Throughout her high school career and even before that, Payton Shoenfelt had a passion for Mini-THON, an initiative that raises money for Four Diamonds to fight childhood cancer.

The recent Manheim Central High School graduate was recognized for her dedication at the Four Diamonds Mini-THON Leadership Summit held in Hershey in early August. She won an award from the Four Diamonds organization for honesty, one of the four pillars of the program. The Four Diamonds are courage, wisdom, honesty and strength.

"I was aware that I was nominated for an award, but it was a surprise hearing what award I ended up receiving," Payton said, noting that her Mini-THON adviser, Rebecca Stout, nominated her for the award. "There were a lot of amazing leaders up for these awards, so it was definitely an honor to be selected."

Stout nominated Payton for the award that recognizes students who act with integrity and purpose, knowing their "why" for participating in Mini-THON and sharing their intentions with transparency.

"It was definitely a surreal moment," Payton said of hearing her name called at the summit. "It felt like all of my hard work from the last five years was being recognized. Looking out and seeing all of the friends I have made in these past few years cheering me on was an amazing feeling."

In Manheim Central's Mini-THON program, Payton has held the titles of fundraising chair, junior overall chair and senior overall chair. She was also involved in the statewide Mini-THON Leadership Council for the past two years.

"Mini-THON is so important to me for so many reasons," she shared. "Helping those who are fighting pediatric cancer makes me feel like I am making a difference in these families' lives. Although it is not nearly enough, seeing the impact that Manheim Central and all other Mini-THONs make on these children's lives is incredible."

She added that Mini-THON was an important outlet for her throughout high school. "I had a lot of challenges to overcome throughout the last four years, but without fail, Mini-THON was always there reminding me why I should keep going," she said. "Despite challenges within the school to keep the Mini-THON program alive, we worked tirelessly for the next generation of students to enjoy this program as much as I did."

Mini-THON is an opportunity for students in kindergarten through 12th grade to experience philanthropy and support Four Diamonds. Mini-THON programs are modeled after the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon - or THON - a 46-hour dance marathon that is the largest student-run philanthropy program in the world. THON has raised more than $236 million for childhood cancer research and resources.

The Mini-THON Leadership Summit is an all-day event where Mini-THON leaders from across the state travel to network, learn and connect, Payton said. "The day is full of touching stories from families affected by pediatric cancer, learning about how to make our Mini-THON programs better and celebrating the impact we make," she explained. "Normally, Mini-THON advisers and their top student leaders attend this event."

At the summit, Payton received a glass engraved trophy, a 5-pound chocolate bar and a $500 donation in her name toward Manheim Central's Mini-THON program for this year.

Payton will attend Towson University this fall, and she plans to continue her dedication to the organization that played such a big part in her high school years.

"I will be majoring in mass communication in hopes that one day I can work for a nonprofit organization like Four Diamonds," she said.