Out of all the extracurricular clubs on campus, Key Club is by far the largest. With the change in leadership this year, the new sponsors hope to keep up the momentum.The Colt sat down with sponsors Diana Gonzalez and Melanie Patterson to discuss their new roles and goals for the club.

 

The Colt: What is Key Club?

Diana Gonzalez: Key Club is a club dedicated to doing community service for children and education. It’s in charge of creating leaders of the world.

Melanie Patterson: Key Club is a volunteer service organization. Our main focus in to help the children of the community.

 

TC: What motivated you to take on the role of being a Key Club sponsor?

DG: The way it was brought up to my attention is thinking of it as doing God’s work, it’s just something you do out of your own time.

MP: The past sponsor, Jamie Johansson told me that we are doing the work of God, God’s work and that just touched my heart that we are going to help people who need help.

 

TC: What are you most looking forward to this year?

DG: I’m looking forward to learning more about Key Club, leadership and how I can help the members of Key Club become leaders of the world.

MP: Well I’ve heard all sorts of things about Pancake Day so there’s that.

 

TC: What are your goals for Key Club this year?

DG: My goal is to do as many community service hours as we can with the students and of course continue to grow the program.

MP: To get more member participation. We have a lot of members but many of them do not do Key Club events.

 

TC: What clubs or organizations do you you plan to work with this year?

DG: Anything that has to do with kids. Anywhere we can help kids or improve education.

MP: We already have plans to work with Green Oaks, that’s a school for students with Down Syndrome, [and] plans to work with Mission Arlington.

 

TC: Is there anything you would like to change or do differently with Key Club now that you’re one of the sponsors?

DG: Currently I just want the students to continue enjoy being members and continue to grow the program.

MP: Well I already changed the hours form to make it digital instead of paper so I hope students like that better. I also want more member participation.

 

TC: Has being a sponsor for Key Club had any effect on your day to day life?

DG: No we are just very very busy. We are busier than extra busy.

MP: Not every day but it does take a lot of time like during the weekends when we have events.

 

TC: How has sponsoring Key Club affected your perspective on the meaning of helping the community?

DG: It has definitely empowered me to want to do more and to just go out there and look for opportunities to do community service.

MP: I think that there’s always a need and that we can all help in some way it doesn’t matter your age or your income.

 

TC: Who should join Key Club? What makes a good Key Club kid?

DG: Anybody and everybody should join Key Club. We don’t tailor to any specific needs we just really want everyone to enjoy being part of a group.

MP: Key Club is for everyone because I think helping others should not be for a certain section of our population, anyone who has a caring heart or wants to help others [should join]. A lot of people probably don’t know they’d like Key Club unless they gave it a try.

 

TC: What are the requirements to be a member in good standing of Key Club?

DG: Doing community service hours and really just participating and committing. Whenever you say you’re gonna be somewhere, be there and be ready.

MP: So we are asking and would like to do 10 hours of service with Key Club sponsored events and then by the end of the year 50 hours in total.

 

TC: How can students benefit from joining?

DG: Students benefit in several different ways by joining Key Club it helps you be a part of your community, grow as a student, and to be a leader.

MP: The benefits are that you’re learning how to have a servant’s heart, you’re learning empathy and you can put you have done community service during your high school career.