TCNJ offers many volunteering opportunities, and after being a member of her high school’s Key Club, volunteering with TCNJ Circle K seemed like an obvious choice for Dawn Kreder. Circle K is a branch of Kiwanis for college students. The now soon-to-be senior got very involved in Circle K here on campus during her freshman year.
A special aspect of Circle K is that not only does it function at a college campus level, but it functions on a district and state level as well. So during her sophomore year, Dawn ran for District Secretary, where she was in charge of gathering and submitting service hours for several college Circle K clubs. This past year, her position in Circle K rose to a whole new level as she was elected District Governor.
Just what does the position of District Governor entail? “The Governor oversees 10 (soon to be 13) Circle K clubs in New Jersey and makes sure they are in good standing,” explains Dawn. As governor, Dawn also serves as an advisor and resource for the presidents of each club. Additionally, Dawn reports the activities of New Jersey Circle K clubs to the International – yes, International! – board. The duties of Governor are quite extensive and Dawn has serious VIP status in Circle K.
TCNJ’s Circle K is proud to be the host club this year for Circle K and equally as proud to be the club with this year’s District Governor as a member. Running for Governor was no easy task. After submitting her application to run, Dawn had to attend District Convention, a weekend long convention where candidates running for all the District positions caucused and answered questions from members of many of New Jersey’s clubs.
Dawn presented a speech, her platform, and went through several rounds of speeches followed by a Q&A session. Nevertheless, Dawn’s impressive record and love of volunteering persevered. She succeeds the previous District Governor from Rutgers University.
When asked about her goals as Governor, Dawn has a busy list of to-do items. On this list is the Eliminate Project, which is a Kiwanis initiative that aims to raise money for neonatal tetanus shots for mothers and their children in third-world countries with the goal of eliminating neonatal tetanus from the world.
This past year New Jersey was the number one fundraising state and this upcoming year looks promising as Dawn wants to keep it that way. She says that “I want to see New Jersey stay in the top three fundraising states for Eliminate.” She believes that New Jersey can once again dominate the fundraising scene if everybody works hard and pitches in.
Also on her to-do list is promoting interclub relations. Circle K is special in that it is like one big family, and often clubs from different campuses come together to fundraise and celebrate being a member of Circle K. Dawn wants to keep the spirit of Circle K going and continue to see clubs from different areas working together for common goals.
Finally, when asked what her favorite moment has been while Dawn has been in Circle K, she initially seemed faze by the task of having to pick just one. Finally, she decided that on the club level, the Roaring Twenties Winter Social that TCNJ hosted this past year was a favorite because the attendance of over 100 students was impressive and really made the night a hit.
On a broader level, Dawn said that going to Vancouver and working with the Ronald McDonald House was also a favorite. The charity is more than just fast food because the organization helps families and their children who are undergoing extensive hospital treatments. Prior to this experience, Dawn said she did not know that much about the charity and that this experience really opened her eyes.