event recaps

A Utopia for Cats… and Humans.

Kitten Cuddling Jasmine Nguyen

This past month, I had the opportunity to attend a volunteering event at Mini Cat Town in Eastridge Mall. Having been to the mall in the past, I have often passed by this nonprofit cat shelter, where people often lined up and paid to enter and have some fun with the cats or look at them in the interest of adopting one of them. Yet, this is the first time that I entered the organization. I have worked with numerous cats in the past, and I love their personalities, so this event was perfect for me given my experience. Upon arriving at my shift, we were tasked with bringing the cats out to the front and cleaning their pens. Although somewhat laborious and tiring, this was good insight on how the shelter provided for and took care of the cats. Whereas I attended the morning shift, afternoon and closing shifts were also available, where each shift focuses on different tasks like checking health, weighing, and returning the cats to their pens. I also really enjoyed meeting the other volunteers and learning more about the process of taking care of all the cats. After everything had been cleaned, I went out to the front where customers were starting to enter in and look at the cats. During this time, I helped clean the area after customers had left to ensure it was hygienic due to COVID guidelines, and helped take the cats to the volunteers so they could see and look at them. Although there have been accounts of wild customers from the supervisors, it was pleasant to see the place in action, even if it were in limited capacity. It was a very enjoyable experience participate in this event, so much so that I'm excited to return to my next shift to continue taking care of the cats and trying to help them get adopted into their forever homes! :)

APPOL.

Tea(ching) Time w/ Thea

Craft Time Sokunthea Mau

This month I was inspired by Sustainabili-Key's collab so I wanted to do an event that was environmentally friendly! I went down a Pinterest rabbit hole and found a list of fun crafts I wanted to do, so I made a pretty slideshow and advertised it to our members. Only my friends signed up for the event, but it was a great opportunity to get closer with them! I had a couple of sessions of what I call "Teaching Time with Thea" where I showed them how to do the crafts but it was pretty self- explanatory so everyone caught on quickly. We ended up focusing on making newspaper flowers where we used old recyclable papers and turned them into little flower bouquets that we could give away as gifts! We spent the whole hour talking about the most random topics and the topic of Buzzfeed quizzes came up. My friend isn't that big on pop culture so I pulled up a Buzzfeed quiz about YouTubers and Celebrities and it asked us, "How many do you recognize?" or something similar to that. There was a point where he tried to search up the celebrity... and still got it wrong. Overall, this event showed me how art was everywhere and it taught me to appreciate the little things. It'll be fun asking my friends in a few years, "Ayo remember that crafting event I hosted in freshman year? Yeah, that was pretty cool” Anyways, I got a Mother's Day gift now :D

Revisiting APES

Sustainabili-Key Environmental Awareness Week Andrew Nguyen

During the month of March, I was given the opportunity to collaborate with the Sustainability club to help out and create slide presentations for Environmental Awareness Week. Prior to the actual event, we spent much of our time working on our slides and hoping to put in as much information as we could for our presentation. Me and my partner had focused on presenting information about the agriculture industry and the effects of pollution as well. Information on yearly costs from damage, current events, and potential solutions were included within our presentation. From all of this, it had truly reminded me of my time in APES (AP Environmental Science) back in my junior year, and it was somewhat a very interesting experience. It was somewhat surprising that the information from an AP class would come in handy in my time as a club officer. Now that I was given the chance to present our slides and to spread our knowledge in the material, it made me feel like I really learned something from the class and it was a great feeling overall. It was a time where I could improve my knowledge upon the topic itself, presentation skills, and general socialization (even if it were through a digital platform). Other than that, being a part of the collaboration with Sustainability Club was a very educational experience for myself and for others as well.

LYME.

Doing Our Part

SustainabiliKey Environmental Awareness Week Mary Tran

This month, I was able to attend the SustainabiliKey Environmental Awareness Week, which was a collaboration between Key Club and Sustainability! Various topics were brought up such as air pollution, agriculture industry, plastic pollution, food waste, and climate change. During every session, there were presenters that dove deep into the environmental issues and presented activities that we could do ourselves to aid with the issue. Including various activities, icebreakers, and bright presentations, many of the discussions were fun yet still informative. I felt super engaged in the event, thanks in part to the interactive presenters and general education about the damage that humans have caused to the Earth. I definitely became more conscious of the choices I make in my daily life to reduce any negative impact on the environment to my best effort. I think that everyone should at least have a better understanding of the state of our planet and the actions that contribute towards environmental issues present today. It was a very informative event, and I would love to attend an event similar to the Sustainabili-Key Environmental Awareness Week.

Time of Remembrance. ~ A Reflection on the Previous Term

Preston Tran

This past term has been a long one. Ever since the start of this quarantine, I don't really remember what I did, as the days seemed to pass me by so often. With this being our final month of the term, there has been so much yet so little time for us to do the things we've done for so long. Events, bondings, fundraisers, and even meetings with members have gotten so difficult, yet our clubs dedication to serving our community has really shone through. My time in this board has shown me the amazing people in it, as well as the amazing things they've done, and it makes me realize how time doesn't wait for anybody. Though this quarantine has hit everyone pretty hard, the smiles others have, and the joy exuding from them highlights how hard we push to restore some normalcy to the situation we're in and the people around us. Previous fundraisers such as the League Tourney and Valorant Tourney are probably by far my most favorite events of this year, as they restored so much light into my eyes, which have been darkened by such a time as now. But that leads me to talk about this position I hold; I cannot excuse the fact that I've had my own wrongdoings. I have been unable to meet my quotas for some time now, and I accept full responsibility for not being the officer I promised to be when I signed up for this position. However, I cannot deny one thing: this quarantine has put me in quite a dark place. I've been unable to get motivated for anything, and everything seems to be losing its color; though the point I'm trying to get at isn't to make others feel pity for me. What I truly wish to say is that... I lost sight of the future. I lost sight of what I wanted to do as an officer, of what our goal was during this term, and I lost sight of the people around me.

I failed to do the things I've promised, and so I write this now as an apology to those who have had to deal with my lack of work and effort. So many of our officers have tried their hardest to keep Key Club standing as a club where people, no matter how far apart, can feel like they have people to support them. I want to tell those people: Thank you. You have done what I have failed to do this term, and I truly wish to know that there are people out there who are truly grateful to the things you have done and sacrificed. So what am I truly trying to say? Thank you, everyone who I've met and had met, in this term and previous terms, to the people who helped me get to where I am today, I wish to say thank you. And to those who will carry on in Key Club, I wish to tell you this: Never give up. You guys are all amazing people, and I want you to know this, though it may not be much coming from me. The things you've done, and the people you've helped, they all have a very special place in not only my heart, but many others as well. Thanks for everything guys.