Texan Mosaic

by VANESSA DELGADO//Staff Writer

Service, leadership, fellowship.

These are the three tenets that guide Circle K. Each member uses these tenets to guide their actions and their hearts. The feeling of giving back to one’s community can be incomparable. It can create a sense of responsibility and pride. Community service can make one’s heart full, hence the first tenet, service.

Circle K International (CKI) is an organization that does volunteer work and helps with charities such as UNICEF and March of Dimes. It helps improve the leadership skills of its members, and helps to strengthen relationships. Each member has a strong passion for helping to improve his or her community and themselves.

Circle K is a new student organization that was formed at South Plains College this semester. It has already greatly impacted the lives of its members. While the organization grows on campus, it will continue to impact the students of SPC.

“It allows you to meet other people and, of course, help out,” says Sam Dewbre, the president of the new student chapter at SPC. “It kind of encourages students to get out and be a part of the community, something  I think, surprisingly, South Plains has been needing for a while.”

CKI allows its students to meet with members from other chapters and be involved with other universities, such as West Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Wayland Baptist, and Lubbock Christian University, among others. It helps students branch out and create friends beyond their own campus. Being part of an organization such as Circle K has several benefits, according to Dewbre.

“It has helped me get more social,” explains Dewbre. “It makes me want to go out and do more community service. It’s a great way to get connected and meet other people. Not just from here, but around the state and even around the world.”

As Dewbre explains, CKI is not only in the United States. In two months, there will be an international convention in Toronto, Canada, that the members have the privilege of attending. In the past, it has also been held in San Antonio. The district convention is held in Dallas. Circle K provides a broad spectrum of adventure and opportunity. A member can take on a higher leadership role with several options such as president or treasurer. This is just a few of the choices.

For Dewbre, being the first president of the CKI chapter at SPC has its difficulties, but it has a high reward as well.

“I felt I could bring things to this chapter that would last for years to come,” Dewbre explains.

Being involved in this organization has the power to change someone’s life, he says. It can bring life-long friendships and memories that will last forever. With conventions in other countries, members in other states, and friends in the same chapter, CKI offers an opportunity to have unbelievable experiences throughout someone’s college years. Founded in 1936, the organization evolves and changes for the better.

“It’s definitely been a challenge, but it’s been a good one,” explains Dewbre.