The Biggest Stage of UMD's Terp Thon

Amanda Merrell is a rock star at the University of Maryland’s 12-hour Terp Thon dance marathon.

She has been attending the event for 10 years now, and she said she has sang along to Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger” in front of the entire venue roughly four times.

During her performance on Saturday, dozens of students in attendance had their hands in the air, swaying from side to side as Merrell sang. After years of performing, Merrell said that the experience has changed her.

“It definitely gave me a lot of confidence, to be able to go up there and sing without being nervous, [and without] stage fright,” said Merrell.

This feeling of empowerment is what drives Terp Thon’s Miracle Kid talent show, which is one of the day’s culminating events. Terp Thon is a student-run organization that fundraises for Children's National Health System, the university’s local Children's Miracle Network hospital. The dance marathon is Terp Thon's biggest event of the year, and one of its defining features is how students are able to interact with the children they are raising money for.

At Terp Thon, these children are known as the Miracle Kids, and are the center of attention. The talent show provides them with a stage, a microphone and a spotlight.

Some portions of the day focus on the Miracle Kids’ struggles – including times when they share their stories with those in attendance – but the talent show serves as a reminder that they are just kids and, like most children, love to sing and dance.

“I thought I knew why I was standing, but it wasn’t until the Miracle Kid Talent Show that it kind of hit me, like everything that we do,” said Terp Thon Dance Relations Chair Victoria Fiore.

Along with Merrell’s performance, other Miracle Kids delivered performances that included: yelling “mosh-pit let’s get it!” at the beginning of a rendition of Travis Scott’s popular hip-hop/rap song “Sicko Mode,” getting an audience to clap along to a performance of Fitz and the Tantrums’ “HandClap,” and electrifying the crowd by choreographing Ariana Grande’s “God is a Woman.”

“I feel like I can definitely say that it’s probably both the highlight of our night and the Miracle Kids’ [night],” said Analeigh Hughes, Terp Thon’s public relations chair. “To have [those] few minutes on stage where they don’t have to necessarily be talking about their childhood illness or whatever problems they’re fighting, but instead show that they’re so much more than that.”

Hughes was especially impacted by a performance of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” last year.

“I have a video of it and I’ll just watch it to pump myself up because it just always makes me smile,” said Hughes.

While some aspects of Terp Thon’s dance marathon change from year to year, Hughes said the talent show will remain as one of the day’s staples and will continue to serve as a way for the Miracle Kids of Terp Thon to express themselves.

“The reason I sing ‘Stronger’ is because it relates back to my illness and how I overcame it. So, every time I sing it, I know that I can achieve anything I want to,” said Merrell.