Key Club is one of the largest clubs at South Salem High School, with over 50 members. It is a service and volunteer based organization that gives students chances to serve their communities and others.
“Key Club is a student-led organization with the goal to make the world a better place through volunteer work. We find and create opportunities for students to help make their community better,” Vivian Nguyen ‘27 said.
The club’s benefit is not only seen through surrounding communities but also the South community.
“We help South because we work together to make the school more welcoming and inclusive. For example, we have our tradition of our John Piper Day where we rake the neighborhood’s lawns,” Nguyen said.
As the year gets closer to its end, key club is hosting elections for next year’s officers. This year, physical applications need to be turned in to Mrs. Gosney by March 10, and following that is the online application deadline of March 13. From presidential roles to social media, Key Club offers a range of positions.
President
The current Key Club President is Vivian Nguyen, a junior at South. She has been the president for the past year, and is planning on running again. As the president, a lot of work goes into making sure the club is run smoothly.
“There is quite a lot of effort. It’s important that you can take responsibility and charge, but it’s also important that you can act as a team member and work with others,” Nguyen said.
Along with the work she puts into the club, as president, she has to attend President Council Meetings (PCM) and District Council Meetings (DCM) to add insight into the logistics of the club. She has learned many life skills she can apply later in life through Key Club.
“Organization and learning how to handle responsibilities was a skill that I learned. It’s also important that you can learn and adapt to roadblocks in the way,” Nguyen said.
Key Club meetings are run by both the president and vice president of the club, and feature volunteering opportunities for club members.
“I act as an overseer to the club and make sure operations are running smoothly. This can go with meetings, volunteer events, district responsibilities, but also team relations. With meetings, we always run our meetings by google slideshow. As leadership, we take turns with adding opportunities in, and occasionally we hold activities to do,” Nguyen said.
Through this year, Nguyen has learned a lot through her leadership role and plans to continue learning, regardless of the outcome of the election.
“My advice for anyone applying for the position is to be able to adapt and learn. Make sure you have the capacity and time to pursue this role,” Nguyen said.
Vice President
Working alongside Nguyen as the Vice President is Tuesday Garrison ‘27. She has also been in office for a year, hoping to stay in office next year as well.
“I help make sure that everyone else is on track and if anyone needs help I try to answer their questions before our President Vi gets involved. I try to make everything efficient so no issues fall through the cracks. I also help make new volunteer opportunities and reach out to people within the school and our South community as a whole for volunteer opportunities, help that’s needed, or communicating Key Club events like John Piper day,” Garrison said.
Meetings can become a lot with so many members, but Garrison works with Nguyen to make them as enjoyable and informative as possible.
“Sometimes it is difficult to work with a lot of different people at the same time and keep things efficient and moving well, luckily I am pretty type A so I am able to sort things out in the end, especially with the help of my fellow officers,” Garrison said.
As the new year rolls around, and possibly new people, Garrison hopes to help wherever possible, including helping those applying for the Vice President position.
“Be prepared for the commitment. While it is very fun and fulfilling, it is also a time and energy and emailing commitment. I would also say you need to be willing and able to talk to anyone, as it is a part of the connection we need to make with fellow officers and community members,” Garrison said.
Secretary
Other leading positions include club secretary. For the past year, Key Club’s secretary has been Jaya Krishnamurthy ‘27, and she plans to continue in the role. Her many duties help keep the club organized and running well.
“My main responsibilities as the secretary are organizing files, keeping track of our members and taking meeting notes,” Krishnamurthy said.
A lot of the position involves keeping track of members, their dues, projects and services. She takes care of all photo submissions for proof of service from their members. But the service she does makes it worth it.
“My favorite thing about my position is working with my amazing team and helping people in need,” Krishnamurthy said.
As Key Club continues into the next year, positions may be overtaken by others, but the lessons learned will always be of benefit to Krishnamurthy.
“Advice I have for someone applying for my position is to stay on top of everything. Do not let anything be late,” Krishnamurthy said.
Treasurer
The current treasurer of Key Club is Audrey Walterscheid ‘27. She has also been in a position of power for a year, and has a lot of responsibilities.
“My main responsibilities are collecting dues and tracking down members to ensure they have paid. I also keep a record of purchases made by the club and money we have raised. Additionally, I input members into Kiwanis Edge and make sure that they are registered as official members of the club. All officers also attend officer meetings which are typically weekly and help out with events planned and hosted by the club,” Walterscheid said.
While the position is fun, there are also difficulties that come with it.
“The most difficult part of my role is inputting members into the database. It is very time consuming and tedious as it must be done many times. For example we had sixty nine official members this year, so I had to input their information that many times. Additionally, I would just say being so busy is challenging. Managing time and collaborating with the leadership team to determine when certain events take place is difficult scheduling wise,” Walterscheid said.
With the elections coming up, Walterscheid is ready to apply and continue as treasurer next year, with the hope that she wins.
“My advice for anyone applying for the treasurer position is to be organized. Being a treasurer involves keeping track of records, dues, and membership. It is important to be good at communication and to have consistency when performing duties,” Walterscheid said.
Editor
With other positions leading club meetings, the Editor, Hannah Al-Alayan ‘27 spreads the club’s outreach to the South community through social media, mainly Instagram.
“I absolutely love being the Editor for Key Club. I run the Instagram page and advertisements. I mainly rely on Canva to design things for both,” Al-Alayan said.
Designing and capturing Key Club to appeal to others is a main focus of Al-Alayan’s job, as well as making content, whether informative or funny, to increase the awareness of Key Club. As positions potentially change, Al-Alayan has learned things hopefully others can learn as well.
“My advice for anyone applying for my position is to post regularly, and often,” Al-Alayan said.
Webmaster
Key Club’s other online job is Webmaster. The position is currently held by Harper Jackman, a senior at South. With her graduating, she will not be running for next year. She has many duties, mainly working in support of informing the members.
“My main responsibilities include updating the Key Club Website and helping the president with the slides,” Jackman said.
With the transition of power, Jackman leaves South with many skills Key Club has given her.
“My advice to anyone applying for my position is play and mess around with all the tools on the website. There are some cool settings,” Jackman said.
