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Hometown: Bloomington, Ill.
Major: Nursing with minors in biology and psychology
Roles on campus: Executive Director of SAU Dance Marathon, tutor in Student Success Center, RA of Spiritual Floor in McCarthy Hall… just to name a few
Why Ambrose?: Ambrose was the first school I visited and I immediately fell in love! I loved the beautiful campus, the comfortable atmosphere, obviously the residence halls, and the tiny class sizes. I knew I wanted to study nursing so the brand new Health Science building was a huge plus. I also knew people from home who attended Ambrose and had the time of their life, and I couldn’t wait to get it on the Ambrosian experience!
A little bit about Amanda’s journey with Dance Marathon: I knew nothing about Dance Marathon until I was told by the Fundraising Director of DM 1/2 that I had missed his first fundraising meeting because apparently I was on his committee. Although I didn’t recall signing up, I began attending meetings and fundraisers and immediately got excited about the organization. We held a four hour preview event in April of 2012 which was amazing and really sparked the fire to keep driving this thing forward! For the first official Dance Marathon I served as the Director of Entertainment & Logistics for the big event. In that year of planning I really got to know our miracle families and our dancers, and was completely blown away by the success of the 2013 event. Coming off such a Dance Marathon high I couldn’t imagine letting go, which lead me to apply for the Executive Director position for DM 2014! I could not be more excited to see what the next year brings!
Dance Marathon is the most meaningful organization I have personally experienced here at St. Ambrose. I’ve been involved in so many other clubs and organizations, but never one that I actually fell in love with. Getting to know the kids and their families has helped me to appreciate my own blessings that much more, but also given me such an appreciation for our tiny fighters! If a three year old can beat cancer with a smile on her adorable little face, I can make it to class in the morning. And if a mom of three kiddos can handle hospital visits, clinic appointments, school, work and so much else, who am I to complain that I have a lot of homework to get through? I love these kids like they’re my own family, and I just want to do everything I can to give back to them!
And just so you can get to know her a little bit better…
-I love Michael Buble almost as much as I love Dance Marathon.
-My family actually experienced the help of Children’s Miracle Network first hand when my sister was born prematurely with complications. She’s fine now!
-I love to sing.
– Cheese is my favorite food.
-I attended DMLC in Salt Lake City, Utah this summer for the Dance Marathon National Leadership Conference where SAU DM was recognized as the Best New Dance Marathon in the nation!!
Not only is Amanda a celebrity on campus, but a true role model as well. For more information on SAU Dance Marathon, visit www.saudm.org.