Allie Badgett, Team Captain for the College of Education
Why did you decide to be a team captain?
My first year dancing was the same year being a team captain. I decided to become a team captain not only to help lead but to advocate and inspire others to take that risk and do it big. Not for ourselves but for those who need help with their voice. To keep the legacy of Jarrett Mynear’s final request forever fulfilled. I was petrified with it being my first time and worried about leading others with a far view of how DanceBlue was run. If I didn’t take the risk, I would have never met the amazing individuals of this organization and the peers that have decided to take this great journey with me. I knew immediately I wanted to be captain again because of the love I have for DanceBlue. The good in the world that DanceBlue shows is just too good not to express to others. The heart, the passion, the good these individuals have is mind blowing.
What does being a captain mean to you?
Being a team captain means that I get to mentor those who have the same end goal. To show that joy always prevails. I never knew what it meant until the DB2023 marathon. I can say truly and effortlessly that joy does prevail through the hard times, the good times, and the unsure times. I didn’t take the role of becoming a team captain to hold the power of leadership but I took the role to learn and experience from others. It is a different light in being in the position of team captain and it is one that will forever have an impact on my life. From the last hour of the marathon up until now, I will remain with a life altering experience that has forever changed me. The cold chills never stop when you’re in DanceBlue. I am indefinitely amazed by what this organization has done for not only the kids but the individuals who make it happen. To be a team captain means to learn the aspects of figuring it out and doing it with full force. I love my team and what they stand for. I love what they offer as humans and their hearts are too kind and I am grateful for the opportunity to experience this with them.
How have you encouraged your team to raise money and gain spirit points?
I have loved sharing my excitement with my team from my experiences with DanceBlue. Everyone’s experience is going to be different from the one I had and I can’t express to them enough how 24 hours have impacted my life so much. There hasn’t been one moment that I haven’t thought about those 24 hours and the people I spent it with to make it happen for the kids. I am always sharing the story of Jarrett Mynear’s final request in hopes they share it to others as well as the foundation of this journey. I send reminders in our Group Me to tell them how proud I am of them and how this wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for their hard work and efforts. Any resources I can give them I do! Constantly informing them and reminding them what they are doing It for. I praise all the hard work they put into fundraising and am open to any help they need or questions they have. These individuals keep me going and have been rocking it with raising money. I am always finding ways to keep them motivated and engaged in spreading the mission all around.
What is your favorite DB memory?
There are so many to choose from but I think my favorite memory is when we were performing the final line dance for the final hour and we all joined hand in hand, facing the crowd, facing the families, and then facing each other, and just breaking down in tears of joy. We are going to stand by you. Hugging one another, high-fiving one another, and telling one another just how much we love them. We then all fell to the floor in laughter and tears wishing for the next marathon to be here already. When you stand in unity, next to the people you adore and fight battles for, it’s a different kind of love and happiness that everyone should experience. Standing hand in hand brought us closer to each other than we could’ve ever imagined. During that time I thought about the trivia game, running up and down the ramp of memorial, the talent show that showed we had no idea what we were doing, the eating of fruit snacks to make sure we didn’t get our sugar too low, and the encouraging talks that our sleep cycles would reset every 90 minutes and our drowsy eyes would magically go away (by the way it really worked).
Why do you DanceBlue?
I DanceBlue to stand with the kids, their families, and the doctors and nurses that fight everyday until the battle is won. They will never go unnoticed. I DanceBlue to share a voice that needs to be heard and will make sure if it isn’t heard from them then it will always be heard from me. I want to heal the hearts and minds of those who have fought endlessly. To show them that we stand by them in every battle until the joy they so undoubtedly deserve prevails. I DanceBlue because no one will ever stand alone.