Our Families
THE SMITH FAMILY
The Smiths are Atlas’ first adopted Four Diamonds family. Matt, Stephanie, and Victoria have been with us from the beginning! Matt and Steph are both Penn State alumni, and they live just outside State College, Pennsylvania. Deuce, their dog, becomes instant friends with all who come to visit! This past Christmas, the Smiths welcomed a new member to their family, a puppy named Ace! Atlas has been fortunate to be paired with the Smiths as our first THON family and to share their struggle and triumph.
After Victoria was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) in 2005, she began a long course of treatment. In 2005, the Smiths were not able to attend THON and watched it from the live-stream. In 2006, they attended their first in-person THON and have been there every year since. One of Victoria's favorite parts of THON weekend is participating in the fashion show!
Throughout the year, we participate in countless events with the Smiths, including large gatherings, such as the family picnic, the Homecoming parade, tailgates, the THON 5k, and other various State College events. Victoria has been involved with the area’s special Olympics and was very involved in her middle school’s Mini-THON where she served as an overall in 2017! We also frequently send members to visit and hang out with the Smiths and their dogs, Deuce and Ace, throughout the year.
Victoria is a healthy, strong, beautiful young woman. As of May 2024, she has been off treatment for 16 years! She has been enjoying time with her family and loves going to the bars now that she is 22, especially Pickles! You can probably find her changing her hair color or reading Harry Potter. Congratulations Victoria, we are so proud of you!
THE BROBSON FAMILY (LEGACY)
In 2008, Atlas adopted our second THON family, the Brobsons! On December 18th, 2007, Claire was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL). For the next 2 years, Claire went through various treatments to help rid her of her cancer.
During THON 2010, Claire became the first Four Diamonds child to actually finish treatment during THON weekend. The Brobsons, Atlas, and the rest of the THON community were very excited and Claire’s parents, Kevin and Lauren, spoke at Family Hour at the end of the weekend. In 2011, Claire was named “Girl of the Year” by The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Claire has two younger brothers Will and Gabe. When he was younger, Will loved history, running, Boy Scouts, and video games. He is currently in the Navy ROTC as a midshipman studying International Affairs at George Washington University. Gabe, a.k.a "Goober," loved baseball, soccer, was always ready for a sword fight when Atlas came around, and the occasional Frozen sing-a-long when he was younger. Gabe is entering his junior year of high school and plays defensive line on his school's football team, and is pursuing his passion for photography in his free time. Toby, the Brobsons’ lovable dog, entertains visitors with his high energy playfulness. Throughout the years, the Brobsons have attended many events with Atlas including hosting canning weekends, the THON 5k, the family picnic,and the Atlas' Hershey Park trip. As our legacy family, they are, on paper, not one of our THON families. However, that doesn't mean our relationship with the Brobsons has changed one bit.
THON 2024 marked Claire’s milestone of being 14 years cancer free and officially cured of cancer. Claire is now a beautiful young lady and has a true passion for art. She graduated from Seton Hill University in 2022 with a degree in art therapy! In her free time, Claire hangs out with her friends, loved performing in her school's plays, and enjoys all things Harry Potter. She and her family just recently added to their family with their new dog, Giget! She is engaged to fiancé, Nathaniel, and their wedding is set to be September 2024!
For the Brobsons’ full story, you can watch their original family videos here and here!
THE Gerena Family
Just days before THON 2012, Atlas was fortunate enough to be paired with yet another family, the Gerenas. Samantha and Mario (Macho) are the parents of 18 year old Amarie, who was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) on February 12, 2009. Amarie has two sisters; her twin Alexis and her younger sister Alivia. She also has a younger brother, Amarion.
The twins love listening to music and performing for our members whenever they can. During THON 2013, all three girls made an appearance on stage to sing Beauty And The Beat by Justin Bieber. In THON 2015, the girls returned to the stage and surprised THON when they rapped to Play It Again by Becky G. The girls returned to the THON stage in 2016 with a heartwarming performance of Fight Song. During THON 2020, the girls participated in the fashion show alongside a few Atlas members!
Throughout the years, the girls attend many events with Atlas including the family picnic, the family carnival, hosting us for past canning/canvassing weekends, going ice skating, Hershey Park trips, and their former tradition of Atlas birthday pool party!
Amarie is a strong, healthy, and beautiful 18 year old young lady. As of April 2024, she has been off treatment for 13 years and is now officially considered cancer free! She attended Senior Prom in May and graduated from high school in June 2024! Amarie is such a light and loves music, especially Billie Eilish. We love spending time with Amarie!
For the Gerenas’ full story, watch their family videos here and here!
THE norton family
In early October of 2015, Atlas was paired with another family, the Nortons! Samir was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) in 2012 and is in remission. In September of 2014, he received a bone marrow transplant. Samir has five older brothers and one younger sister: Rahim, Malik, Amir, Kevin, Kahlil, and Sumayah.
Shea, Samir’s mother, is super busy with six boys! The Nortons became familiar with THON when they attended THON hoops PSU basketball game in January of 2015. After attending THON hoops, they registered to become a Four Diamonds Family to become more active in the THON community.
THON 2016 was the Nortons’ first time attending THON. Samir got to experience more of THON by performing in the THON 2018 fashion show! We had so much fun at THON 2022 with Samir and his family! He had a water gun battle with our dancers, and it was so much fun.
Throughout the year, the Nortons attend many events with Atlas including THON hoops, family picnic, and our Hershey Park trip! Samir is a typical boy full of energy who loves video games. We are excited to watch him continue to grow as the Nortons continue to build upon their relationship with Atlas!
The Garcia-Ramos Family
In September of 2018, Atlas was fortunate enough to be paired with another family, the Garcia-Ramoses. Yisel and Elmer are the parents of 18 year old Anthony, who was diagnosed with Leukemia. Anthony has a younger sister Joeliz.
Anthony is an amazing young man who we are so lucky to get to know. He loves everything baseball, going to the beach, and traveling. We knew he was going to fit in great with Atlas when he said he loved eating food, as we host an Eating Contest every year! He is a huge Philly sports fan, and especially loves the Phillies. We can't wait to get to know Anthony better these next few years and support him through his cancer journey.
Anthony just recently had his first THON experience, and he loved it! In July of 2020, Anthony finished his treatment and is now considered cancer free. In 2023 Anthony graduated high school and got verified on Instagram! He now attends Central Penn College where he studies Sports Management and plays baseball. July 2024 marks Anthony’s fourth year cancer free!
The Schuster Family
In early April 2024, Atlas was lucky enough to be paired with our sixth family, the Schusters! JoAnna and Brian are parents to 5 year old daughter Isabel and 3 year old sister Juliet. Isabel was diagnosed with B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in June 2023. She has been responding well to treatments and will be undergoing her maintenance phase until August 2025.
The girls are full of energy and keep their parents busy! Isabel takes horseback riding lessons and swim lessons. She is also a big Taylor Swift fan! Her favorite songs are The Man and Shake It Off. Our executive board took a trip to visit the Schusters in May 2024 and everyone had a blast! The girls kept asking when their new friends were going to come back! The Schusters also have 2 dogs, Bean and Nashville, as well as some guinea pigs to keep the girls entertained.
The Schusters are super excited to be part of Atlas and get more involved! Atlas can’t wait to get to know them better and strengthen our relationship over time. Even through treatment, Isabel gets more and more energy every day!
Check out this article to see how the community came out to support Isabel at the start of her treatment!
FOR MORE THON FAMILY STORIES: CLICK HERE
