On Feb. 26, Key Club held their annual elections for aspiring board members during both A and B lunches.
Every year, the service club allows any paid members of the group to run for a certain position on the board. President, vice president, and class representatives were a few of the positions available for students willing to take on a certain responsibility to maintaining the club’s vitality.
The election process was simple: nominees for a certain position on the board were allowed to make a quick speech in front of their peers. During the speeches, candidates briefly tried to persuade voters to elect them for the position they were running for. Vice President of Key Club Jenny Kim, 11, ran for president because volunteering means more than just impressing colleges to her.
“Well, there are many reasons why I wanted to run for president,” Kim said, “but one of the biggest reason is that from the 3 years I have been in Key Club, I learned that volunteer service is more than just something you slap on college applications. I realized that volunteering is so much more important in the fact that it makes enormous impact in our community.”
Once candidates finished persuading their colleagues, members of the club placed their vote. Several of the available positions, such as Kim’s, were left uncontested; however, for junior Lisa Santana, this was not the case. Santana, who ran for historian, had to race against a good friend of hers.
“It’s hard running against my friend especially when we hang out with the same people,” Santana said. “We both agreed that we wouldn’t ask our friends who were in Key Club to vote for us because we didn’t want them to feel burdened on who to pick. I also told them not to tell me because I would rather not know.”
Santana believes that forming lasting memories within the club gave her an incentive to run for the position that requires the task of preserving the highlights of certain events.
“Each event is different and brings different memories,” Santana said. “Even if it’s an annual event, each time is different and capturing the moment helps you relive the fun experience you’ve had while doing those events. Memories and being able to capture and share those memories is priceless.”
Sophomore Michelle Kam decided to run for tenth grade representative because she wanted to interact with other students from different grade levels.
“I wanted to get to know more now-freshmen since I only know a lot of sophomores and older [students], Kam said. “Also, I’ve been hearing that you need be very organized to be representatives. And organizing is my thing.”
The results of the elections will be released sometime during the first full week of March. Regardless of the outcome, Key Club gave members a democratic experience in electing officials that represent the heart and spirit of the group.
