As our Dan Vecellio wrote, “the body needs a spark plug to give its internal battery the juice to push through the final hours of THON, and dancer mail is that spark plug.” We interviewed a handful of dancers shortly after mail call, to find out just what got them ticking.

What’s the best piece of dancer mail you received?

Chris Held, Cheerleading Team

My most inspirational pieces of mail were the ones that I wasn’t expecting to get. I got mail from people that I hadn’t seen in a while, and to know that they cared enough to write me an inspirational letter to keep my spirits high was a huge boost.

Vernon O’Garra, Student Athlete Advisory Board:

My favorite pieces of dancer mail were definitely the ones I got from my [Four Diamonds] family. It was just my THON children Jack and Isabella saying “we’ll see you soon,” and that absolutely energized me.

Josh Kirwin, Independent Dancer:

“One of my friends made me a four-page quote book of all the dumb things I’ve said over the past year. I can’t think of any right now, but they were really funny.”

Brandee Shifflett, Nittany Nation:

The letter I got from my morale captain who I had last year was my favorite. She wrote and told me how proud she was of me, and how much I had grown socially and emotionally.

About the Author

Alex Robinson

Alex Robinson was Onward State's Acting Managing Editor/Resident Old Man. He lived in Harrisburg almost his whole life, but he says he's from California -- where he was born -- because that's more fun. He loves cats and Chinese food, but only separately. He met both Ben Affleck and Kanye West within a half hour, so the three of them are basically best friends. If you want to hear his #scorching #hot #takes, you can follow him at @ARobinsonPSU or email him at alexrobinson@onwardstate.com.

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