Junior Minhyo Kang spent her underclassmen years as the Vice President of Key Club, but this school year she has had to say a bittersweet goodbye to her position due to outside conflicts.

Kang first decided to run for the position of Vice President at the end of her freshman year, and then ran again her sophomore year. She saw the opportunity to take on a larger leadership position and resolved that the election would aid her in improving her communication with her peers. She noted that she had always been fairly shy before high school; with the participation in a variety of clubs, she started to branch out of her own personal bubble and learned how to trust her own voice and opinions.

“I wanted to take what Key Club showed me and help the students like me break out of their shell,” Kang said regarding her main motive for desiring the Vice President position.

The Vice President position comes with responsibilities, and she was required to keep track of points, be prepared to be in control in case of the President’s absence, and act as the second-in-command correspondent between the club and any other possible volunteer opportunities, such as the ALS walk or Freshmen Orientation.

Kang praised the club and cherishes the memories she made through the organization. One memory she is quite fond of is from the summer of 2012, when she attended the International Convention for Key Club International in Washington, D.C.

“As one group representing Michigan and Canada, we entered in as 72 strangers and 10 days later, departed as best friends,” Kang said. “We were able to package 1 million meals for Kids Against Hunger and it was an experience that revolutionized my view of this simple volunteer program.”

While Kang loved being in the club, she was having difficulty balancing the pressure of her junior year and her extracurricular activities. She realized she was not being the best Vice President that she could be, and decided to hand over her position to someone who could manage it.

“I loved Key Club so much,” Kang said. “I wanted to do anything in my power to make it the best that it could be. Although my departure is bittersweet, the support that I have received from my fellow Key Clubbers has been nothing but positive and has reassured me that I’m leaving Key Club in good hands.”

For more information on Key Club: http://keyclub.org/home.aspx

By Cindy Tae