a close friend, and in the case of NOVAdance, a special and unique way for first-year Villanova students to get involved with the lead-up to and the event itself.
This year, Sidekicks are led by three people, sophomore Theresa Scarola, sophomore Andrew Wierzchon and senior Chair Evan Eames. Sidekicks is the freshmen-only aspect of NOVAdance and a way to introduce first-years to the organization.
“It’s the most you can get involved as a first-year student,” Scarola said. “We put on our own fundraising events, we have meetings every week [and] I also just love talking to people and connecting with them and I thought that this would be a great way to [get] them really passionate about this organization.”
For the role, Sidekicks are required to attend meetings, attend both fundraising and bonding events, raise a minimum of $167 – the specific number embodying the 167 days that Andrew McDonough, the namesake of the B+ Foundation, bravely fought against childhood cancer for – and actively spread the B+ message to friends and other members of the Class of 2028.
Unlike Special Olympics’ similar Local Program Host in the fall, where all who sign up join the organization, NOVAdance requires first-year students to apply and interview for the role, to make sure they’re committed and ready for the tasks ahead. This year also saw a record number of freshmen apply for the role, but record applicants have not affected the drive and spirit of those involved in the program.
“It’s been going really well this year,” Wierzchon said. “We do have a bigger number of Sidekicks than we have had in the past, [with having] a lot of interest this year with all of our recruitment in the fall, so I think it’s definitely been very fun to have all these new faces, everyone’s really involved and it was just great, there’s so much energy in the room every single day we have meetings.”
For Eames, who is less than two months away from graduating, his time in NOVAdance has been a highlight of his time at Villanova. And the opportunity to help shape the future of the organization has been a one-of-a-kind process, one he’s grateful to have been involved in.
“The people are what make [NOVAdance] happen, and I think the Sidekicks will have such a huge influence on what NOVAdance is for the next four years,” Eames said. “We wanted to have a hand in their experience, get them excited for it for the next four years, even though I won’t be here and just kind of help keep the NOVAdance tradition alive.”
For both Scarola and Wierzchon, themselves Sidekicks a year ago as first-year students, this new role has meant stepping up into a new, larger role. But a role that has been incredibly enjoyable and impactful on both them and each of the Sidekicks they have gotten the chance to work with these past few months.
“I think it’s awesome, just a huge opportunity to give back to the organization, like, ‘You guys did this for me, and I wanna pass that on,’” Wierzchon said. “A position like this lets you have some leadership and structure and [gives you the chance to focus on] some things more that we didn’t really focus on last year. You kind of switch things up to make it as good as possible, to do our roles as well as we possibly can and make it as good for freshmen.”
Scarola agreed, and in her role has made the best of her responsibilities and her role as an ambassador of NOVAdance to first-year students interested in getting involved.
“One of the best parts of this year was seeing how involved [Sidekicks] got in the jogathon planning and I know it can seem a little daunting, like, we’re gonna let first-year students in the organizations plan the entire event,” Scarola said, “But we separated them into task forces and put them in them based on their strengths and what they liked and seeing how excited they were to talk to other people in the task force. [That] was really awesome to see.”
Out of the various teams and moving parts of NOVAdance, Sidekicks holds a special place with the organization for both the incredible work they do. After all, four years from now, many of these first-year students will be the ones planning and running the entire event.
