Alumni Spotlight: Adam Shaffer

By: Ayaan Abbasi

Adam Shaffer still remembers his final IU Dance Marathon during his senior year at IU. 

After participating in the organization over his four years at IU, he finally got to witness the culmination of four years of hard work by spending moments with his close friends on the executive council.

Adam’s participation in dance marathon started during his time at Carmel High School, where he got to hear various stories from Riley Hospital for Children families. Coming to IU in 2010, he decided to join IU Dance Marathon following his experience in high school and through friends of his who had participated in different committees.

Throughout his time in IUDM, he participated as a dancer, a member of the Corporate Relations committee, a Gala Co-Chair on the Special Events committee, and finally, as the Vice President of Finance his senior year.

“I learned as much from my experience in IUDM as I did in most of my classes,” Adam says. While some of those skills learned include time management and public speaking, he also talked about the rewarding experience of seeing the families impacted by the money that IUDM raises and the friends that he made.

Adam’s time in IUDM also had a full-circle impact on his life. His oldest son was born 10 weeks premature and spent 71 days in the NICU, leading him to spend time with doctors at Riley Hospital for Children during the first year of his life.

Fortunately, his son is healthy today, and the experience has made him “all the more appreciative of the work they do at Riley [Hospital for Children],” saying that it “hits so much closer to home when it’s your own children.”

Following his time in IUDM, he has had the opportunity to speak at different high school dance marathons and still looks back on his time in IUDM, calling it “one of the most fulfilling things that I have done in my life.”