The International Education Program (IEP) has given Golden Key members an amazing opportunity, to participate in a Summer Service Learning experience in Costa Rica, 9-16 August! IEP offers undergraduate and graduate students a unique opportunity to further expand their education through immersive study, volunteer, service-learning and internship programs in over 20 countries throughout Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania! Fortunately for us, IEP has graciously offered to partner and extend their services to Golden Key members!
 
Those of you attending will help to make a huge impact in the lives of the local underprivileged kids when you volunteer at a local children’s home. In addition, we will have a chance to see what Costa Rica has to offer through various exciting excursion trips that have already been planned, such as a Tour of Irazu Volcano Park and a Canopy Tour of the Rainforest! All we need are extremely excited and interested Golden Key members to go!
 
EXCITED? GREAT! Now for the question on everyone’s mind… the cost.  The Program cost is $1,195, plus the cost of flight. Now before you begin to panic about the price, please allow us to clarify two important things…The cost will cover housing, meals, in-country transportation, insurance and excursions!
 
STILL INTERESTED??? AWESOME!!! Now let’s get you started on attending!
Application and a $200 deposit are due by 15 May and will be applied to the program fees.  HURRY – limited space available, so submit your application today and make sure your passport is up-to-date!
 
If you have any further questions about the trip, IEP or payment options, please contact the University of Central Florida Graduate Advisor Laura Lord at gkgradadvisorucf@gmail.com.
 
We hope you are able to attend and experience this amazing opportunity with Golden Key! It’s going to be a Summer that we will never forget!

Over 120 UT students turned the Student Union Building Ingman Room into a pizza-making assembly line on March 24, in an effort to help end hunger in Toledo.  The students made around 860 pizzas to feed the homeless at the annual Campus Hunger Elimination Among Toledoans event. According to Samantha Rose, a senior majoring in adolescent and young adult integrated science education, the goal of the event was to make sure “no one goes hungry for a day.”
“Toledo is the eighth poorest city in the nation,” said Laura Bryant, a senior majoring in nursing. From the Student Union, students carried the pizzas to Parks Tower to freeze them overnight, Rose said.  The pizzas were picked up and delivered to 10 shelters in the Toledo area, including Cherry Street Mission, the YWCA of Greater Toledo and St. Paul’s Community Center.  Bryant said CSA received donations from several UT organizations, as well as Papa John’s and Campus Oasis, who supplied cheese and sauce.
Students participating at the event said they felt they were making a difference in their community.
“I knew this was something we’d want to get involved in,” said Kelly Stierwalt, a junior majoring in accounting and president of Golden Key. “I think it’s extremely important especially during these hard times. I wish I had the opportunity to deliver the pizzas to actually see the people’s faces. This is something small, but hopefully UT will continue to get involved and continue to help fund things like this.”
Rose said providing food for people in the area is important because it gives them another day to live. Stierwalt said he hopes UT will continue to support community service projects similar to HEAT and the Big Event. “I think they definitely should continue to do things like this. There are a lot of people in Toledo that are struggling and losing jobs,” he said.
Rose said events like HEAT are important because different organizations from UT work together to better their community. “Everyone’s coming together for one common goal. We think it’s important to continue. The best way to build connections between groups is to do services together,” she said.