Jesse King is the Face of CV Mini-THON
Sidney Krebs
Staff Writer
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Jesse King is a 22 year old who was diagnosed with non-hodgkin's lymphoma in march of 2021. He graduated from Cumberland Valley in 2019. Sam Krebs, a high school friend of his, described King as, “happy, upbeat, and always had a smile on his face.”

Jesse King attended Penn State, the college he dreamed of going to ever since he was a young kid. Both of his parents attended the university which is one of the reasons he wished to go there, as well as his continuous passion for their sports teams, especially football.

Once he started at Penn State in August of 2019, he joined the Club Volleyball Team where he was able to further his athletic, competitive pursuits while forming lifelong friendships with his teammates. This team became his family. When Jesse was a sophomore, he became the primary THON chair for the Club Volleyball Team. He was able to support his teammates while they danced virtually due to covid in Spring of 2021. Jesse was constantly there for all of his friends and family, and this was a huge help for his teammates while they danced for 46 hours.

Both of Jesse’s parents are familiar with THON, as they are both Penn State alumni and his mother, Wendy King danced in 1986. Little did they know how much this would foreshadow their future life.

A short two weeks later he went home for a routine check up where we later found out he has had a large mass in his chest for a while. During this check up, he went into cardiac arrest and was life lined to Hershey Med. Jesse is still fighting his battle today since he has been diagnosed. At one moment of his life, he was raising money for Four Diamonds families battling their fight of pediatric cancer, and now he is a Four Damonds child paired with the Club Volleyball Team.

The King family has been shown an enormous amount of support since this occurred. His warrior kingdom will forever be there for him and his family. The King family was able to share Jesse’s story this year at Penn State THON 2023, and will be attending Cumberland Valley Mini- THON. This family has not seen a medical bill in two years. He has been going to several different therapies to restimulate his brain and get him back to the Jesse he once was.

“When I look at Jesse and his journey, courage and strength are probably the best two of the four pillars [of Four Diamonds] to describe Jesse,” his mother said.

Wendy thanked everyone for all of their support. “Though fatigue can set in, we continue to fight the battle together until one day, we can dance together in celebration of a cure,” she said. “We say thank you for all your perseverance, fortitude, sacrifices, and your love.”