To my dearest FOTOians,
What is up?! For those who do not know me my name is Casey Algeo, also known as Caso :) I
am a fellow alum, has-been, mom friend, ex-officer royalty, and forever mermaid. First, let me
just say how lucky each and every one of you are to be sitting at a FOTO meeting tonight! (as I
type this from my bed 4 PM on Sunday after a Birds WIN…I’m just as surprised as you are too)
But anyyyyyywho, here’s a little bit about my THON/FOTO journey. It started way back when in
2015 as a sophomore attending THON with Penn State Brandywine. My pal Kevin Ficco (GOAT)
made me stand with FOTO in the stands for 3 hours during my “sleep shift” and while I was
tired, cranky, hangry, etc. that was one of the best decisions I have made to date! From there, I
graduated from the first portion of the 2+2 program, packed my bags and left Delco for good!
(just kidding)… As a junior and “new” to University Park as a student actually paying to live
there (not just crash on weekends), I wanted to get as involved as I possibly could, as most
people do. Obviously FOTO was already a shoe-in for involvement and it all started by just being
a general member in the audience each week + joining R&R committee as my side gig. From
there, I went on multiple visits to the families – who are so amazing and adorable <3 if you
haven’t been on a visit to one of our families yet, mark your calendars and go! You will not
regret it. Moving forward a bit to senior year, I served as the “Outreach” officer alongside
RavDawg, aka Member Relations. Again, if you think you have an interest to do more fun things
and get more involved such as becoming an officer – do it!!! Your time and energy spent for
THON/FOTO does not go unnoticed and makes such an amazing impact on the community and
members, more than you know. It also serves as great practice for when you have to work in
groups for your career moving forward (for real). In the same year I had the incredible
opportunity to dance for our very own FOTO in THON 2017 along with some awesome pals.
These 46+ (counting all of the fundraising efforts prior, etc.) were so life changing and truly put
things into perspective. I would do it all in a heartbeat again, including standing/dancing for all
46. Stay tuned if I make my comeback as an Alumni dancer in the next couple years ;)
THON weekend is one of the best and most challenging weekends of your life, it is SO
monumental! Speaking about it now has me emotional but also so excited for those who have
not yet experienced THON weekend, especially with our FOTO family. Get ready for the
weekend to top ANY football tailgate you have ever been to. Get ready for new friendships and
special moments with our families. Get ready for your life to be changed, for the better. Okay,
I’m getting a little preachy here, but moral of my now novel is to CHERISH all of the moments –
big and small. One day you will end up as a has-been like myself wishing I could relieve all of the
things you will now experience and participate in. I’m so proud of all of you for the amazing
things you have accomplished and the impact you will make on THON moving forward. Just
know this old lady is rooting for you guys – FTK forever! Can’t wait to see you at THON 2020.
Love you all,
Casey “ Queen Caso” Algeo
