Cardozo’s Key Club is the largest club in our school. Recently, the Key Club had its annual Leadership Training Conference (LTC) which is an event where all 27 divisions in the New York State meet. Clubs can get awards, acknowledgements for their efforts, and participate in multiple activities. This year, Cardozo’s Key Club won the most awards in its history, with 18 awards. Board members for the 2023-24 service year President Faustina Lin, Secretary Ashley Ming, and Treasurer Tammi Ko walk us through the night and their experiences with LTC.
“LTC stands for Leadership Training Conference, and it is the one time in the whole year that the New York District gathers together, and they recognize all of your accomplishments throughout the year,” Lin explained.
“So not only are there awards, but there are also workshops, key club speakers, Evan Wesley- A person in charge of the thirst project- and there is also governor’s ball. It’s basically three days to celebrate key clubs throughout the whole service year.” The current key club board members, future board members, and some regular members were able to attend.
LTC took place in Albany, so attendees were able to stay overnight with their fellow key club members. In addition, they can earn awards together as well as partake in the various activities they have to offer. The event lasted for two days. On the first day general awards were presented and on the second there were individual awards.
“It was really fun, I was there with my whole club, so we were able to like hang out together, and get awards together. We had this governor’s ball, and we were able to party together,” Ko recalled. “I also slept with all the girls from our club, so we were able to have like one big sleepover with like eight girls in the room and it was so fun.”
The LTC also offers many benefits including workshops that those attending were able to visit to assist them in college applications or helping to find resume-boosting activities.
The governor’s ball is also an event that takes place during the LTC. Attendees are able to dress up, take photos, and hang out with friends. “I was basically the photographer for not only our home club but also all of the other clubs as well so I was constantly taking pictures of everyone,” Lin said, further explaining how the night went.
Although, the most important event of the night was the awards ceremony.
“I actually did not expect it because there were so many other good candidates but when they skipped my name in alphabetical order it dawned on me and I started to slowly tear up,” Lin detailed the experience she had winning the Outstanding President award, which is one of the highest honors one can achieve at this event. “When they called my name, I went back to the recordings that people recorded of me, and I saw how everyone was cheering. And it was just an ‘Oh I did it’ moment.”
“I didn’t expect my name to be called because I was called last, but yeah, shed some tears,” added Ming, who won the Distinguished Secretary award.
Despite the current board finishing their terms, they ended off with honoring Cardozo immensely. The conference has provided a wonderful opportunity for our Key Club to continue to show their excellence. For the current board members, this experience will definitely be a night to remember.
“Right now, the post-LTC depression is real. I really miss meeting new people and networking with them as well. It just feels really empty leaving such a social space and going back to school,” Ming joked
The Key Club has given Cardozo a lot to be proud of this year. Their excellence has given our school multiple honors to be proud of as they promise to continue their hard work moving forward.
Lin left off with a message to all of Cardozo, “Key club does not make keys, we make differences, and just by attending a single meeting or event, you can change someone’s life. So even if you feel like you’re just one person out of this huge club, you can still make a difference.”
