Miss our earlier post on the Golden Key AXON 2012 project? Click here for Part 1 and here for Part 2. Guest Blog from Thuy Anh, Ngo: Personal Reflection continued Last week I talked about the planning that went into Golden Key AXON 2012. After […]
Miss our earlier post on the Golden Key AXON 2012 project? Click here for Part 1. Guest Blog from Thuy Anh, Ngo: Personal Reflection Planning of Golden Key AXON 2012 started in mid 2011. Our team started by researching how public high schools and universities […]
Collaboration between Golden Key chapter leaders at Trinity University in Texas and RMIT satellite campus in Vietnam formed Golden Key AXON 2012– an initiative to introduce and promote service learning in Vietnamese schools. It started with a two-day conference in which high school students brainstormed ideas for their service projects and learned how to plan and implement these ideas. Following the conference, all student groups had one month to execute their projects with the support of college students.
The first day of the conference started with an opening ceremony that introduced everyone to service learning. Group activities and team building exercises followed. Then, groups picked one of four pressing social issues to discuss. Students first brainstormed independently on the causes of the problem. This independent thinking allowed students to pull together their knowledge and their personal opinions before discussing with the group where they consolidated their ideas and learned from one another. In the afternoon, guest speakers, including people in non-profit organization and professors, held seminars on environment, education, healthcare and nutrition, lifestyle, vulnerable people (people with disabilities and the less fortunate) and HIV. Everyone then gathered for a seminar on group dynamics. Using the D.I.S.C. personality assessment, the speaker helped students identify their personalities, which helped the students prepare to face the diversity in their group and to respect one another so that they could collaborate effectively as a team. During the last half an hour, students discussed within their groups to come up with project ideas that the group would like to further pursue.
The second day of the conference focused on equipping the students with the tools they needed to plan and execute their projects. There were workshops on project planning, project management and fundraising. The students worked throughout the day to finalize their project plan. Then, each group of students presented how they planned to accomplish their desired service objectives. The experts gave comments and ideas for improvements, so that their implementation would be the most successful. The day concluded with six project proposals ready to be implemented in the subsequent month. 
During that month, the Golden Key AXON 2012 team held several meetings with each group’s leaders to discuss any problems that had arisen and to brainstorm solutions accordingly. They also attended their meetings to see how they worked together to later help them reflect on their teamwork experiences. The goal was to help the student groups deal with challenges and internal conflicts to successfully launch their projects.
The six projects made huge impacts on the community. At the end of this one-month period, all the students and mentors gathered at the Closing Banquet to present what actually happened with their projects, how they made an impact and what they learned.
Read a personal reflection from the Golden Key AXON 2012 project leader, Thuy Anh, Ngo in part 2 of our series.
At Golden Key, we value our Advisors and all they do to ensure our chapters succeed. These hardworking university faculty, staff and administrators volunteer their time to help Golden Key develop and maintain high standards of education. In order to show our appreciation, we’ve decided to […]
Make A Difference Day will be on Saturday, October 27, 2012. For more than twenty years, USA WEEKEND and HandsOn Network have partnered to sponsor Make A Difference Day, the nation’s largest day of volunteering. Make A Difference Day brings millions of people together in a […]
Golden Key International Honour Society is known for its support of international collaboration opportunities that enable members to unlock their potential. These efforts have consistently combined academic programs, leadership and networking events and service projects to impact the personal and professional development of those involved around the world.
An example of these collaborative efforts was demonstrated in 2010 when Golden Key members attended Golden Key’s 2010 International Summit in Arizona. There, Golden Key members from the University of Windsor networked with students from the University of Cape Town and conceptualized an idea to partner on. The result is an international non-profit called Golden Future that is making a tremendous impact promoting entrepreneurship and self-sustainability and creating awareness of government initiatives and business laws. If you’re interested in learning more about this organization and it’s mission, please visit www.goldenfuture.ca.
Golden Key strives to assist in taking a student’s passion for success and turning that into the achievement of their goals. Every year, thousands of Golden Key chapter leaders will conceptualize ideas for chapter events and service projects, design a plan for successful implementation and then put it into action. Periodically, these chapter events will involve the collaboration of multiple Golden Key chapters across different countries and continents in order to make an impact on a community of people. It is the power of a real global network of driven, successful and intelligent college students at work. This is what members in the world’s largest honor society are capable of doing.
The student leaders of the Golden Key chapter at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas partnered with the Golden Key RMIT satellite campus chapter in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to form Golden Key AXON 2012. The mission of this project was to introduce the teaching strategy of service learning to high school students there. Service learning combines classroom instruction with community service with the intention of personal reflection and development. They wanted to connect the local community and inspire youth to take action for good causes. After several months of planning, Golden Key AXON 2012 was completed in June-August 2012.
Tune in next month for our three-part series on the Golden Key AXON 2012 project.
Congratulations to Ai Thien Tran, Winner of the Prestigious Canada’s Top 25 Immigrants Award 2012! Ai joined Golden Key at McGill University and was awarded the Golden Key Geico Life Scholarship in 2006. Here’s the story from CanadianImmigrant.ca: It was a long and arduous journey […]
At the 2012 International Summit, Golden Key announced the award winners for some of our highest honors. We also brought back the Key Chapter Award. The winners are listed below. Opening Session Spirit Award: US Region 3 Overall Spirit Award: US Region 3 International […]
Golden Key International Honour Society recently hosted its 29th International Summit July 26- 29, in Atlanta, Ga., on the campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology. Members from around the world, including South Africa, Canada, the United States, Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand and more, came together to participate in workshops, network and make connections with other members, and learn valuable information to bring back to their chapters. Summit brought together a diverse group of ambitious, scholarly college students and advisors who are like-minded in their goals yet varied in their perspectives and experiences.
Thursday, July 26, began with meetings of our leadership (Board of Directors, International Leadership Council, Council of Advisors and Council of Student Members). Attendees arrived throughout the day and spent time exploring the campus. Summit kicked off in the evening with Opening Session where everyone was welcomed by a drum line performance to get the energy rolling.
Executive Director Brad Rainey opened the session by welcoming attendees and played a new video to introduce our new “Stand Out, Stand Up, and Stand Together” campaign. 
The video is aimed at encouraging and motivating members to stand up for causes they believe in and make a difference in the world. Next came the spirit competitions. Each region cheered and chanted… the enthusiasm was contagious!
To close the Opening Session, our keynote speaker Haley Kilpatrick addressed the crowd. Haley is the founder and Executive Director of Girl Talk, a nonprofit where high school girls mentor middle school girls. Following the Opening Session, there was a Networking Reception where delegates got to eat and mingle.
The second day of Summit was filled with workshops. In all, 30 different workshops were presented by different speakers with a large variety of topics, such as how to become a successful leader, landing a job in a tough economy, networking, team building, community service involvement, interviewing skills, financial smarts and more. When asked what their favorite workshop was, attendees answered varied. Rebecca Woestman said that she attended “three amazing workshops! It is a close competition but my favorite was given by our University of Hawaii Manoa chapter- showing me how to create a values-centered chapter.” Some responses from other attendees were: Kathy Augustine enjoyed the H.E.R.O. workshop that taught leadership skills and had an indoor obstacle course; Eddie Lawando thought Budgeting for Success: Tips for Being a Successful Chapter Treasurer presented by BillHighway was extremely helpful; and Amanda Lewandowski thought “the ladies at FIU were so helpful and had amazing ideas” at the New Member Recruitment workshop.
From 10am-4pm there was an EXPO/ Career Fair and an interactive marketplace. In the marketplace, there was an OMG Photo Booth, students danced with the Dance Central video game, created coloring books for patients at a children’s hospital, and more! During EXPO students were able to network with GEICO, The Princeton Review, Better World Books, G Adventures, Robert Half International, Grant Thorton International Ltd, Shopraising Mall, BOFI Federal Bank, Georgia State University Robinson College of Business, The PhD Project, GMAT and the International Scholar Laureate Program.
After all the workshops and EXPO were over, students were given free time to explore Atlanta or participate in bowling and other fun activities set up on campus. Advisors attended their Town Hall, followed by an enjoyable Advisor VIP Reception at the Academy of Medicine… the advisors even broke out in song!
Saturday began with our Global Stand service projects sponsored by GEICO in the refugee community of Clarkston, Ga. Golden Key partnered with Project Live Love to host a variety of service projects such as delivering groceries, painting at the International Bible Church, planting at the Jolly Avenue Community Gardens, hosting a kids’ carnival and block party and more. Golden Key would like to thank our individual donors and GEICO for their support with the service projects.
After the service projects lunch was served and then attendees went straight into their regional meetings. Associate Directors from each region covered important business details for the coming year including chapter standards, budgeting and more.
To wrap up the Summit, Golden Key hosted the International Gala and Awards at the beautiful Georgia Aquarium Saturday night. Amidst the picturesque setting of whales and creatures swimming by, a wonderful dinner was served, Key Chapter Awards were handed out and many notable people were recognized.
To close it all off, our keynote speaker, Kyle Maynard, addressed the crowd. Kyle is a motivational speaker, author, entrepreneur and athlete. He was born with a congenital condition that caused his arms to end at the elbows and legs near the knees. Despite his disability, Kyle is a champion wrestler, weight lifter and recently became the first man to crawl on his own to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa. His speech was moving, inspirational and overall the perfect way to end such an extraordinary event.
Golden Key would like to thank everyone that attended and helped out at the 2012 International Summit. Visit our Facebook page to view more photos.
We have another new employee for you all to meet. It’s Mel, the Associate Director of US Region 9. Get to know her better with her Q&A below. Where are you from/ where did you […]
GK SCHOLARSHIPS: Ather Sharif
GK Scholarships: Logan Thornton