Whats up FOTO fam!!
Liv Eagan here, an honorary member of the “foto members who go by their first and last name” club, you’d be surprised there are quite a few of us. For those that don’t know me I graduated in 2022 and was a 4-year member of FOTO, a liaison for the 2020-2021 year and the Donor Relations chair with Bella for THON 2021-2022. I also had the absolute honor of being one of FOTO’s dancers at THON last year!
My story to finding FOTO is a little different than a lot of the other alumni and even some current members. I didn’t think it was an immediate fit for me. My first 2 years at PSU I was an active member of the PSU Quidditch team (this wouldn’t be a Liv Eagan story if I didn’t bring up the fact that I’ve played quidditch) but that was my focus. I was super intimidated by the people in FOTO so I stayed in the background. It wasn’t until THON my freshman year, at some random time Saturday morning as Jordan and I fought PSU Berks for our row back that I realized these people weren’t scary and I was just psyching myself out of a great opportunity to make new friends. Sophomore year I decided to step it up a bit and became more active within the org and by the end of my sophomore year I decided that I wanted FOTO to be my top priority, so I stopped playing quidditch and became a liaison for my junior year. Being a liaison really helped push me out of my comfort zone and really helped me get to know a lot of the other members. Then senior year I became a donor relations co-chair and I never looked back. I never thought freshmen year that I would’ve ended up on the exec board and dancing my senior year, but I did it.
FOTO was the HIGHLIGHT of my 4 years at college and as I sit here writing this from my apartment in Bloomsburg, staring at the mountain of work I have for grad school, I realize how much I took my time for granted. I wish I would’ve gotten involved earlier. My main message is for the people like me that are sitting there, wondering if this org is right for you. So even though you all may not want it, here are Liv Eagan’s 3 pieces of advice:
- Push yourself out of your comfort zone, go to a bake sale (or ya know every single one), talk to the person sitting next to you, say hi to the person walking by you on campus in the FOTO shirt, go to study hours or out for food with your squad, join the IM football team (y’all have back to back titles to defend this year) There are so many opportunities throughout the year for you to make new friends in the org, our MR chairs are always great at what they do.
- Take advantage of every family activity that your amazing FR chair’s plan. FOTO’s 3 families will become the light of your life so take advantage of every chance you can to get to know them. It’s the little things like Megan’s smile after getting a base hit or winning a game of volleyball, Logan even cracking a smile at your poor attempt at a joke or Matty squirting you right in the eye with a squirt gun, that are moments you will always remember. You’ll also never forget if Julia runs over your foot with a hoverboard at a family visit, I know that’s something I never forgot.
- This is probably my most important piece of advice. GO TO THON. Go to all the subcommittee meetings, do pre-line, spend an overnight shift at THON itself. This is the time where you get to know everyone the best. You have 46 hours to get to know the people you might not be familiar with in the org and who knows they could turn out to be one of your best friends.
To all my returning members, I love and miss you all dearly. I have the utmost faith in y’all that THON 2022-2023 will be FOTO’s best year yet. Who knows I’m only an hour away so maybe I’ll pop in for a Monday night meeting sometime : ) To the new members, you’ll hear this said time and time again, but FOTO is a family and I hope that you all stick around and become a part of our always growing family.
All my love,
Liv Eagan
P.S. Make sure to place a donation box in your hometown!!!
