By: Theresa Messenger ’18, Staff writer
Lebanon Valley College’s Students Achieving Victories Everywhere (S.A.V.E.) and dance team united to raise a total of $2,124.68 during the Dancing with the LVC stars event.
LVC S.A.V.E. is a first year club on campus that dedicates its time to raising money for the greater good. Each year, S.A.V.E. chooses a designated charity and spends the school year gathering funds to donate. This year, Alex’s Lemonade Stand was the chosen foundation.
“LVC S.A.V.E. was thrilled the dance team wanted to work with us, especially since we are a very new club to campus,” Brianna Cosgrove, a senior early childhood education and special education major and S.A.V.E. president, said. “We had a lot of fun at the event and promoted a great cause. LVC is such a great school because clubs are able to come together to put on something great, and professors even aren’t afraid to join in.”
Organized by JoAnne Rubelmann, a junior history major and dance team vice president, Dancing with the LVC Stars took place Friday, Feb. 17. Dance team members paired up with campus faculty as the “stars” of the night, and squared off in an exciting contest.
Audience members had the ability to vote for their favorite star with monetary donations. At the end of the evening Mary Gardner, aquatics director and head swim coach and D’anna Sydow, a freshman neuroscience major, took home the mirror ball trophy.
DWTS winners Mary Gardner and D’anna Sydow pose with the mirror ball trophy.
“I am so grateful to D’anna because she gave me the confidence to do this,” Gardner said. “I couldn’t have done it without her. I also want to thank the Otters [swim team] for all of their support.”
Sydow, a member of the swim team, was also pleased with the outcome of the event.
“I am so thankful that I had Mary as a partner,” Sydow said. “She is the most amazing woman that I have ever met in my entire life and I could not have asked for a better start to my college career.”
Although not everyone was a winner, all participants recognized the uniqueness of the event.
“This was so much fun and it was amazing in the last weeks to see how many people were aware of what students were doing,” Paul Fullmer, chaplain and director of service and volunteerism and star, said. “They were supportive and ready to come on out. So just another example of community support at LVC.”
Other faculty stars also expressed their enjoyment that they gained from the experience.
“It was an amazing night,” Greg Krikorian, vice president of student affairs and dean of students and star, said. “The dance team is one of our best organizations on campus. JoAnne did an amazing job organizing this event and whipping me into shape. I had one of the best times I’ve ever had in my career.”
Not everyday do students and faculty members have the opportunity to switch roles, but in this case, both parties were eager to do so.
“Doc Summers was just a hard worker,” Joelle Godfrey, a sophomore early childhood education major and special education major said. “I can’t believe how much time he really put into this. His dedication was amazing and it was really encouraging as a student to see a teacher do that.”
Laura Schmidt, a senior physical therapy major and student government president served as a judge for Dancing with the Stars. During the event, she sat on a judge’s panel, scored each team and commented on their performances.
“Dancing with the Stars is something new, something different and it raised money for a good cause,” Schmidt said. “The best part was getting to see professors who we know and love on stage.”
The dance team is a student-run club sport organization that allows students to continue or begin their dancing career throughout college. LVC dance team performs at men’s basketball games, the fall pep rally, Relay For Life, Mini-THON and more. In addition to performances at campus events, the team holds an annual spring showcase which will take place Friday, March 31 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, April 1 at 2 p.m.
tm007@lvc.edu