While most of us were either at home sleeping in until the afternoon or in another state enjoying the sun’s warmth over spring break, Key Club members traveled to Wichita to learn about leadership.

The 69th Kansas Key Club Convention was held March 15 through 17 and was filled with workshops, leadership training, keynote speakers, fellowship training, competitions, a talent show, a carnival and other fun opportunities.

“I think we had three different workshops throughout the weekend,” junior Alison Payne, Key Club vice president, said. “You would learn … more about yourself, like your personality and how you like work with others. And then other ones like how to tell your story effectively, how to speak in front of large groups, just like helpful things like that.”

To start off the convention, Dr. Tiffany Anderson, Topeka Public Schools USD 501 districts’ superintendent, opened with an uplifting keynote.

“What [Dr. Anderson] had to say about how we make connections with people and how we serve others was really powerful and every single person in that room came out of that session inspired to go out into the world and do better,” Lisa Julian, Key Club sponsor, said.

At the event, there were many competitions, including a scrapbook contest, a service project contest and an impromptu essay writing contest, in which Payne won first place. Upon winning, she read her essay aloud to the whole convention.

“[Public speaking is] similar to what I do in forensics, so I was pretty comfortable with it,” Payne said. “[Winning] felt nice I guess.”

In addition, Julian was awarded Faculty Advisor of the Year.

“[Winning felt] pretty surreal,” Julian said. “I had no idea I had been nominated.”

Moreover, freshman Ava Chae ran for Lieutenant Governor of the Kansas Key Club District and won the election held at the convention.

“I basically want to like improve participation in Key Club,” Chae said.

While winning a few awards is gratifying, Key Club’s main goal was to further their knowledge on how to help our community.

“Our purpose for going wasn’t to necessarily enter all the competitions but was to build our leadership skills and learn about new service project opportunities and ways in which we could affect our community here locally through what we learned there,” Julian said.

Throughout the weekend, Key Club members learned new, valuable skills and enjoyed their time at the convention.

“I definitely learned a lot about like issues around the world and how we like even as teenagers we can … at least make some difference,” Chae said.