2023-2024 Spring Newsletter by CSULB Circle K International

ENVISI CSULB Circle K International

Volume IX. Issue I. Spring

Table of Contents

SERVICE...............10 LEADERSHIP.........16 FELLOWSHIP........26

spring 2023

Club Totals SERVICE: 264.5 HOURS LEADERSHIP: 1115.0 HOURS FELLOWSHIP: 1852 HOURS

CKI PLEDGE “I pledge to uphold the Object of Circle K International, to foster compassion and goodwill toward others through service and leadership, to develop my abilities and the abilities of all people and to dedicate myself to the realization of humanity’s potential.”

EDITOR letter from the

Hi everyone! Welcome to the first newsletter of the 2023-2024 term!

Thank you for taking your time to read and explore what we’ve done in the first half of 2023. We have put in a lot of time and effort in making this newsletter and we would like to thank everyone who helped us put this together, including those who submitted an article or two! We hope you can use this newsletter as a reflection on the last few months of the previous term and look forward to the beginnings of a bright new term. The new theme for this exciting term is “Medieval” with the tagline “Serving with Honor.” We hope you are excited as we are and we cannot wait to see you at our upcoming general meetings and events!

~Newsletter crew <3

Steven Ly

Graphics Chair

Cory Bulman Historian

Edward Garcia Newsletter Chair

06 letter from the outgoing

PRESIDENT Hello Hello CSULB CKI!

I can’t believe that our term has come to an end. Thank you for believing in my and my board in leading our club this year and coming out to all of our events. This was a year of firsts in bringing back many events in-person in this post-pandemic era. From NMI to Famlympics, and Awakeathon and Banquet, and even adding a new event of Open Mic Night ft. Hot Cocoa Convos, we hoped everyone had a great time and fun during this past term.

As we pass it on to the next board, I hope you will all continue to come out to events and support our club. And to our graduating seniors, I wish you the best of luck on your journey after CKI and college and always know that there is a family here if you ever want to visit. Thank you for the best term I could ask for as a President and I cannot wait to see what the next term and board has in store.

Signing off, Edward Garcia 2022-2023 President

PRESIDENT letter from the ongoing

Hello, everyone!

I’m Nin Muny and I am honored to serve as your president for the 2023-2024 term. Having previously served on the board, I’m thrilled for what is to come. This term, I’m eager to reintroduce some of our fan-favorite events while also adding fresh, innovative ones to the mix.

With my third year at CKI, I’m excited to continue to make new connections and friends. I hope that new members can find their CKI moment and that returning members continue to create their CKI memories. I am confident that this year will be a memorable one!

-Nin Muny 2023-2024 President

Executiv

Nin Muny President

Sarah Maver

Vice-President of Administration

Fatim

Vice-Presid

Appoint

Fundraising Chair

Steven Ly

Graphics Chair

Corey

Leah Johnson

Shayla Coutino

LeA

Kade Wu

Recognition & Retention Chair Service Projects Chair

Histor

Special E

ve Board

ma Cruz

dent of Service

Taylor Girard Secretary

Patrick Ambulo Treasurer

ted Board

y Bulman

Maxime Segui

Marilyn Nguyen

rian Chair

Kiwanis Family Chair

Public Relations Chair

Anh Ly

Bin Pham

Jason Marquez

Events Chair

Spirit & Social Chair

Technology Chair

SERV SERV SERV

VICE VICE VICE

csulb x ucla

BEACH CLEAN-UP Beach clean ups are always a fun way to get out and do some service! This beach clean up was an interclub with UCLA from our division so it was fun meeting up and getting to know them more. We met at manhattan beach and started with an icebreaker to get to know one another. Then we split into smaller groups and spread out amongst the beach and started cleaning. We brought gloves, trashbags, and trash picker uppers to clean the beach. We walked along the beach with our feet in the sand and wind in our hair for about an hour and a half picking up trash. It was a memorable event spending time at the sunny beach with fellow members and friends. -Leah Johnson

csulb x ucsd

SERVICE MARATHON The UCSD x CSULB service marathon was the first service marathon and interclub event of the term. The service marathon took place during the spring with various service events offered! The theme was Earth day, so the service events consisted of different activities that positively impacted the environment. We decorated reusable tote bags, which we also packed with planting materials that were donated to local community centers. The planting material baggies were also created by us, with a positive note tied to it! We then ended the day by taking a hike near a local beach in which the distance walked contributed to donating to charities through an app called Charity Miles. -Fatima Cruz

Table Top Service At least once a week, CKI hosts a tabletop service event. Usually at the library basement. Some events that were held this term were card making, care kits, dog toys, crane making, color a smile, and bag making. Tabletops are meant to be tasks that are fun and easy to complete. Since tabletops are held on campus, it is easier for us to get in touch with our creative side! Out of all the tabletops, my favorite one has to be birthday card making. We’ve done this a few times throughout the school year and it’s really fun to create a card. Each card is special. They all have their own theme and some of the puns are endearing to read! The most memorable ones I’ve made were of this bear/dog creature card and a Shrek-themed birthday card. Card making is also great because we get to see other member’s cards as well. It’s really enjoyable to flip through the cards and see everyone’s creativity let loose. I hope the kids that receive them love them. We mail our cards to Cards for Hospitalized Kids and they are distributed to children’s hospitals and Ronald McDonald Houses afterwards. As the Service Projects Chair, I would like to say thank you to everyone who comes to the tabletops! We appreciate you coming out to volunteer <3. -Shayla Coutino

online

SERVICE

Over spring we continued to hold a variety of online service events which are accessible to general members. My personal favorite is FreeRice, where you answer trivia questions from one of the categories to help donate rice to World Food Programme. You either get to learn something new or get a refresher on information you might not have thought about in some time. BeanBeanBean and Unicef have similar premises but have fewer categories to test your knowledge with. 7 Cups trains you how to be a better listener, and you get to provide a safe space for people to talk to online. For all these different service events we sit in a zoom call together to keep each other company, and keep a fun atmosphere typically with some music playing. -Sarah Maver

LEADER LEADER LEADER

RSHIP RSHIP RSHIP

Spring Week of Welcome

Week of Welcome is a great way to show off our club to new potential members. Our booth had great foot traffic and we had some really nice decorations like the shield and flowers. We had our scrapbooks on for display so they can see what fun events the club did in the past. To each person that came to our booth, we explained what CKI was and the three tenets: service, leadership, and fellowship. Because of this event, we were able to have many people join our club. -Patrick Ambulo

General Meetings Spring General Meetings are such a blast! At the hall of science, we got to see what events are happening in the club, seeing club totals and just catching up with general members. It was so great seeing all the returning and potential new members come out every week and spend time with us. I loved all the ice breakers such as the power rangers game. I also love tea time with Chanel where we got to hear about everyone’s day and their highs and lows. During this semester I got to retire from hosting general meetings to watching the new board take over meetings. -Koby Wu

spring week of

AWESOMENESS During the beginning of the Spring Semester, we initiated new members and got to know returning members better during our Week of Awesomeness events. Throughout the week, we held an event each day for members to attend. We kicked off the week with a crafts event known as Scrapathon on Monday. During the afternoon into the early evening, we assembled photos from earlier term events into scrapbooks. This provided a beautiful opportunity for returning members to reflect on past experiences, while new and prospective members gained insight into the club’s activities. On Tuesday, we gathered in the library basement to repurpose old t-shirts into strips and braid them into dog toys for local animal shelters. Wednesday brought us together for a general meeting followed by a game night filled with laughter and friendly competition. Thursday featured an interclub event between CKI and APO, a service fraternity on campus, where we made blankets for Project Linus in our pajamas. Friday was dedicated to attending the school volleyball game against UCLA. On Friday, we attended the school volleyball game against UCLA, and Saturday brought us together with UCSD for a beach cleanup in Huntington. -Sarah Maver

DCON

About 20 members attended the 2023 Cal-Nev-Ha District Convention in Riverside on March 24-26. Here, members took part in leadership and professional development workshops, networked with other CNH members, and voted on the next district executives in the house of delegates. As well, our club took home some awards including distinguished officers, 1st place scrapbook and media, and our 3-PEAT outstanding website award. The weekend was jam packed with activities as members bonded and ended the term. It was a fun and busy weekend spending time with our members and getting to know other members across the district. -Edward Garcia

CLUB ELECTIONS

Club Elections are where our club votes on our e-board for next term. Running for Secretary at this election, it is definitely an event I will never forget. It was really nice to hear the other candidates’ speeches and make my vote for each position. All of our elections previously had been online, so it was interesting to finally see it all play out in person. Giving the speech and answering questions myself was nerve-wracking, but I felt really proud of myself and supported by everyone in the room. I am so grateful that I was elected Secretary that night and am able to serve with my awesome board this term! -Taylor Girard

Conversation Corners

I had the privilege of being a member of the 2022-2023 Mental Impact Team, an impact team that was led by our wonderful VPS, Kristen Van Wagoner, and our dedicated Service Projects Chair, Leah Johnson. One of our noteworthy initiatives was bringing back Conversation Corners, an event designed to cultivate a safe space where individuals could openly express their thoughts, experiences, and emotions on different mental health topics, including but not limited to burnout, peer pressure, social anxiety, FOMO, and more. We sat around in a circle and provided snacks for our members as we went around and shared our thoughts and experiences on the topics that were chosen for that conversation. Engaging in Conversation Corners was a profound experience for me. It allowed me to share my personal experiences and connect with others on a deeper level. Conversation Corners provided a unique opportunity for individuals to have the space to share their experiences and forge meaningful connections with others. One of our goals was to remove some of the stigma surrounding mental health. By fostering an environment where people could authentically express themselves, we aimed to remind everyone that you never truly know what someone is going through, but that they do have people in CKI who support them and care for them. -Nin Muny

FELLOW FELLOW FELLOW

WSHIP WSHIP WSHIP

Fam-Lympics

For Fam-lympics we held a fun, friendly competition at a local park, transforming it into a festive battleground where three families battled for supremacy and bragging rights! There was lots of good food during the potluck picnic such as lumpia, donuts, fruits, and more. The games were super competitive with varying games such as looking for the chair while being blindfolded, a suspenseful challenge of how much flour we could successfully get into a bucket at the end of the line while blindfolded, and so much more! The competitiveness reached new heights, fueling all three families to go for glory. If you’re looking for an event that not only promises a good time but also strengthens your bonds with your family, then I would really recommend this event for those out of spirit to those of you who would like to represent your families :) -Steven Ly

PIE FUNDRAISER Our first in-person Fam-Lympics in years was accompanied by our club’s annual Pie Fundraiser, a favorite fundraiser for many of our club members. Through this event, members and alumni had the opportunity to pie the board members and family heads who served the 2022-2023 term. Those who chose to participate were able to purchase their “pies,” as well as toppings for an additional charge, and some members even went as far as buying a whole can of whipped cream. Having been a board member myself, it was an experience I would have never imagined myself being a part of had I not been in the club. As Treasurer, I helped organize the fundraiser, and while I was initially nervous as to whether it would be successful, the event ended up being a big hit. As a matter of fact, this event was one of the club’s highest-earning fundraisers of the term. Because all the members greatly anticipated the event from the very start of the term, everyone had a lot of fun when it came to the day of. I’ll always remember this day fondly, and I look forward to next term’s Pie Fundraiser! -Julianna De Joya

ASSOXINATION

Assoxination is a great event for family competition and constant paranoia. Armed with a sock, we are able to take out members of other families by taking pictures of them, so long as they are not carrying the increasingly difficult to obtain safety items. While I do not consider myself a super competitive person, I thoroughly enjoyed watching everyone battle it out for weeks and occasionally seizing an opportunity to take out an opponent. The added immunity and revival challenges added extra spice to the competition and kept everyone on their toes. Although I do not miss having to look over my shoulder constantly, I will always cherish the goofy antics everyone gets up to in this competition. -Taylor Girard

Pick-Up Picnic

New Member Induction is a favorite event for many of our club members, one of the reasons being that it includes the reveals for our mentors and mentees. For years, the club members who joined in the Spring did not have an equivalent event where they could discover their respective mentors and/or mentees in a fun way. That changed with the introduction of Pick-Up Picnic, an idea spurred on by our Vice President of Administration at the time, Chanel Cao, and executed by our Member Recognition and Retention and Member Development and Education Chairs, Britney Mi and Elaine Vuong. Through this first Pick-Up Picnic, Britney and Elaine organized a game where all of the members who signed up for Spring Mentor/Mentee pairings were matched through similar phrases, much like how we would normally be paired for NMI. Of course, this event was not exclusively for people who signed up for a pairing. It was also an event for members to simply eat and hangout together as a way to destress from school activities. All in all, it was a great event that I hope continues to be a tradition for CSULB’s CKI. -Julianna De Joya

Club End of the Year Banquet

The End of the Year Banquet was an unforgettable event, marking both the conclusion of my tenure as Special Events Chair and the beginning of my journey as President. Stepping up to deliver the closing speech was a mix of nerves and excitement. Held at El Dorado Country Club, our “One Last Flight” theme, handpicked by the Executive Board was one I’ll never forget as we celebrated many individuals that night from general members to board officers. Seeing alumni in attendance filled me with joy, serving as a reminder of the rich legacy that makes CKI truly special to me. Reflecting on my journey from a general member to an appointed board officer and now President, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe and gratitude especially for all those who have helped me be here. The entertainment provided by each group added an extra layer of magic to the night, captivating us all with their performances and infusing the atmosphere with infectious energy. Truly, it was an evening filled with laughter, reminiscence, and anticipation for the bright future ahead. -Nin Muny

open mic night ft.

HOT COCOA CONVOS Hosting Open Mic Night and Hot Cocoa Convos was a first for the committee. The idea stemmed from the members’ desire to host an event where people could not only showcase their talents, but also have the opportunity to talk and bond with other members in the club. Through the meticulous preparation led by our Spirit & Social Chair, Justin Bautista, Open Mic Night and Hot Cocoa Convos would become an event that many members, including myself, would hold close to their heart. It was a packed house, with several members signing up to perform, showcasing their talents in singing, dancing, nail art, and more. Everyone was dressed to the nines, so between acts, members had the opportunity to take pictures at the photobooth the Fellowship Committee had created. As performances came to an end, Hot Cocoa Convos commenced, where people were put into groups and answered “We’re Not Really Strangers”-esque questions. In doing so, everyone got the chance to grow closer to and discover new things about their fellow members. It was a heartwarming and fun-filled night, one that I would love to see become a club tradition moving forward. -Julianna De Joya

Brain Gains

What can I say about Brain Gains? Was it an excuse to hang out with more friends? Was it an excuse to force people to study with me? Was it a ploy to get people to bring food to those who were studying their butts off in the basement of the Library? Was it all of the above? Definitely. Brain Gains started as a leadership event that our E-Board wanted to host as a way to promote healthy study habits for our members. We wanted to emphasize the benefits and fun that can come with studying with peers. Allowing our members to forge their own friendships within the club and outside their class times was a sure way for them to fully experience the fellowship at its peak. Studying with so many others late into the night are memories that I cherish. From wrangling all of them to actually studying to me giving up and having a two hour long tea session with them, and An’s unforgettable “Would you rather?” questions, Brain Gains was an event I loved to host and would hands down say was one of my favorite events too. -Chanel Cao

ultimate last man

STANDING

Last Man Standing is an event that CSULB CKI holds every semester during finals week. During Last Man Standing, members have the opportunity to study together, either on campus or online via Discord. This event was created as a way for members to support each other during such a stressful time. It also created an environment where our members could study more easily, as campus gets busier and it can become difficult to find a place to focus during this time period. Of course, aside from studying, our members find time to take breaks in between to check out the many free resources that our campus provides. For example, many times as a club, we’d take breaks to seek out the free food that the school generously provides to all the students. It’s truly a great event and I’m grateful to the club for continuing to hold it every year. -Julianna De Joya

EOTY Beach Bonfire

Beach Bonfire is one of our member’s favorite event! It is a time to destress from school work and just play around at the beach. The sand between our toes and the wind going through our hair. Jk it was really cold. We went to Huntington Beach to play a bunch of bonding games and sports. My favorite is building sand castles and competing against other teams. My team made a big sand castle! After we made gooey smores and sang around the firepit. It is such a fun event to bond with our members and enjoy the beautiful outdoors. -Koby Wu

july

CALENDAR S M T W T F S 1

13 10

20 17

27 24

Round1 Interclub with CSUF @ 3pm

LB Kiwanis Meeting @ 12pm

Summer Slay Service Marathon @ 6pm

Summer GM #2 @ 5pm

FreeRice Challenge Round @ 6pm

Lydia House @ 5pm

Credits

Chanel Cao, Edward Garcia, Fatima Cruz, Julianna De Joya, Koby Wu, Leah Johnson, Nin Muny, Patrick Ambulo, Sarah Maver, Shayla Coutino, Steven Ly, Taylor Girard

Thank you to everyone who sent in a submisssion. If you would like to send in a submission for the next newsletter, please let us know. We encourage anyone to send in a submission.

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Contact Information GRAPHICS CHAIR: STEVEN LY csulbckigraphics@gmail.com

HISTORIAN: CORY BULMAN

csulbcki.historiancinema@gmail.com

NEWSLETTER CHAIR: EDWARD GARCIA eygarcia11@gmail.com