BBQ Fundraiser
Starting off the semester with a bang, QUT Golden Key put on a sausage sizzle at Gardens Point to raise money for the Umoja Orphanage in Kenya. Thanks to everyone's fantastic efforts we were able to raise $472, which will go directly towards supplying stationery and other school equipment to the children of the Umoja Orphanage.
A cheap meal with a social conscience- what’s not to love about that?
More information - Umoja Orphanage has been single-handedly founded and operated by a Queensland school teacher who currently donates her working wages, and many of her fellow teachers to feeding, housing and educating orphans in Kenya.Orphans in Kenya are often shunned from their families, and sent to live on the streets, often living in extreme poverty, with no education.
Official website - http://umojahome.com/
Reading Buddy Program
For the first three weeks of the semester, several Golden Key members donated their time to visit Inala State School to participate in a reading buddy program. Each volunteer assisted two to three children with reading for two hours each Wednesday from 8.30am to 10.30am.
“Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself” – John Dewey
This was a great opportunity for Golden Key members to help model good reading practices to younger students in the local community, as well as help the students gain confidence in their reading abilities and encourage them to gain a greater love for reading in the future. Thank you to everyone who was involved in this wonderful program.
Joint Golden Key Alumni Event
Griffith University, Queensland University of Technology and the University of New England Golden Key Chapters provided GK Alumni with an opportunity to network and socialise with not only members of their own university but with members of other university chapters. This was a great opportunity to meet new people and catch up with old friends from university.
New Member Information Session
An information session for incoming members was held on Friday August 24, from 6 -7pm in the Gibson Room (Level 10, Z Block, Gardens Point campus). Complementary refreshments were provided on the night. Chapter President Lauren Crome addressed the attendees about the benefits of becoming active members of the society. The Social Directors, Community Services Chairs and Professional Development Officers also spoke about their roles and what Golden Key means to them.
New Member Reception
Monday September 24 marked the day when hundreds of new members were welcomed into the QUT Golden Key Chapter at our annual New Member Reception. It was held at the Kelvin Grove campus F Block Auditorium room 509 with celebratory drinks and nibbles provided at the conclusion of the ceremony.
QUT Golden Key President Lauren Crome presents Cate Campbell with her Honorary Membership
Our guest speaker was Cate Campbell, QUT's very own Olympic swimmer who won Gold in the Women's 4 x 100m Freestyle relay at the London Olympics. Cate spoke about her journey to both the Beijing and London Olympics and the obstacles she had to overcome along the way, including a significant illness. She made an interesting point that although there is no 'I' in team, there is an 'I' in win, meaning that one must have personal, individual drive to succeed, even in a team environment. She explained that her relay team would not have won Gold if it weren't for the individual drive for victory that each member of the team had. Cate is very humble in her success and congratulated the students in the room on their acceptance into the Golden Key Honour Society and for being the best in their field. She also remarked that high achievement, whether it be in the sporting or the academic arena, takes hard work, motivation and determination; a statement that resonated with the students in the room.
Three honourary members were inducted into the QUT Chapter based on their contribution to the wider community. We were proud to announce Cate Campbell, Michael Booth and Margaret James were this year's recipients. Michael Booth is a senior academic in the QUT Business School and is currently researching financial viability in not-for-profit organisations. He is a pro-bono Treasurer for Micah Projects, a medium-sized not-for-profit organisation which focuses on homelessness in the wider Brisbane community.
Margaret James has an extensive background in linguistics, bilingual education, language acqusition and music. Her work has led her to the realisation that ignorance of Aboriginal English was a contributing factor in school failure of indigenous learners, which led to the creation of the Honey Ant Readers resource: aboriginal English and ways of story-telling which can improve literacy of Aboriginal students.
Other highlights of the night included addresses by members of the 2012 Exectutive Committee and an address by Professor Carol Dickenson on behalf of the university.
Spring Picnic
Summer is almost upon us so we thought we'd bring in the change of season with style! Despite dubious weather conditions, QUT Golden Key hosted a spring picnic at New Farm park on Sunday 30 September 2012. It was a pleasant, relaxing day and provided a great chance for new members to mingle with other members. The turn-out was much higher than expected and it was great to see so many new faces!
Intellectual Engagement Event
On Wednesday 3rd October we were privileged to have engineer Nick Byrne come and talk to us about his experiences with working with not-for-profit organisation Engineers Without Borders and his own start-up, The Bridge Fellows. Nick gave an insight into what it's like to escape the corporate sector and do something more meaningful and enjoyable as a career. It was great listening to such a passionate and engaging young individual.
"I passionately believe that the business paradigm should be working for us to enrich people's lives and enhance innovation to solve the problems of the day. There are two movements which I have a tremendous amount of respect for: social innovation and corporate responsibility." - Nick Byrne.
Annual General Meeting
If you're thinking about running for a position on the Golden Key Executive Committee for 2013 or just want to get more of a feel about what the society does, then come along to our AGM on Friday 12th October. To nominative yourself for a position you must fill out a nomination form which was emailed to you and send it to secretary@qutgoldenkey.org. If you did not receive a nomination form email then please email the above address requesting one if you are interested. Applications are due at 11.00am Friday 12 October 2012. The Executive Committee Positions are as follows:
- President
- Vice President (2 positions)
- Secretary
- Treasurer
- Community Service Director (2 positions)
- Social Director (2 positions)
- Professional Development Officer (2 positions)
- Public Relations Officer
- Web Engineer (2 positions)
- Committee Member (no. of positions is flexible)
Good luck to everyone who applies, we look forward to seeing you there!
