What’s up FOTO fam!! Welcome to the greatest, loudest, most dedicated and least athletic THON org at Penn State! My name is Becca Tate and I’m from Bucks County, PA. Before graduating in May, I was lucky enough to serve as a Family Relations officer for FOTO, in addition to representing us as a dancer in THON 2018. If you’re a freshman or just new to THON, I’m sure you’re a little overwhelmed at everything that’s been thrown at you over the last few weeks. But trust me when I say that being a part of this philanthropy is one of the coolest and most unique opportunities that you’re given as a Penn State student. And while there are hundreds of families benefitting from THON, being a part of FOTO allows you to represent the cutest of them all and that’s a fact. The days spent with our families make up all of my favorite Penn State memories—between basketball games, hiking, birthday parties and consistently coming in last in bowling, our THON kids never fail to keep me humble, or put a lasting smile on my face. If you’re unsure about whether or not FOTO is for you, I ask that you attend just one event outside of this meeting. Go to the bake sale on Friday, sign up for the fundraising outreach weekend, go to a leadership meeting; you never know what it might lead to. And the more you do now, the more those 46 hours will mean to you in February, regardless of who you’re standing with. THON Weekend is the closest thing to pure magic that life has to offer, and I promise that the effort you put in early on will be worth it. I can’t wait to see what you all accomplish this year, and I hope you enjoy every second while you can. Also you should definitely befriend (or date) some younger FOTO homies so you have a free place to stay once you’re washed up like me. On that note, I’ll see you all this weekend!
