Northwestern University Dance Marathon announced Weinberg juniors Matt Larsen and Katie Amys as its executive co-chairs for 2013 Friday. NBN sat down with Larsen and Amys to talk about their plans and goals for DM 2013.
North by Northwestern: How would you describe the position of DM executive co-chair?
Katie Amys: To me, it’s kind of the facilitators of the rest of the exec board and kind of the overseers for Northwestern University Dance Marathon as a whole. Also very much the public face of DM.
Matt Larsen: I always use the analogy that there’s 10 puzzle pieces of the board, just like each co-chair, and it’s our job to make sure that the puzzle fits together. Also this quarter is arguably the most important for us because we have to select the entire board, and it’s also our job to narrow down the beneficiary list. So those are kind of two main, tangible objectives in kind of a macro-view of the organization.
KA: And what we do this quarter will determine how everything for next year plays out.
ML: Which we’re very excited about.
NBN: What’s been your involvement with Dance Marathon up until now?
KA: I danced freshman and sophomore year. I was a group head sophomore and junior year. I was also on the Marketing committee for sophomore and junior year, and last year I was also on Dancer Relations.
ML: Danced, and then I was a group head sophomore year. Then my junior year, this past year, I served as a Finance co-chair, and now I’m here.
NBN: How early does planning start for DM?
KA: Now. In fact, the exec co-chairs from last year are the ones who sent out the request for beneficiary apps, so they started stuff before we were even chosen. So just pretty much right after DM 2012 ends.
ML: Basically, we have to go through all these beneficiary applications, and then we have an info session on Thursday at 7 for the executive board, people who are interested in applying. Right after that, applications will start rolling in so we’ll start looking through those. We’ll start figuring out interview times and then who we want.
NBN: What are your goals for DM 2013? What would you like to do differently?
ML: In the past, I think DM has obviously been run very well, especially these last few years. We’re coming off two of the most successful years ever. So there’s really not too much, I think, any real big changes I’d like to make. One thing I’d like to focus on, though, is the dancers because they’re obviously the most important part of Dance Marathon. So, just focusing on making sure they have a year-round experience. It’s not just a 30-hour thing. It’s something that happens from the moment the beneficiaries are selected. We want to really connect the beneficiary to potential dancers and really just focus on getting as many people involved because that’s truly the best thing that could happen, is to have the organization continue growing.
KA: That’s exactly it. Along the same lines, it’s just creating that community, not just of the dancers and like the weekend-of, but being a part of Dance Marathon is being a part of something much bigger than yourself. It’s a year-round thing, and definitely it’s a goal to connect the dancers to the beneficiaries more.
NBN: By the time DM 2013 ends, what do you hope to have gotten out of this experience?
KA: I guess Dance Marathon has always been my favorite thing that I’ve been a part of on campus. Everything about it: the excitement, the energy, but also that feeling of accomplishment, whether you’re a dancer or on a committee. The outcomes and the connection that you make with the beneficiary I feel like in the past has been more if you choose to or not. I don’t know, just a sense of accomplishment and that we helped better the organization somehow and helped make the world a better place, one organization at a time.
ML: I think the last three years, the best part of DM is seeing the children up on stage and dancing with everyone, dancing with [Dancer Relations]. So I think one specific thing I’d like to get out of it by this time next year is knowing that the thousands of students who are involved and our executive board and us, they’ve just changed the lives of all these kids and hopefully made their lives better, you know, forever. And that’s something I’m excited to see and something that’s a year-long process of doing, but it’s exciting when that actually happens.
KA: I definitely this past year built a much stronger connection with the beneficiary than I ever had in the past. It’s always emotional and it’s always rewarding, but to know the members of those families personally and how much that it means to them, it’s just the most heart-warming experience ever.