It’s six weeks until the end of the school year, and with finals coming up and students scrambling to maintain their grades, club officers all over MVHS have the critical task of planning for the 2016-17 year. In order to ensure an efficient and enjoyable year, clubs release officer applications for members who have shown passion for the club and have experiences that could benefit it in the future. Senior co-president Heidi Wang, senior co-vice president Cindy Li and sophomore treasurer Michelle Kwan describe the selection process and what is sought for in an applicant.
President Senior Heidi Wang
El Estoque: What do you look for in applicants when selecting officers?
Heidi Wang: Usually we look for people who have been active in our club by going to volunteer events, but we’re open to people who are just genuinely interested in volunteering and putting time and effort towards our club, and we want individuals who will be willing to interact with our members and make everyone feel included.
EE: How much time should the applicant be willing to put in as an officer?
HW: Usually we expect an officer to attend at least two events per semester and we expect them to go to every meeting, which is usually once every other week, and to keep up with our group messages. Other than that, it’s not much time commitment.
EE: What makes Key Club different from other volunteer clubs?
HW: Key Club has a lot of events with other schools, so it’s really easy to make friends with other Key Clubbers from our school district, and we also have huge California events such as Fall Rally North, which is an event at Six Flags where Key Clubs from a lot of schools come and it’s basically a huge rally.
Treasurer Sophomore Michelle Kwan
El Estoque: What do you guys look for in applicants when selecting officers?
Michelle Kwan: Commitment, responsibility and enthusiasm.
EE: Is there anything in particular that you seek in officers as opposed to other clubs?
MK: Key Club is super spirited and we have a lot of spirit events like DCON [District Convention], and we have rallies to show penguin pride. So, in officers, enthusiasm and willingness to be loud and a leader are very important.
EE: How much time should the applicant be willing to put in as an officer?
MK: Well, it would depend on what’s going on that week, so if we have a fundraiser that week maybe two hours. And if there’s an event that the officer is attending, three to five hours, depending on the shift. And if it’s just a week with nothing special, no more than an hour.
Vice President Senior Cindy Li
El Estoque: What do you guys look for in applicants when selecting officers?
Cindy Li: We look for applicants who would be dedicated, spirited, enthusiastic and responsible. People who would be willing to put the time and effort into making Key Club the best it can be and unafraid to be social and forward.
EE: What makes Key Club different from other volunteer clubs?
CL: Well, Key Club is an international organization that branches out to both middle schools and college, which is unique and separate from a lot of the other clubs. Key Club also focuses heavily on inter-district stuff, so we do a lot of events with other Key Clubs from different schools and have rallies and conferences that cover people who come from California, Nevada and Hawaii, which is pretty interesting.
EE: Is there anything in particular that you seek in officers as opposed to other clubs?
CL: I guess we look for officers who are willing to not just focus on Key Club at [MVHS], but also have [MV Key Club] be an involved organization in an outside community as well.
EE: How much time should the applicant be willing to put in as an officer?
CL: Well, it depends on when in the year because the beginning of the year will typically require more time, but generally about half an hour a week. We’re just looking for someone who will complete their tasks and focus when there are things to be done.
