We know you’re super proud of your Golden Key chapter. You’ve worked hard. Come together as a group. Achieved amazing things. Helped your community. Made a difference. We’re super proud of you too! And we would love the chance to celebrate and recognize all of […]
Back in 1977, a group of students had a vision for a new kind of campus organization – an honor society that would empower high–achieving students to become future world leaders. As soon as discussions began, Golden Key began to evolve into the organization that it has become today. The philosophy was floated that students become leaders by serving others, by taking responsible roles in campus organizations, and by joining groups of like-minded, community–minded students.
The importance of scholarships and awards to help high–potential students fulfill their promise was recognized. The students drafted a constitution and bylaws and incorporated Golden Key National Honor Society as a nonprofit corporation. On November 29, 1977, more than 300 students from all fields of study, races, religions and life experiences were inducted into the first Golden Key chapter at Georgia State University.
In the earliest days of Golden Key’s development, the Board of Directors of the Society consisted primarily of student founding members. Serving at that time were James W. Lewis, Michael MacLauchlan, James G. Lewis, Brad Rainey and Alfred Simon. Brad Rainey, who serves as Golden Key’s Executive Director today, recalls that while big ideas were being discussed, something else was happening too – an organization was being born where highly ethical practices, transparency and commitment to students were already palpable. He also says that those same values still are deeply felt within the organization.
That perception is more than one leader’s opinion. It has been borne out in milestones that marked Golden Key’s 40 years of evolution . . .
Students saw Golden Key’s promise at once, and within a few months of that initial induction ceremony in November 1977, efforts began to open new chapters. By the end of 1978, six Golden Key chapters had been established at the University of Georgia, the University of Florida, and other campuses. Chapters began to engage in service projects in the communities where they were located. The Society hired its first staff people and opened its first office to organize programs of foreign study for members.
Then in 1982, the first annual national Golden Key Conference was held in Atlanta. Members connected, shared service opportunities, and the founding values of Golden Key began to resonate on a deeper level. The value of bringing together members was clear and one year later, the first annual Golden Key Regional Conference took place at Michigan State.
The value of offering financial assistance to students began to take life. By 1984, Golden Key had awarded more than $100,000 in scholarships to members. In that same year, the 50th Golden Key chapter opened at San Diego State University.
In 1985, Golden Key was able to purchase a building to house its national headquarters and a remarkable period of growth began. Corporate sponsors NCR and Peat Marwick came on board and fostered continuing growth.
In 1993, Golden Key opened chapters in Australia. New chapters were established in Malaysia, Canada and other countries and in 2000, the Society changed its name to Golden Key International Honour Society.
Success has followed success. By 2010, Golden Key reached the milestone of having 2 million members. And by 2011, the Society was annually awarding more than $1 million in scholarships to members.
Today, Golden Key International Honour Society is a widely recognized and highly regarded collegiate honor society that prides itself on operating with integrity and transparency at over 400 colleges and universities worldwide.
Golden Key maintains offices in Australia, South Africa and the United States. Its international headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia
Golden Key International Honour Society is governed by an independently elected Board of Directors comprised of highly regarded professionals from universities, businesses and not for profits. These voluntary board members receive no compensation and are legally responsible for ensuring that the Society operates within its charter and in accordance with the various laws and regulations within the jurisdictions where Golden Key operates.
As its 40th year begins, almost 2.5 million high achieving students have joined Golden Key. Many members are Rhodes and Fulbright Scholars. Two Governor Generals of Australia, a former Canadian Prime Minister, astronauts, university presidents and other notables such as Bill Clinton, Desmond Tutu, Bill Ford and Elie Wiesel have proudly accepted honorary membership into the Society.
“We are not resting on our accomplishments,” says Executive Director Brad Rainey. And what accomplishments they are – 40 years’ worth.
Rainey adds, “Golden Key’s values, mission, history, accomplishments, and students have built a robust platform for a bright future of supporting students as Golden Key helps to create the world leaders of the future.”
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We are pleased to present this profile of Dr. Derek Swemmer, a leader in education, in the life of students, in Golden Key . . . and in the public life of his homeland, South Africa.
With all of the resources available, you might have overlooked another valuable Golden Key resource on the Golden Key website . . .
It’s that time of the year! Golden Key kicked off its Regional Summit season with its first of three arriving to the Lone Star state; Dallas, Texas from February 3rd – 4th. Attendees got to enjoy the benefits of having their conference in the largest Starwood hotel in the country, the Sheraton Dallas. This summit not only gave students, advisors and members the chance to explore the captivating city life that is Dallas, but also the opportunity to make lifelong friends over discussions on how each individual can enhance Golden Key to impact their campus communities.
The hustle and bustle started early Friday afternoon when Golden Key members started arriving. To kick off the event, Golden Key’s University of Texas at Dallas chapter organized a “photo hunt” for all attendees to participate in. The photo hunt gave everyone the chance to meet other attendees and catch a glimpse of what makes Dallas unique.
After a few hours of adventure, attendees returned to the Sheraton Dallas for the Regional Summit Welcome Session. Golden Key staff kicked off the welcome with a vibrant roll call, a recap of the year operationally and news about upcoming opportunities for all members. The Welcome Session ended with an outstanding icebreaker facilitated by Region 8 Council of Advisors representative, Kathryn Clifford (California State University, Sacramento). The activity broke down barriers for everyone in the room which resulted in not only new perspectives being brought to light, but also new friendships. The evening ended with a small thank you for Golden Key’s Advisors in the form of a reception, where advisors got to mingle with one another and reflect on the impacts they’ve made so far on their respective campus.
Golden Key attendees wasted no time on Saturday, as everyone rose early for breakfast before the show began. Once full of energy, attendees began to immerse themselves in a plethora of workshops for the next three hours. Dallas Regional Summit workshops offered an extensive variety of content this year, including topics such as Golden Key chapter best practices, detailed strategies on marketing and recruitment for student organizations, as well as the basics of what goes into running a supply chain management organization.
After a morning inspiration, attendees turned to empowerment as the Golden Key Think Tank began. The Think Tank randomly broke up attendees into 3 rooms to have genuine conversation about what Golden Key means to them and their campus, learning what all of them can to do enhance the Golden Key experience on their campus. Attendees were given a “take away” sheet to write anything that empowered them to go back to their campus and start making a difference. Once concluded, attendees went their separate ways to re-energize with a bite to eat and then met with Golden Key staff separately to discuss heir vision is for Golden Key in 2017.
As is tradition, Golden Key ended the Dallas Regional Summit in style. Attendees traveled up to the 37th floor Saturday evening to break bread with new friends at the Gala Dinner. While dressed up and looking fly, attendees brought up children’s books that were collected for the Golden Key Kiddos Camp back in Atlanta, GA. The books will be used for the summer camp in May and will significantly help to revitalize the camp’s library.
As everyone finished grabbing dessert, Golden Key welcomed its Regional Summit keynote speaker, Linda Rutherford (Texas Tech), VP of Chief Communications Officer for Southwest Airlines. Linda imparted a powerful message onto everyone in the room on the importance of effectively communicating and active listening to not only those in the work place, but in your day to day life. She ended with an impactful Q&A where she offered outstanding advice cited from her journey that led her to Southwest.
Linda Rutherford was inducted into Golden Key has an Honorary Member as a thank you for exhibiting the values of academics, leadership and service that Golden Key upholds through its mission. Once closing remarks were given by Golden Key staff, Linda’s messaged resonated as attendees continued to discuss amongst one another, recalling their own journeys and their goals for the upcoming chapters in their lives.
Golden Key’s Dallas Regional Summit was one for the history books! From sight-seeing adventures in downtown Dallas to inspiring workshops, impactful conversations and a powerful message delivered by Linda Rutherford to conclude the summit, these two days will surely be unforgettable for all who attended.
We look forward to seeing everyone at the 2017 International Summit in Las Vegas, Nevada this July! Don’t miss out! For more information, click here.
Interested in joining Golden Key? Find out if you qualify!
Discover Your Destiny, Adventure Awaits was the theme for the 2016 International Summit, held in Tucson, Arizona. Tucson provided a beautiful backdrop for the Summit, a skyline of rolling hills dotted with cacti and Sonora wildlife. The JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort and Spa was […]
Pursue Your Path in Paradise. This was the theme of our 2015 International Summit on the Gold Coast and what a paradise it is! With its world-famous beaches, the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia was an incredible setting for our very first International Summit outside […]
On June 12, 2015 the American Military University and American Public University Golden Key chapter co-sponsored a Stop Hunger Now service event at the Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center in Maryland with the AMU and APU Student Veterans of America. Over 200 members, officers, guests, and university staff and faculty came together for an upbeat and meaningful event.
The AMU and APU Golden Key chapter packaged an amazing 17,000 meals in under 2 hours, and the packages will be shipped to meal distribution programs in developing countries that promote education, encourage children to attend school, improve students’ health and nutrition, address gender inequalities, stimulate economic growth, fight child labor, and are part of the movement to address global issues. This exciting event was part of Golden Key’s SPARK a Change service initiative. Launched in July 2014, SPARK a Change’s mission is to impact and improve the lives of at-risk youth (ages 0-17) through literacy, education and real-world preparedness. Through SPARK, Golden Key aims to raise $40,000, dedicate 400,000 hours of service and impact 400,000 lives in local communities & around the world by 2017. The AMU and APU chapter’s outstanding efforts are helping Golden Key reach this goal.
The chapter was honored and proud to have their Associate Director, Hamiyda Scipio, join them during the momentous service event and meet members of the distance chapter. AMU and APU students came from as far away as Japan to participate, and walk in their commencement ceremony the following day!
In addition to the Stop Hunger Now Service Event, the AMU and APU chapter of Golden Key held several events in conjunction to the university commencement ceremony, including an Honorary Member Induction Ceremony and a formal chapter meeting where new members were recognized and cords provided.
The events were a huge success!
Several Golden Key HQ employees and their friends participated in a co-ed flag football league this spring in Atlanta on Saturday’s. After winning 7 games, the team made it to the playoffs. During the playoffs, the top four teams played, and on Saturday, May 30th, […]
GK SCHOLARSHIPS: Ather Sharif
GK Scholarships: Logan Thornton