Seniors Jack Doolin and Laine Aries are the 2025 co-Executive Directors of NOVAdance. Both Doolin and Aries have been involved with NOVAdance during their entire Villanova journeys, beginning as Sidekicks their freshman years to being the people behind the project three years later.
While their stories are unique, they took similar paths to get there. After being a Sidekick, Doolin became the Red Team Morale Committee (MoCo) captain sophomore year. Junior year, he served as the Director of Human Resources.
Aries was the Blue Team MoCo captain her sophomore year and served on the operations committee her junior year. Now, in their final year on campus, they have been selected to serve as the co-Executive Directors.
NOVAdance fundraises and spreads awareness for the Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation. McDonough battled a 167 day fight against AML Leukemia. McDonough’s blood type was B-positive, inspiring the name of the organization. His story and positivity is what inspires many students to get involved with NOVAdance.
“I went to an info session and they played a video that shared Andrew’s story,” Doolin said. “His attitude really struck me, it was something that was an important value of mine but I hadn’t seen expressed like that before.”
Through their time as MoCo captains, Doolin and Aries enjoyed seeing the message resonate with Villanova students.
“You get to work with tons of different Villanova students and all the different paths that bring people to that,” Doolin said. “NOVAdance can be a way of taking something that is really challenging, whether it’s grief or loss or just struggling with the idea of why did kids get cancer, and channeling that into really beautiful work that helps a lot of families and really supports, specifically the 17 families that we are paired with.”
Doolin and Aries have been working since last year to ensure that the 2025 NOVAdance is the biggest and the best yet. With that comes setting higher fundraising goals than ever. This year, NOVAdance is aiming to hit $700,000 raised for the B+ foundation.
“We always strive to top our fundraising goal,” Aries said. “Our freshman year we hit the 4[00,000], our sophomore year we hit the 5[00,000], last year, obviously, we hit $600,000, which is insane and crazy. In Jack and I’s meetings and planning fundraising we both had in our mind that we are striving for 7[00,000] this year.”
The two set out to make this goal a reality.
“We worked backwards from there,” Aries said. “We knew we wanted to end at this number and from there we break that down and we see what different groups or organizations fundraise in years past and from there we set the bar higher for them…putting the pieces together to get us to that overall goal.”
This is the first year NOVAdance has shared the overall fundraising goal with the Villanova community.
“We are trying something new this year by sharing our goal with the entire community, which is very exciting,” Aries said. “We’ve seen really good effects of that, people are really rallying behind it and taking that goal to heart. They really want to see us hold that seven up on March 29th.”
While individual fundraising may seem daunting, Doolin and Aries agree that it is best to just go for it.
“I’ve learned a lot through four years of NOVAdance about how easy it is to underestimate people’s generosity,” Doolin said. “I’ve learned a lot about trusting people’s generosity and how that can surprise me.”
This year’s theme for NOVAdance is “So No Hero Rides Alone.” The theme is developed by the Awareness Team on the NOVAdance committee.
“We look for something that embodies the B+ message,” Aries said. “We think to our 17 B+ Heroes and what they enjoy most, and walking into Jake Nevin on that Saturday for them to look and be, like, ‘This is all for me’…They go through so many different ideas and what has been done in years past, that it is something new and something that college kids will enjoy, but also, that our B+ Heroes, most importantly, will really think that this is so cool.”
Doolin echoed this statement.
“What we liked about this year’s theme is that it speaks to something that can be very ordinary, it is an ordinary space that becomes this really exciting, imaginative, childlike wonder space,” Doolin said. “We liked that idea because it celebrates what our Heroes do, which is take something that feels challenging, that feels like every day, and they have an attitude that completely transforms that, so we like the idea of Jake Nevin transforming into that space that feels like, a space that people know, but also, kind of has a new twist with the B+ message on it.”
The 17 B+ Heroes NOVAdance holds close to their hearts are paired with different organizations on Villanova’s campus.
Christos is paired with Alpha Phi Omega, Correll with Tri Delta, Danny with Sigma Nu, Ellie with Alpha Chi Omega, Harry with Alpha Gamma Delta, Jack with Brothers of Jack, James with Phi Sigma Pi, Lilly with Blue Key, Sebastian with Pi Kappa Phi and Rebekah with Alpha Phi.
NOVAdance also recognizes Forever Heroes, who are no longer fighting their battles against cancer. These Heroes are Blair with Delta Gamma, Frankie with Kappa Delta, Jibril with Tri Delta, Tony with Alpha Phi Omega and McDonough, who is held in the hearts of everyone involved with NOVAdance.
Additionally, since the 2024 NOVAdance marathon, two new Heroes have been matched with Villanova organizations. Julia has been matched with Chi Omega and Pascal with Beta Theta Pi.
“[Being matched with Heroes] is a completely transformative thing,” Doolin said. “Anyone that you have talked to who has been involved with NOVAdance and has gotten to work with a Hero, or have had their organization been paired with one, it totally transforms their way of thinking, because you can’t think about the issue the same way again…you can totally see it with chapters, before and after they’re paired with a Hero, 100% I can see a change.”
For Doolin, forming relationships with B+ Heroes has transformed his NOVAdance experience.
“For me, meeting our B+ Hero Harry, the more close I got with him, the more I couldn’t see the issue the same as before,” Doolin said. “He kind of completely transforms your mindset, that someone can have that kind of attitude and have dealt with something so hard as a cancer diagnosis as a kid, and knowing that you get the opportunity to amplify that story, to help other kids is the coolest thing ever.”
It is not just the Heroes who feel the NOVAdance impact, but their families, as well. Harry’s mother came to campus at the beginning of the academic year for an Awareness Panel to share her story.
“Hearing her side of it, and I know Harry as a kid, but I would never know what he goes through behind the scenes,” Aries said. “He is in remission now, he has been cancer free for a couple years, but he still deals with so many side effects and things that you would never know, and that was super eye opening to see. From the outside, he looks like a normal kid, and behind the scenes it’s not that…all these things a seven year old, eight year old, shouldn’t have to go through, he’s going through…it does bring you closer to the mission and to see how thankful the families are for what we do.”
NOVAdance functions on many moving parts, yet, there are some pieces bigger than others. For Doolin and Aries, the largest project they have taken on this year was the way they approached fundraising, and motivating NOVAdance members throughout the entire year.
“A word that came to mind was reimagining,” Aries said. “I think we did a lot of reimagining this year…we’ve been around for 13 years, we’ve been having a dance marathon for 12 years now, but just because this is how we have always done it doesn’t mean that is how things should go.”
While this is Doolin’s and Aries’ final year on campus, the two have high hopes for the continuation of the mission.
“We want to help more families, that’s our number one goal,” Aries said. “That is reflected in our fundraising total, and I think that if you ask anyone what their main goal is for the future, it is to keep raising the bar.”
Doolin agreed.
“When I think about the next 10 years of NOVAdance, definitely them needing to make another comma for a million,” Doolin said. “I can see that for them, and it makes me super excited to think about students getting to do that.”
For both Doolin and Aries, B+ Hero Hour (3 to 4 p.m.) is the one they look the most forward to.
“I think it is a great time to connect with our B+ Heroes and hear their stories, and hear the Hero Liaisons who have been working with them the whole year, and their family, talk about them…it is also great to feel the energy in the room, you are packed in there as close to the stage as possible with all your fellow Villanova students,” Aries said. “You’re all kind of there in the moment, engulfed in the message, and everything just stops…if you look around the gym during that hour, everything comes to a halt because everyone is just focused on the stage and hearing the stories…it’s impactful to hear and it is definitely something that if somebody were to show up to NOVAdance for the first time and hear that, it’s what keeps them coming back.”
Throughout the beginning of the dance marathon, participants can expect to line up to welcome each Hero as they enter Jake Nevin.
“I really love when each Hero gets to make their entrance,” Doolin said. “We create a tunnel of everyone who is there that they run through, and we play a very specific song called ‘Hall of Fame’ because it really gets at how much of a Superhero they are, and how much we love having them there.”
A common question asked in regard to NOVAdance is “What is your why?” and for Doolin and Aries, theirs are continuously shifting and adapting through the ongoing work they do.
“I say this every time, when I share my why, it’s never the same,” Aries said. “I’ve shared my why countless times now, and each time there is always another piece, something that gets added to it.”
Doolin’s why is the impact the Heroes make.
“I NOVAdance to let our Heroes stories help other families,” Doolin said. “To help them feel less alone and to help them know the power of their story and their positivity and how much of an impact that can make.”
Doolin and Aries’ work is not done, and their groundwork will set the tone for many NOVAdances to come.
