by: Carly Chaput
Having entered Key Club towards the end of my freshmen year, after hearing they were having a pizza party after school, I quickly got caught up in the awesome excitement of service and helping others. During my time in Key Club I served as my club's bulletin editor, president and finally Lieutenant Governor of Division 1 in the Wisconsin-Upper Michigan District. In this position I learned more than I ever thought I would. I learned things that I didn’t know I needed to know. Not only did I learn how to spell 'lieutenant', but I learned public speaking skills, how to be a servant leader and how to sleep anywhere for any amount of time (because sometimes the friendships you are making are more important than sleep.) I bring up sleep because convention time is a time for new friends, new experiences, and not sleep.
International Convention offers young people incredible opportunities that are difficult to find anywhere else. For those who run for a position on the international board, public speaking skills, leadership skills, and even business skills are gained. It’s also not a very regular thing for young people to be meeting peers from around the world, but that is one of the best parts about international convention. Coming from a town of about 2,500 in Wisconsin, it’s quite a treat to be meeting people from the capital area, Jamaica, Canada, and California (just to name a few). It’s crazy how much you have in common with your peers from around the world. Each person has a unique Key Club experience and story. And when we all get together, a lot of sharing takes place.
Things that Key Clubbers love to share are of course their best and most successful service/fundraising projects and ideas. As students, we are sometimes presented with project ideas that seem a little “out-there” but when we get to speak with our peers who might have had a similar project, we can easily figure out what to do and what not to do. We share things that work, and things that REALLY work, and ultimately change each other’s lives. Key Club’s international convention is a massive group of our generation’s movers and shakers networking and supporting each other so that we really can change the world.
After just a few hours with a Key Clubber, it’s easy to tell that this world is going to be in really good hands.
