The next chapter we would like to highlight in our 2013-2014 Key Chapter Award blog series is Pace University- Pleasantville!
In April the Pace University- Pleasantville chapter created a Golden Key team to participate in Relay for Life, an event held by the American Cancer Society to raise money to go towards the fight against cancer. As a team, they created a “movie basket” to be auctioned off and sold baked goods to fund raise for the non-profit organization. Thousands of dollars were raised by the Pace community, and this event served as an excellent opportunity for the Golden Key chapter alumni and honorary members to get involved with the chapter. Later on that month, chapter members volunteered at the Food Bank for Westchester– the core of the county’s emergency food distribution network. They serve more than 265 local hunger-relief programs, including food pantries, child and adult-care centers, soup kitchens and shelters. Given that 95% of the food and groceries are taken home, chapter members volunteers by packing the food for distribution to those in need.
One of the Pace University- Pleasantville chapter’s larger events was their Global Youth Service Day event at the Pleasantville Cottage School. Home to more than one hundred children, this residential treatment center takes in children who suffer from emotional, psychological and physical problems as a result of their rough upbringing. The school creates support, structure and stability in these children’s lives– a luxury that many of these children might not have previously had. Each spring for the past nine years, the Pace University- Pleasantville Golden Key chapter has hosted an Easter Egg Hunt for the children, which includes getting the children involved in decorating the eggs, participating in an egg toss, meeting the Easter Bunny and taking part in the egg hunt. Chapter members are always inspired and excited to be a part of this incredible event, and it continues to be a success year after year!
Congratulations to the Pace University- Pleasantville chapter for being named a 2013-2014 Key Chapter Award winner!

The second chapter that we would like to recognize for being awarded the prestigious Key Chapter Award for the 2013-2014 academic year is the Ashford University chapter!
During the 2013-2014 academic year, the Golden Key chapter at Ashford University hosted numerous events that benefited members and their local community. One such event was the chapter’s Leadership Summit, which brought together more than 100 chapter members, prospective members, faculty, alumni and honorary members! Five of the professors gave interactive presentations on leadership practices, and three student organization presidents held Q&A sessions for those in attendance. The chapter also hosted, in conjunction with Career Services, mock interviews where local professionals in their community participated in practice job interviews and offered feedback for future interviews.
In the October of 2013, the Ashford University Golden Key chapter worked together with the Office of Service and Leadership (OSL) and the Student Government Association to host “Good Neighbor Day”, which was originally intended to be a day of cleaning up in the local community. The Ashford chapter wanted to participate in this event, but it was to take place on the same day as Make A Difference Day. To remedy the situation, the organizations agreed to collaborate and have a friendly challenge to see which organization could bring together the most volunteers. To bring people out, the chapter marketed the event on campus and in the residence halls by passing out flyers and creating awareness on campus. The Ashford chapter set a goal to attract 70 volunteers to participate in Good Neighbor Day/Make A Difference Day, and in the end, they brought together more than 100 volunteers!
Congratulations to the Ashford University for earning their first Key Chapter Award! We look forward to hearing about their success in the upcoming academic year!

Golden Key’s scholarship recipients embody the pillars for which Golden Key stands and we are delighted to assist them in making their dreams a reality. Succeeding in higher education and helping students reach their potential is at the core of Golden Key’s mission. We created the Undergraduate Achievement Scholarship to assist in the costs of higher education. This scholarship recognizes undergraduate members for outstanding commitment to the Golden Key pillars of academics, leadership and service. We are excited to announce the winners of the Fall 2013 scholarship, who are awarded $5,000 USD each.
The recipients (in no particular order) are:

• Christopher Gabbett, Ramapo College of New Jersey, United States
• Rachel Donohue-Miller, Brock University, Canada
• Ethan Bowering, Griffith University, Australia
• Lim Fang Xin, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia
• Stephanie Ibsen, Grant MacEwan University, Canada
• Samantha Jemiolo, State University of New York at Fredonia, United States
• Julia Konz, Griffith University, Australia
• Keiko Kang, California State University, Los Angeles, United States
• Kalisa Mora, University of Central Oklahoma, United States
• Maria Maldonado, Seton Hall University, United States
• Megan Bohlman, Kaplan University, United States
• Nenad Majumder, University of Windsor, Canada
• Sarah Armstrong, University of Saskatchewan, Canada
• Timothy Ng, The University of Waikato, New Zealand
• Zachariah Hethmon, The University of Tennessee, United States
• Anisha Gulati, University of Delhi – Indraprastha College for Women, India
• Irfaan Ganchi, University of Pretoria, South Africa
• Kaitlin Grunst, Arizona State University, United States
• Katrina Notarmaso, The College of New Jersey, United States
• Kristin McBride, University of Michigan-Flint, United States
• Lindsay Anderson, University of California, Riverside, United States
• Michelle Esterhuizen, Flinders University, Australia
• Nicole Kuharske-Miller, The University of Arizona, United States
• Orysya Svystun, University of Alberta, Canada
• Vihitha Thota, George Mason University, United States
• Zoleka Mkhabela, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Congratulations to the winners!

Here’s what a few of the winners had to say upon receiving the award…
“I am very honoured to have been selected as a winner of the Undergraduate Achievement Award this year. I am a firm believer in Golden Key’s three pillars of academics, leadership and service and receiving recognition for my efforts in promoting this philosophy makes me extremely proud – not only in my own efforts, but also that of our committee at Flinders University, South Australia. I hope that others will be able to follow in our committee’s footsteps and enjoy the successes that comes from hard work and dedication. As I will be graduating soon, I am saddened by the fact that I will be stepping away from my leadership role, however, I hope to continue to be a leader in the workforce and beyond. Receiving this award gives me confidence that I will be able to do so. I cannot thank Golden Key enough for the personal and professional development opportunities it has provided throughout my university career, which have contributed to making me the person I am today. My endless thanks to everyone who helped make that possible.”
-Michelle Esterhuizen
“I am extremely honored to have been chosen to receive the Golden Key Undergraduate Achievement Award.  I am from Orange County, California and am a fourth year History/Law and Society major at the University of California Riverside. This award will help me pay for my last quarter at UCR and will allow me to take a LSAT preparation course. I have been a member of Golden Key for three years and have served as the Public Relations chair and more recently as President of our chapter. I am incredibly thankful to be a member of Golden Key and truly believe in Golden Key’s three pillars. I am very grateful to my Golden Key Advisor, Emily Nudge, for encouraging me to apply and always believing in me. Thank you so much to Golden Key for this award!”
-Lindsay Anderson
“The news of being awarded the 2013 Undergraduate Achievement Scholarship Award by the Golden Key International Honour Society was received by my family, educators and I with immense elation and joy. I feel extremely privileged and honoured to have received this prestigious and generous accolade. Many thanks to the Golden Key International Honour Society for placing confidence in my academic abilities. I can assure this society that I will do the organization proud in my future academic pursuits as I aspire towards academic excellence. I would like to encourage my contemporaries to persevere in their endeavours and let us not but forget: A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step, in the right direction. On this noble journey, let us all display commendable humanitarian characteristics in the name of righteousness, as I believe the youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow.”
-Irfaan Ganchi
“When I found out that I was the winner of the 2013 Undergraduate Achievement Scholarship Award I was beyond excited; actually I am pretty sure I did a happy dance. I have had many obstacles to overcome during my undergraduate studies and receiving this scholarship was a perfect reward for so many late nights, countless hours of stress and tears, and persevering when all I wanted to do was give up. Winning this award gives me a sense of accomplishment and pride and also means that I will be able to pay off some of my student loans. It is great to be recognized for my hard work and dedication not only to my academics but also my service and leadership. My membership in MacEwan’s Golden Key Chapter has been very rewarding. For the 2012/2013 academic year I served on the executive of our chapter as the Honorary Member Liaison. I was also able to be the co-producer of the Family Literacy Carnival that our Golden Key Chapter organized to promote reading among families in the city of Edmonton as well as some other volunteer events.”
-Stephanie Isben