Cypress High’s Key Club has one objective and one objective only–to serve its community through community service and to serve Cypress’ high schoolers by giving them opportunities to meet the 40 hour requirement for graduation and making a family/community for them. CKC’s devoted president, Natalie Sheng, discussed the purpose and components of Key Club and its committed board members. Cypress Key Club’s meetings take place in the theater on Wednesdays. Key Club meetings are centered around both old and new business. “Old business consists of past service events and we go over them so that the members know what we’re up to. We have people talk about it and share their experiences. New business is basically upcoming events, so that everybody knows what’s going on and they can attend these events and socialize.”

Being a board member in Key Club comes with various responsibilities. Sheng’s role as club president includes being in charge of “a lineage between ASB and Key Club and also the lineage between the club and the division.” According to Sheng, she works alongside her Lieutenant Governor and Division Leadership Team to make sure that the division can function well and have all of its local clubs working together. “I also have to send a lot of emails to my advisors as president, so I’m doing all the paperwork. And I have the help from my secretary, which is super nice. I delegate tasks to the board, so if there’s an event that needs to happen, I’m the one who delegates the task and asks them to do that and keeps them on track.”

Being a member of Cypress Key Club can provide an individual with many opportunities as well as an environment where the individual can build leadership and communication skills. “You make a lot of friends in Key Club, and it also helps you understand the purpose of community service and get closer to your community. It also helps when you’re applying to colleges or jobs and having that experience from Key Club on your resume,” Sheng added.

Key Club has origins that date back to 1925 in Sacramento High School in California. Two Kiwanis Club members, Albert C. Olney and Frank C. Vincent, decided to form a high school version of the Kiwanis Club where students would be able to participate in service events. It later became an international organization. “There’s a lot of different branches of Kiwanis. Key Club is just one of the things they created. But there’s also other branches like an elementary school version–K-Kids– and Builders Club for middle school.”

Key Club’s appeal is its members. The members are very inviting and friendly. Its activities and events are engaging and enjoyable and causes first-timers to keep coming back. With uplifting board members who show enthusiasm with their community, Key Club shows support and pride in each and every one of its members.

The biggest struggle of being Key Club’s president according to Sheng is communication. “The hardest thing would have to be communication. I always wanted to grow in communication but it can be difficult when you’re dealing with a variety of personalities. You have to adapt to them and learn how to address them while getting respect.” When a leader appears too strict, their members lose the fun and motivation of being in the club. Communication with adults as well as other members can be equally as challenging. “Communication with Kiwanis and my boss, the Lieutenant Governor, was really hard because sometimes there were disparities, especially during the pandemic,” said Sheng. Her persistence, however, was able to get through the difficult moments and reach results.

The board of CKC includes a wide variety of roles. In the executive board, there is the president, the vice president, the secretary who is in charge of recording and documenting service hours, the treasurer who is in charge of fundraising. These are the members of the board who are elected. Then the appointed board, the board chosen by the executive board, has historians, publicists, and service project chairs who help the board come up with and find service events to get their members involved. The committee, not technically board, helps officers with their duties. Cypress Key Club encourages you to join as an enthusiastic member and possibly run for board.