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Reflections on Dash-A-Thon 2017
DSHA seniors Megan Otto and Rachel Storts, student leaders for the 2017 Dash-A-Thon, reflect on what they learned from running this special and beloved Dasher tradition. Under the leadership of these young women, along with faculty representatives Emily Brown and Katie Blaufuss, students raised a collective total of $90,847. These funds directly support the cost of students' DSHA education.
Q: Why did you decide to take on Dash-A-Thon leadership?
Megan: For me, Dash-A-Thon has always been my favorite event because students can give back to this place that has done so much for us.
Rachel: Dash-A-Thon had been such a fun day for me the past three years, and I wanted to be a part of making our last one the best one yet. I also loved the idea of being able to give back to our school community in a fun a creative way.
Q: What surprised you about your experience with Dash-a-thon?
Rachel: How much detail goes into planning it. During the student council workshop over the summer, we decided on a theme, made some posters, and created an info sheet, and I thought we were in good shape to finish the final planning. I was so incredibly wrong!
Q: What were Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Blaufuss’ roles?
Megan: They helped us so much! They ordered t-shirts, handled the quota communication, and overall helped guide Rachel and me in the right direction.
Q: How did you motivate your peers to take part?
Rachel: We made Dash-A-Thon "cheat sheets" for the freshman so that they would know how important this day is and so that they would get excited for this year's event. We also showed videos of previous Dash-A-Thons that showed the spirit and fun of the day. We also hung up posters around the school and made announcements regularly.
Q: What was your favorite part of the experience?
Megan: The day of the event, driving past each spirit station and rollerblading past groups of freshman singing and dancing reminded me why I wanted to contribute a large amount to the event – I am proud to be a Dasher and a part of such an amazing, vibrant community.
Rachel: My favorite part was the day of Dash-A-Thon when we could see all our hard work pay off in the smiling faces of all of the girls dressed in theme, the music playing, and the glitter and candy flying.
Q: What was the most challenging part?
Rachel: The most challenging part was probably after we had the kickoff assembly and started finalizing all of the details. It was difficult to stay organized and remember all that we had to do in such a small period of time, but once I accepted that I could only do the best I could and hope everyone was pleased with it, then it got a lot easier.
Q: What have you learned from this leadership position?
Rachel: It was so cool for me to be a part of helping educate girls in such a unique setting and helping my school get the funding it needs. I think the all-girls education is such an incredible experience that we are all so lucky to have, and it meant so much to me to contribute to that experience.
Q: What do you most want people to know about Dash-a-thon?
Megan: That everyone’s contribution is so, so important and appreciated and helps our school in many ways.
Rachel: I would like them to know that Dash-A-Thon is about coming together as an entire school community and contributing to a cause we all collectively believe in while having a blast doing it.
Q: What advice would you give to student leaders next year?
Megan: Have fun with it. It is a great experience to take charge of something and incorporate your own ideas into such a large fun event. Also, involve as many people as possible.
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President Ellen Bartel and President-Elect Katie Konieczny, DSHA '92, are pictured with this year's Pennys and Dash-A-Thon coordinators, Megan Otto, DSHA 17, and Rachel Storts, DSHA 17.
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