At Golden Key, we value our Advisors and all they do to ensure our chapters succeed. These hardworking university faculty, staff and administrators volunteer their time to help Golden Key develop and maintain high standards of education.  In order to show our appreciation, we’ve decided to spotlight some of these great people. The first Golden Key Advisor Spotlight is Jackie Aliotta from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
 
 
 

1.  What is your role at University of Maryland, Baltimore County?
   I am the Events Coordinator for Student Organizations. I meet with student organization leaders who are planning large-scale events (typically for 100+ people), and assist them in the event planning process. I serve as their liaison between our office, UMBC Events, and our campus partners (technical services, facilities, housekeeping, police, SGA, etc.).
2.  How long have you been a Golden Key Advisor?
   I am now in my 2^nd year advising the UMBC Chapter of Golden Key.
3.  How do you make an impact as a Golden Key advisor? Tell us a little about your chapter.
   I try to guide our executive board and general membership to constantly reach for gold status. We aim to really embody Golden Key in everything we do and try to live up to the pillars that are in place for us. Our chapter is very dedicated to what they do, and to try and remain a gold status chapter.
4.  What do you enjoy most about being a GK Advisor?
   It’s fun seeing students grow in their leadership positions, and by taking on responsibilities. Seeing students living up to their potential is really exciting. I enjoy getting to know our students and working with them on everything that we do.
5.  What is your favorite GK-related experience or memory?
   This past summer, myself and two chapter members attended International Summit in Georgia. We really had a great time. It was the first time that we’ve spent time and bonded away from the University. It was a great opportunity to learn more about Golden Key, see how we can constantly improve as a chapter, bond, and of course we had a blast exploring Georgia during every free moment we had!
6.  How do you think Golden Key members Stand Out, Stand Up and Stand Together?
   Golden Key members hold each other to a higher standard than most students. They have chosen to live up to our international pillars, and I think that speaks volumes. Our students have decided that they are going to positively impact this world and I see them doing that each and every day whether it be with Golden Key activities, class work, or their everyday lives.
7.  What are some of your hobbies?
   Most of all, I enjoy spending time with family and friends. I like exploring new areas, taking pictures, reading romance novels, and watching movies. I like scrapbooking, creating photo collages, and making creative/artsy things.
8.  Where are you from/ where did you grow up?
   I grew up in Lancaster, PA and am pretty obsessed with it. It’s a great place to live.
9. What place in the world would you most like to visit?
   Tahiti…the pictures are incredible. I can’t imagine what it would be like to experience Tahiti in person.
10. Cats or dogs? Small dogs
11. Paper or plastic? Plastic. I like reusing plastic bags over and over again until I finally recycle them. I try to be sustainable.
12. Android or Apple? Apple all the way.

Know a great Advisor? Email marketing@goldenkey.org with their info.

Congratulations to Ai Thien Tran, Winner of the Prestigious Canada’s Top 25 Immigrants Award 2012!
Ai joined Golden Key at McGill University and was awarded the Golden Key Geico Life Scholarship in 2006.
Here’s the story from CanadianImmigrant.ca:
It was a long and arduous journey for Ai Thien Tran when he left Vietnam as a 20-year-old boat person. He spent 12 years as a stateless refugee in a refugee camp in the Philippines, facing many hardships as a displaced person. One day, he received a letter from his long lost childhood friend who had been trying to find him for years, even though she had immigrated to Montreal in 1993. The two were married in 2000 and she sponsored him to come to Canada in 2001.
When he arrived, Tran faced the typical challenges that most newcomers face, in addition to the psychological and emotional trauma leftover from having lived in isolation.
Through it all, Tran has shown great resilience. Eventually, he found a simple warehouse job at a manufacturing company in Montreal, and, within four years, he rose to the rank of human resources co-coordinator for the company.
He also enrolled in the social work program at McGill University to add value to the practical experience he had in the field where he graduated with honours. He was ranked among the top 15 percent in his class, with a GPA of 4.0. Because of this achievement, Tran was invited to be a member of the Golden Key International Honour Society, an organization honouring some of the top university students around the world.
In 2006, he won the Golden Key award that recognizes members who achieve academic excellence while balancing additional commitments such as family and career. Tran was one of 10 students from around the world and the only Canadian student to receive it. He was also selected by Thoi Bao Canada as one of the 10 outstanding students of Quebec to receive a scholarship. “I study hard for my wife. I want to prove to her that she made the right choice. And to thank her for saving me,” says Tran.
Tran says family support, self-motivation and a “can-do” attitude are key factors that helped him succeed in Canada and he strongly believes that those are the very same things that would help other newcomers to Canada, too.
Currently, Tran is also actively involved in the Vietnamese Canadian Federation and the Citizen Advisory Committee of the Ottawa Parole Office.
“We’ve all been given a great opportunity here in North America. I’m not going to waste my chance or take it for granted.”