUM. When I first became involved, I always made sure to fulfill my duties as a member of leadership; however, DMUM is so much more than just day to day work. If you take a step back, you can see that DMUM is one big puzzle, and each person is just one piece of that puzzle. DMUM would not be complete without each and every piece of the puzzle. The dancers, the families, the therapists, and every person we interact with make DMUM possible. That is the beautiful thing about working in an organization founded on the idea of community. While we have all found our home in DMUM, we are a part of something greater than ourselves alone. 

I will not sugarcoat anything, this year was not easy. I’m sure it was not easy for you either. We never expected we would have to face anything like this. Nevertheless, we are not measuring the success of this year on numbers because that would not do justice for all of the people that made this year possible. This year was about perseverance. No matter how stressful it might have been, DMUM had a mission to fulfill, and I believe we did that. We managed to fundraise, boost our membership to historic levels, volunteer virtually at some amazing therapies, and more. At the end of the day, the hard work of so many individuals will culminate into numbers that go on to impact more and more people. If this year has taught us anything, it is that DMUM will keep moving forward no matter the circumstances.