By Theo Vuong, Staff Writer
On Saturday, Oct. 14, a branch of Key Club International, Region 3, held its annual Regional Training Conference (RTC) on the campus of Fountain Valley High School (FVHS). Hundreds of members from all over Orange County attended the event to learn more about Key Club in workshops and socialize with other Key Clubbers. Due to the size and scale of the event, everyone involved prepared for countless hours and overcame obstacles in order to create a streamlined experience for attendees.
Normally, only academic clubs and student groups on campus are permitted to hold events without much regulation. Clubs that do not fall directly under the school’s curriculum, however, are prohibited from holding club activities on campus, save for a few occasions such as Spring Fest or the upcoming Fall Fair.
Division 04 West Lieutenant Governor and senior Vinh Nguyen took charge of the planning and faced many steps to make the conference possible.
“I personally met with our principal, Dr. Morgan Smith, when I became a Lieutenant Governor as per Key Club policy. We discussed RTC and he offered to let us use the school as the venue. [All of the other Lieutenant Governors in Orange County and I] came after school in September one day and we were given a tour with Assistant Principal Eva White. We had trouble finding classrooms to hold workshops; eventually we just chose the English Halls,” said Nguyen.
Despite the challenges faced in the process, positive feedback from the majority of attendees made it worth it.
“The best workshop I attended was the ‘How to Have a Good Time in Key Club’ workshop. I initially thought that the event would have nothing to offer me, but the workshop actually taught me to dedicate my time so I can receive the full experience of being in this club. I also met a few new people and plan to keep in touch with them throughout the year. It was pretty fun and I think it does teach you a bit more about Key Club,” said senior Fountain Valley Key Club member Benjamin Chu.
Evidently, hosting such an event on campus as a non-academic club is not without its nuances, but since the occurrence of RTC, club commissioners and seniors Nick Lee and Crystal Banh have been working diligently to allow more equal access groups freedom to operate on campus without much hassle. In the meantime, RTC acts as a step forward for all equal access groups.
