Dance Marathon Selects Student Emcees

The annual Northwestern University Dance Marathon (NUDM) event is an intense fundraising celebration full of emotion, music, and dancing. But a good party needs good hosts.

NUDM recently announced the two emcees who were chosen to keep the hundreds of student dancers and volunteers energized throughout the inspiring 30-hour dance party of NUDM 2014.

Medill sophomore Kelsey Adams and Communication senior Ethan Levine-Weinberg were selected to serve as emcees after a long and competitive application process. Both said they are extremely excited to be the faces of one of the country’s largest student-organized philanthropic efforts and to lead one of Northwestern’s biggest events of the year.

This year’s marathon is particularly exciting, as it marks the 40th anniversary of NUDM. Organizers announced Team Joseph as its primary beneficiary this past May. Team Joseph aims to fund cutting-edge research to find a treatment or cure for Duchene muscular dystrophy. This is the first time in NUDM history that the primary beneficiary is an organization fighting Duchene.

Duchene muscular dystrophy is the most common degenerative genetic muscle disease in boys. It is 100 percent fatal, and those with Duchene are rarely expected to live beyond their early 20s.

Team Joseph was founded by the family of Joseph Penrod, 10, who was diagnosed with Duchen. Joseph’s mother, Marissa Penrod, did not want her son to be defined by his diagnosis -- and now Team Joseph has grown into a strong national movement.

Northwestern University Dance Marathon is also supporting the Evanston Community Foundation as its secondary beneficiary for the 17th consecutive year.

Northwestern University Dance Marathon 2014 is March 7-9, 2014.

See coverage from last year's record-breaking Dance Marathon event.