Golden Key is excited to announce the creation of a new Facebook fan page and we invite you to become a fan.
Golden Key strives to offer its members a vast array of benefits, including connecting members globally. With goals of increasing brand awareness and networking opportunities in mind, we hope you and other “fans” will use the fan page to share stories, post wall comments, interact with each other, submit pictures and much more.
Mark your calendar for the 2010 Golden Key International Summit 15-17 July in Scottsdale, Arizona. The summit will be held at The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa, located in the heart of “new” Scottsdale. Take advantage of the pristine desert trails, rivers and mountains the “Grand Canyon State” has to offer, while attending summit activities.
Golden Key would like to invite all alumni to attend our first annual alumni receptions. These receptions are a chance to network with other GK alumni living in your area, meet GK staff and win cool things! You will also be able to help shape the future Golden Key’s alumni relations program. If you would like to attend RSVP to alumni@goldenkey.org <mailto:alumni@goldenkey.org>. Please see the dates and locations below to find the reception nearest you.
Edmonton, Alberta 5 February 2010 8:00pm
Kennesaw, Georgia 5 February 2010 9:15pm
Dearborn, Michigan 19 February 2010 8:30pm
Stillwater, Oklahoma 26 February 2010 9:00pm
Stony Brook, New York 26 February 8:30pm
Tempe, Arizona 26 February 9:00pm
Golden Key membership has its benefits! Among the many benefits are discounts on Lenovo computers and accessories. Lenovo, makers of the ThinkPad, offer the Enhanced Experience with Windows 7 on all PCs. Lenovo has just introduced the ThinkPad X100e which is ultraportable, available in bold colors and the most affordable ThinkPad ever. GK members can save an additional 12% off a purchase of $999 or more on a Lenovo T400 or T500 ThinkPad through 24 January with the eCoupon USXSAVE12.
I realised that the Tara.Ed Teacher tour was going to be challenging as soon as the plane touched down in Mumbai. The bursting city was just so different to anything I’d seen or experienced in Australia. Car horns, tarpaulins and roaming children everywhere! I’ll never forget that first night in the taxi: the wide-eyed baby staring at me as I drove past, crawling about on the median strip with only a torn singlet for protection. I couldn’t help but think of the baby monitor fitted to my niece’s cot, let alone the mattress, blankets and toys when I imagined her asleep back home. It was two worlds apart!
By the time we arrived at the school in the rural town of Ajra, it felt like we’d been gone for weeks. I was now accustomed to red onion with lemon before every meal and several cups of chai a day (not to mention eating with my hands and swapping G’day for the Marathi greeting Kusakai). The school was everything I’d imagined; we were definitely isolated from western civilization! There were very few cars and infrastructure, the roads were stretches of dirt, and cows were everywhere. Houses were quaint, painted in rainbow colours. The school was central to the village, and all 20,000 people in town knew the Australians were there. We were definitely the star attraction and the biggest thing to happen in Ajra for a long time. The number of coconuts I collected along the way, dances performed in our honor and the cups of buffalo milk I consumed can attest to that! In all my life experiences so far, I’ve never had such an overwhelming reception!
As a result of teaching Standard II (year 2) in Ajra, I’m more open to teaching experiences abroad and only hope to continue to build global perspectives in my pedagogy. I never thought I could learn so much from a school in a place where my kind of life is completely unknown. It may seem cliché to say that I won’t take things for granted anymore, but at the very least, I’ll be more inclined to bring the differences of students’ backgrounds out into the open. I can’t believe how much I learned from being exposed to the Indian culture. I’ve had firsthand experience of the degree to which simple resources like a blackboard, photo or picture book can perpetuate an understanding of a completely foreign world. Teaching the Indian students about school life in Australia demonstrated this: their amazement at seeing photos of playgrounds in Australia and hearing that children in another country liked to play football, too! Uncovering the cultural similarities and differences is a great way to prepare the students who are the future of our globalised world. The Tara.Ed Teacher tour provided the perfect culmination of my four years of study to be a teacher. I was able to put all of the educational theories entrenched in my head into practice whilst immersing myself in an environment which was the polar opposite to everything I was used to.
My life in Australia is no doubt run by the clock, whereas in Ajra, things definitely run by the sun. I’d like to think that I can incorporate both lifestyles into my classroom and teach in a way that blurs the distinction between the two. To come out at the end with such positive perspectives on teaching and learning has served to strengthen my belief in my suitability for the teaching profession, and I’m so excited at the prospect of one day having a classroom that transcends boundaries.
Keryn Simpson
Macquarie University Golden Key member
If you would like to find out more about Tara.Ed and how you can get involved, please visit the Tara.Ed website.
The Princeton Review recently finalized development of a new GMAT LiveOnline course. Prior to the official launch, they are inviting 25 students to participate in a final beta test of the course and are offering a HUGE savings – $549 off – for any GK member. The beta test is scheduled for Mon./Thurs. from 9-11 a.m. ET beginning Jan. 14 (22 hrs. of live instruction and 25 hrs online). If interested, please contact Anthony at AnthonyR@Review.com or 949-863-6017 and provide your contact information by Monday, Jan. 11.
QUT and Griffith University Golden Key chapters hosted their annual end of year party at the Mercure Hotel, Brisbane on 20 November 2009. The sold out James Bond Casino Royale themed party attracted 140 guests and raised over $1500 (AUD) for the Mater Foundation (a philanthropic organisation that raises funds for health care and medical research). Guests were entertained by professional casino tables with croupiers and a live DJ.
Mr. Todd Sampson, CEO of Leo Burnett and Co-Creator of Earth Hour
Todd Sampson is the CEO of Leo Burnett, one of Australia’s top creative advertising agencies and the break-out star of ABC’s hit TV show The Gruen Transfer. Todd was ranked as the most influential advertising executive in Australia by the Australian Financial Review, listed in the most influential men under 45 by Men’s Style and nominated for ‘GQ Man of the Year.’
Todd Sampson is one of the few CEOs in Australia to come from a strategic background. He has been a managing partner and head of strategy for over 10 years and during that time has helped lead some of the most successful and creative agencies in the world. Todd is also one of the most awarded strategists behind some of Australia’s highest profile work.
He is the co-creator of the Earth Hour initiative, which has been recognised as one the best ideas in the world. The campaign won the Titanium Lion at Cannes, was awarded the Yahoo Chair for Innovation and B&T’s Creative Campaign of the Year in Australia. In 2009, Earth Hour was the biggest environmental movement in history with over 1 billion people participating in over 4000 cities around the world.
Outside of work, Todd enjoys mountain climbing. After roughly two months, eight trips through the ice fall, over a dozen snow storms, two attempts on the summit, snow blindness, near starvation, falling into a crevasse, two avalanches and losing 15 kg, he managed to complete his unguided ascent to the top of Mount Everest.
Click here for the full list of speakers confirmed so far.
The International Scholar Laureate Program (ISLP) provides scholars the opportunity to further their career development, strengthen their leadership skills and engage in a culturally enriching experience in Australia, China or the United States. Please visit the ISLP website to enroll in the informational webinar to be held 16 December at 8:00 p.m. (EST). If you are unable to participate in the live event, a recorded session will be available on the ISLP website shortly after the event. Read about Golden Key member Mario Fasondini’s experience in China at the 2009 ISLP Delegation on Engineering.
There are four $2,000 scholarships available only to participating Golden Key members. The scholarship application deadline for 2010 sessions of ISLP is Monday, 11 January 2010.
During the recent University of Michigan Golden Key chapter general meeting, members had the opportunity to make a free study pack with materials they might need to prepare for final exams and projects. Materials included: pencils, pens, paper, highlighters and Golden Key branded items. Members also got to enjoy massages during the meeting.
