Daily Collegian - Adkin family shares appreciation for THON

The below story on Theta Chi’s THON family appeared in the Daily Collegian on Feb. 18, 2024 - written by Olivia Estright

The day after attending her first THON, Four Diamonds child Kiera Adkin was admitted to the hospital.

Adkin, now 17 years old, was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma in May 2022. Lymphoblastic lymphoma is an aggressive form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

In February 2023, she attended Penn State THON.

“My doctors actually told me not to come. They told me, ‘Oh, it’s not a good idea. Don’t go. We don’t want to see you there,’” Adkin said. “I went anyway.”

Her mother Khadijah McNeil said Adkin was supposed to just receive treatment the Monday after THON Weekend 2023. Instead, she was admitted into the hospital.

“My longest and last day,” Adkin said about the April day she was discharged, “so it’s almost been a full year I’ve been out the hospital. … It was worth it, in my opinion, coming to THON. It was definitely worth it.”

After Adkin was diagnosed, McNeil discovered Four Diamonds while working in Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.

“A couple of times I’ve gotten pulled to the third floor of the Children's Hospital, and I sat in front of a desk and was charting and turned around was a poster on there that said Four Diamonds with the sword,” McNeil said.

After starting treatment in June 2022, the Kiera Adkin Family connected with Four Diamonds and Penn State THON, and soon after, the family was paired with Theta Chi of Penn State and the Nittany Dance Project.

Adkin said in the fall, the orgs brought her to the THON football game. This past Christmas, her paired orgs visited her and bought everyone in her family gifts.

“Next year, I definitely want to be more with them,” Adkin said. “I want to actually spend a weekend with them, and learn a dance and do it again next year.”

Ahead of THON 2024, Adkin said she didn’t know she would be performing with the Nittany Dance Project until her mom told her the group wanted her in it.

“I was like, ‘I don’t know if I want to do this,’” Adkin said. “I did it anyways, and … I did have fun.”

According to the Kiera Adkin family, the connections made through THON are more than just a weekend of fun.

Adkin’s father, Daniel Rothweiler, said THON means more to their family than anything else.

“I find it amazing that they volunteer their time and effort among also just going to classes and doing their schoolwork and everything else,” Rothweiler said.

In addition to lifting a financial weight off the family’s shoulders, McNeil said the supportive energy keeps them going.

“The energy that you guys have is just overwhelming — like you could just feel it when you’re here,” McNeil said. “I feel this good energy. It just feels wonderful.”