We would like to highlight the University of Southern California chapter for being named a Key Chapter for the 2012-2013 academic year. The chapter held many events that encompassed the three pillars of Golden Key: academics, leadership and service.
One of the events that the University of Southern California chapter held was a seminar on how members can maximize their internships. Guest speakers spoke about how they found their internships through extensive mailings, attending networking events and networking online. They also talked about the importance of resume customization- in order to stand out in the application process, one must know and understand the company and position that is being applied for in order to personalize one’s resume to the skills and strengths applicable to the job. Larger companies become inundated in countless applicants that some are known to use programs that automatically filter resumes for specific keywords, so it is important to tailor your resume for the position. Speakers also touched on the importance of dressing appropriately, as well as networking with people while you are working as an intern. The event was informative and eye-opening- an overall positive experience.
For a service initiative, the Southern California chapter would participate in “Enriching the Human Mind”, which are tutoring sessions for local children in the Los Angeles community that are held every Saturday. These hour and a half tutoring sessions allowed the members to interact with the students in order to help them with their homework or the lesson of the day. These sessions proved to be beneficial for the pupils and the members; the experience allowed the students to gain a better understanding of their academic work, the members to practice patience and communication and the two groups were able to build strong relationships. The chapter also hosted a session to help students prepare for college. Members answered questions about the application process, college essays and the Scholastic Assessment Test in order to educate the students and give them a head start in the college application procedure. The attendees were incredibly enthusiastic and asked many questions pertaining to the college application process.
Congratulations to the University of Southern California Golden Key chapter for your continued success!

The next chapter that we would like to highlight in the Key Chapter blog series is the University of California, Riverside. The Golden Key chapter participated in a plethora of activities during the 2012-2013 academic year that ranged from socials and open houses to fundraisers and service initiatives.
In February 2013, the chapter partook in the 2^nd annual Dance Marathon at University of California, Riverside. The event, cohosted by the Golden Key chapter and the university’s Student Alumni Association, was a six hour, philanthropic event to help raise funds for the Guardian Scholars Program- an organization that sponsors foster children. The evening was filled with games, food, a photo booth and lots of dancing. The highlight of the evening was a screening of a video by the students from the Guardian Scholars Program in which they movingly expressed their deepest gratitude to the students, staff and faculty for their participation in the event. The Riverside chapter had an incredible time in that they were able to dress up for the themed event, and the funds raised also went to a good cause. The original goal was to raise $15,000, but surpassed that amount and raised $17,000 for the children! Next year their goal is to hit $30,000!
The chapter was also involved in Adopt a Classroom, which is a service initiative to promote literacy and mathematics to children. Members went to a local elementary school to help tutor the students and make learning a more enjoyable experience. They initially introduced Winnie the Pooh by reading the book to the class then watching the movie. Students were then assigned to draw and write out their favorite scene. One of the students was having a difficult time with the word “in” and the members helped him for thirty minutes. He greatly improved and even volunteered to share his work with the class to which he hardly struggled! The members said that it was amazing to see how the students merely needed one-on-one interaction to learn and grow.
Congratulations to the University of California, Riverside chapter!