Hello FOTO Family Happy Monday!!
For those who may not know me, my name is Emily and I graduated this past May. I was involved with a pediatric cancer awareness campaign throughout high school and knew I wanted to get involved with THON from day one. Like many of you, I was a lost freshman wandering around the involvement fair, only to be found by a FOTO officer. Over the years, activities flooded my calendar and I couldn’t sign up fast enough. Canning, ribbon sales, family visits, retreats, flag football games (s/o wrecking crew), Logan’s cured party, bake sales and so many more memories are all thanks to this amazing org and our beautiful THON families.
FOTO was a guiding light throughout my time at Penn State. It can definitely be tough to get involved at first, but I want to encourage you all to break out of your comfort zone. Attend as many events as possible, volunteer for the weekly ice breakers, and talk to the people sitting around you at meetings. If you are already very involved, those conversations with new members mean more than you may realize. Being inclusive and motivational will only make this organization even stronger! Enjoy these Mondays together and every event in-between. You will meet (if you haven’t already) so many altruistic, zealous, strong, and thoughtful people. You might even make life-long friends, find amazing roommates, and stand for 46 hours in the BJC.
I’m cheering you all on this year and every year after. I cannot wait to see all the amazing things you achieve.
Lots of love & FTK always,
Emily Deivert