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From Dancer To Director: Senior Closes Out THON Experience As Special Events Head

Over the last four years, Penn State senior Alyssa Bielinski has played many integral roles in helping to make THON a reality.

From a Rules and Regulations committee member in her freshman and sophomore years to a Special Events captain and independent dancer in her junior year, she’s now serving the THON community as the Special Events director for THON 2022.

Growing up in a Penn State family in Scranton, Pa., Bielinski had always been exposed to THON. Cancer also hits close to home for her, since her aunt passed away during her sophomore year at Penn State.

Bielinski’s role is primarily focused on pre-and post-THON events. She’s in charge of planning events like 100 Days ‘Til THON, the THON 5K, Family Carnival, the THON Showcase, THON history tours, and Athlete Hour.

One of the main focuses when planning THON this year was ensuring the safety of the THON families and volunteers, which included virtual components, like the live stream, to in-person events.

“We were very successful in integrating a lot of hybrid events into our year to make sure that we were being as inclusive with all of our Four Diamonds families, our stakeholders, donors, and student volunteers,” Bielinski said.

Bielinski has always wanted to serve the THON community in any way she could to make a lasting impact. Last year, she danced as part of an independent dancer couple (IDC), which — along with serving on the THON executive committee — had always been a dream of hers.

“Having the opportunity to dance last year was 46 hours that I will quite literally never forget for the rest of my life, and the same goes for receiving the position as Special Events director this year,” she said. “I always felt like I had more to give for this organization so I never would have wanted to graduate in May without knowing that I gave it my absolute all. I dedicated every single ounce of me to this organization, which has been my goal since my freshman year.”

One of the greatest opportunities that has come with being the Special Events director for THON 2022, according to Bielinski, is the chance to bring people in the THON community together outside of the actual THON Weekend.

“Just being able to see [THON’s] mission grow each and every day leading up to this weekend, I know that it won’t stop once the 46 hours are over,” Bielinski said.

Leading up to this weekend, Bielinski prepared by prioritizing her health and despite it being hectic, making sure to pause and take in every moment coming into this weekend – something she wants to carry with her until she leaves the BJC on Sunday night.

So, what’s she looking forward to most about this weekend? The culmination of everything that THON has worked towards over the last year. Additionally, Bielinski is looking to everything from being back in person to watching people experience their first THON

“Everyone has put so much hard work and dedication into this all year long, and I’m just so excited to see it come to life,” she said.

Mackenzie is a senior majoring in English and is one of Onward State’s associate editors. She is from Minersville, PA, and is always trying to explain exactly where that is. Send all compliments to [email protected] or @MackenzieC__ on Twitter.

Hong Kong’s offline and virtual events platform EventX closes $18M Series B – TechCrunch

As countries ease up on COVID restrictions, activities are going back in person. But the virtual event space continues to attract investors, at least in Asia. Hong Kong-based events management platform EventX said today it has raised another $8 million for its Series B, lifting the total amount secured for this round to $18 million.

The new injection was led by GL Ventures, the early-stage investment arm of Hillhouse Capital. Previous investors include Gaocheng Capital, an investment firm founded by a former Hillhouse partner, and HTC, the Taiwanese electronics giant that has pushed into virtual reality in recent years. EventX declined to disclose its post-money valuation.

The Series B came eight years after EventX was founded, an unusually patient fundraising pace compared to many cash-burning internet firms across the border in mainland China. The company started out by managing real-life events, from supporting user registration to helping attendees exchange virtual business cards. When COVID-19 hit in 2020, it saw an opportunity to go digital, so it developed a new service akin to Hopin, supporting live events like webinars and virtual exhibitions. Today, the platform also has a lead generation function, helping organizers develop new clients and partners through events.

Thanks to pandemic control on in-person events, Hopin became one of the fastest-growing companies in recent memory. But news came last week that the London-based startup had laid off 12% of its staff as it realized post-COVID demand for virtual events would slow. The pandemic was also a boon to EventX; its online attendees in the fourth quarter of 2021 grew by 120%. And even if live events resume their normalcy, the company believes it can cling onto its long-running offline business.

So far, the company has helped organize events in over 100 cities, mostly across Asia, and its platform has served more than five million attendees. Its team of 100 is spread across Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

The startup plans to spend its new proceeds on potential acquisitions, product development, recruitment and expansion in Asia, particularly Taiwan and Southeast Asia. It also has ambitions to bring VR solutions into its event experience by teaming up with its investor HTC.