the cirkulation april 2014

The Cirkulation TCNJ Circle K’s Official Publication

Volume 1 Issue 7 April 2014

The Start of a New Service Year!


Hello TCNJ Circle K!

Wow! Let me start by saying how much of an honor it is to be

creating my first Circle K newsletter. I am immensely proud of how

much this club accomplished during the 2013-2014 service year, and

I am extremely excited to be able to lead this club into another spec-

tacular year of service, leadership and fellowship.

For this newsletter, I wish to take the opportunity to reflect

back on all of the spectacular triumphs our club has had, while also

looking forward to the potential another amazing year. As college

students, we oftentimes find ourselves so focused on the prospects of

the future, that we neglect to remember the richness and the beauty

of our past. While it is true that the future holds great promises for

all of us, we must never forget to pay tribute to the people and the

experiences who helped mold us into the people we are today.

In this newsletter, we will pay tribute to our past by hearing

from our past president, Christine Rahm, who fearlessly and selfless-

ly guided us in our endeavors. We will also continue the tradition of

honoring a special TCNJ member, which was started by our past bul-

letin editor, Kerri McLaughlin. However, we will also bask in the

glow of the future by hearing from our new Executive Board, as they

prepare to lead us into the 2014-2015 service year.

So read on, Circle K! The beauty of the past and the promise

of the future await for you to uncover their majesty!

Yours in caring and service,

Meg Beane-Fox, Editor

Table of Contents

Presidential Farewell……….….3

Meet the New E-Board…......4-7

DLSSP In Review…………..…….8

Weekly Service Spotlight……..9

Circle K Star Member……….10

Meet the Governor…………..11


A Farewell From Christine Rehm Immediate Past TCNJ Circle K President, Class of 2014

community. This year I have felt so incredibly lucky to have had such a passionate, self-motivated, execu-tive board, and a club with so many kindhearted, hardworking, talented members. I couldn’t be happier with how I’m leaving this club because I know that with your newly elected e-board TCNJ Circle K is only going to get even bet-ter. I hope that you all continue to find time in your busy schedules for Circle K. Meet students from all over New Jersey and even all over the world, who share your passion for service. Challenge yourselves to take on new leadership positions that will force you to step outside your comfort zones and grow as leaders. And of course, take advantage of the many opportuni-ties this organization provides you to give back to our campus, the community, and the world. Thank you for being the best club anyone could ever ask for. I love you all.!

Thank You for the Most Unforgettable Year !

I really hate good-byes so I had a lot of trouble bringing myself to write a “farewell” for this newslet-ter. Instead, I decided to make this more of a thank you note because I wanted to thank you all for what I will always remember as one of the best years of my life.

A lot of people ask me if my senior year has been a letdown after spending a semester abroad trav-eling all over Europe, and I look at them like they’re crazy because that couldn’t be further from the truth. This has been the most unforgettable year, and I owe it to all of you. Serving as your president was truly the greatest honor, and not a day went by when I didn’t feel so proud to be a part of TCNJ Circle K.

Every month this year I would look forward to the email from Lana with our club’s monthly report form (MRF), the spreadsheet that details our club’s service and administrative hours for each month. A lot of people think I’m a little ridiculous to get so ex-cited about an email with an attached excel docu-ment, but to me the MRF is so much more than that. This spreadsheet, filled with hundreds of service hours and a list of close to 30 different service pro-jects each month, shows the hard work and dedica-tion of our club. The high numbers that we consist-ently report show that even with challenging courses, jobs, internships, and a ton of other extracurricular activities, you all still make time to give back to the


Meet the 2014-2015 Executive Board On February 26th, 2014, the membership of TCNJ Circle K elected their

Executive Board for the 2014-2015 service year. In this section, you’ll get the

opportunity to learn more about our returning board members as well as

those who are new to the E-Board lifestyle. You’ll also gain some insight into

their personalities, their goals for the upcoming service year and their love

for this amazing organization!

Hey everyone! I am ridiculously honored to be serving as your President this year. Let me tell you a little bit about myself: I like long walks on the beach and extremely cliché introductions. My favorite food is every food, but I really like vodka rigatoni and cannoli (not at the same time). I am a History Secondary Education major with a minor in Women & Gender Studies, which means that I’d like to teach your children someday! In my free time I like playing music. I play four instruments: trumpet, French horn, bass, and a splash of piano. I also enjoy going to the gym, watching movies, and of course, doing community service! As many of you know, I could go on forever in this article, but I will spare all of you as I’m sure you have other, very important things to do. If you ever want to know anything else about me please don’t hesitate to ask! Example Question: What is your favorite color, Danny? It is aqua. Anyway, I’m really looking forward to getting to know each and every single one of you! Circle K has meant so much to me and made such a difference in my life and I'm extremely thankful to be put into a position where I can ensure that it has the same effect on all of you!


Hi everyone! My name is Kerrin McLaughlin, and I’m a rising jun-ior Interactive Multimedia major with a minor in Marketing (and Graphic Design, eventually). This year I will be serving as your Co-Vice President along with Kelly Cricks. I am also the Technology Chair on the New Jersey District Board! Circle K is a huge part of my life and you’ll always see me at the meetings and many of our service projects. As your Co-VP I’m always available to answer any of your questions (or to just chat)! My hobbies in-clude graphic and web design, laughing at stupid things I find on Tumblr, and unhealthily obsessing over my girl, Jennifer Lawrence. My favorite ser-vice project is our weekly Kickoff cleanups. Let’s get to know each other!

For those of you to whom I am only a name, let me introduce my-

self. I am going to be a junior (yes, junior!) biology major and I love the out-doors. I am a complete Type A personality who will laugh at the worst jokes ever. I am honored and excited to have been elected Co-Vice President! I truly look forward to working with all the lovely chairs. You guys are all awesome! I think the one goal that I am really determined to meet for next year is for the club to finally reach 100 members. There was such tremen-dous growth this past year and I want to keep that up. Additionally, I also want to work closely with the Key Club of Ewing High School. I think working with high school-errs will not only strengthen the bonds between TCNJ and the community, but also make them excited about joining Circle K clubs when they go to college (since I believe we have some Key Club members in our midst…).


Hi Circle K-errs! My name is Lana Rahal and I am beginning my second year as TCNJ Circle K Secretary! I am a rising senior, double major-ing in Early Childhood Education and English. My favorite color is green, I love doing yoga, and I can say the alphabet backwards! My favorite service projects with Circle K are TASK utensil wrapping and making peanut but-ter and jelly sandwiches (especially in competitions!), and outside of Circle K I participate at a local nursing home, playing bingo with senior citizens. I am also Secretary of the Teachers of Young Children association, President of Kappa Delta Pi Honor Society, and a member of APO, Sigma Tau Delta Honor Society, Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, and Golden Key Honor Soci-ety. I look forward to working with you all for another great year! :)

I am a current freshman/rising sophomore Elementary Education and English major. Circle K was one of the first clubs I joined at TCNJ this year, and I immediately loved it! The nice people and caring atmos-phere quickly drew me in and I cannot imagine my first year of college without it. I love service, pending time with friends and cute animals, nature walks and picnics. I am also involved with Club Tennis and Al-pha Phi Omega. I enjoy attending many academic/social events on cam-pus, as well as simply hanging out with my friends in Eyck. I am honored to be serving as Circle K's treasurer for the 2014-2015 service year. We had a great year, and I will work hard to ensure a new year filled with a variety of service projects and social events. I believe that the members of TCNJ Circle K will continue to work together to make the world a better place, and I can't wait to be a part of it!


Hello TCNJ Circle K! My name is Meg, and I’m a rising sophomore dou-ble major in Spanish and Sociology who is incredibly honored to be serving as your Editor this year! Outside of Circle K, I play flute in the concert band, serve as Layout Editor for The Seal Yearbook Staff, and participate in shows with TCNJ Musical Theatre (TMT). My favorite color is purple, I have a weakness for Chinese food and my favorite animals are sheep (they’re so fluffy and cute!) I’m incredibly excited to be starting my term as an E-board member because I can’t wait to give back to the organization that welcomed me with open arms this past year. Circle K is truly one of my TCNJ families, and I know that our club can accomplish amaz-ing things while leaving our mark on the history of our campus. If you have any questions, feel free to talk to me...I love meeting new people and making new friends! ¡Vamos a tener un año fantástico! Let’s have a fantastic year!

TCNJ Circle K Goals for the 2014-2015 Service Year

Membership Goal: 100 members

Eliminate Project Fundraising Goal: $1,250

Service Hours Goal: 200 hours per month


A Beautiful (But Rainy) DLSSP! By: Lucia Menyou, Class of 2017

On a rainy Saturday morning a group of five TCNJ Circle K members embarked on a long trip to the Richard Stockton College for the District Large Scale Service Project (DLSSP). I, along with Christine, Kerrin, Whitney and Tiffani were excited about the day ahead, despite the weather. Kanga and Room could hardly keep their excitement to themselves, though they were worried about getting wet.

The event took place that entire weekend, alt-

hough we were only able to go for that Saturday, the

29th of March. When we arrived at the Salvation Army

of Atlantic City we were welcomed by the Stockton

Circle K members and got right to work. Some of us

changed light bulbs in the chapel while others painted

part of the chapel along with Circle K members from

Rider University. We ate lunch with the entire group

and finished painting the chapel walls a sea breeze blue

that everyone seemed to love.

After a long morning of painting and changing light bulbs, we packed into the car and decided to re-ward ourselves with a bit of an adventure. We went to the beach that was a few minutes. Even though it was rainy, it was beautiful and relaxing to walk along the beach that day. We collected a few shells and admired the rainy, yet surprisingly nice atmosphere. We also visited Stockton and thanked their Circle K for host-ing us. Afterwards, we ended the long day with ice cream before heading back to TCNJ.

Looking back on our day, my favorite parts were painting the chapel and walking on the beach. While we were painting, we shared laughs, painting strategies and admired a job well done. The walk along the beach afterwards was very relaxing and a great way to get some fresh air after being around paint all morning. Overall I couldn’t think of any oth-er way I would want to spend a service day than with my Circle K family. I can’t wait until next year’s DLSSP. It’s going to be great!


Weekly Service Spotlight: The Ewing Animal Shelter

Question: Where and when does your service project usually take place?

Answer: The service project takes place at the at the EASEL Animal Rescue League in Ewing, NJ. It is

about 5 minutes away from campus. We go on Sun-

days from 9:00am to 11:00am.

Question: What kind of service do you participate in during your project? What do you do?

Answer: We usually clean the cat room or other parts of the facility before the shelter opens to the general

public for adoptions. We help clean out the cages, re-

place food and water and vacuum and mop the floors.

We also play with the cats a little bit before we go be-

cause they do not have much human interaction. EA-

SEL is run by volunteers so they need all the help they

can get to maintain a clean, healthy environment for

the animals.

Question: How did you come to be involved with this service project?

Answer: Originally, I signed up to help out the first week it was offered because I was looking for a new

service project that I could do on the weekend. The

original service project chair, unfortunately, had to

leave due to illness, so I decided to take over so that

the service project could continue.

Question: What would you consider to be the most exciting/fulfilling part of your project?

Answer: The most exciting part of the project is defi-nitely playing with the cats at the end. They are very

friendly and it brings me joy to know that I gave them

a clean place to live until they are adopted.

Question: Do you have any future expectations for this service project? What kind of legacy do you hope that

this project will leave with our club?

Answer: I hope that we can continue this service pro-ject even after I graduate. I hope to get a steady group

going on a regular basis because the shelter could really

use the help. I would also like to try to fundraise for

the shelter to help them with the cost of food and oth-

er expenses.

Question: If someone wants more information, how can they contact you?

Answer: The best way to contact me is by email

[email protected] or by text at 201-274-6031.

An Interview With Briana Falconer, Class of 2015

mailto:[email protected]


Circle K Star Member: Andrew Ryan By: Meg Beane-Fox, Editor, Class of 2017

Andrew’s love for helping others can also be attributed to his overall personality. His kindness and his compassion are best exemplified through his uni-versal actions, and his strong sense of loyalty makes him a truly genuine person that you would be lucky to find standing alongside you. Andrew also has a razor-sharp wit and a fantastic sense of humor, both of which have been known to catch people off-guard and keep them smiling for hours to come.

However, I can confidently state that one of Andrew’s strongest character attributes is his selfless nature. Andrew is constantly looking for new ways to help others, while seeking nothing in return. Andrew is truly a unique individual in that his strong work ethic is offset only by his generosity and his love for supporting others. I have no doubt that Andrew has a truly bright future ahead of him, and that TCNJ Cir-cle K is extremely lucky to be able to call him one of our members.

If you’ve been to any sort of TCNJ Circle K event within the past two years, there’s a pretty good chance that you’ve met this issue’s Circle K Star Mem-ber...even if you didn’t know it at the time.

Andrew Ryan can easily be characterized as one of the most hard-working and diligent members of our club, and yet his calm, serene personality leads him to pursue a lifestyle far away from the glare of the spotlight. While Andrew would never dream of brag-ging about his accomplishments, his unwavering dedi-cation to Circle K leads him to accomplish truly amaz-ing things in the name of service. Whether he his tak-ing photographs at any (and all) social events, design-ing and creating the layout for our DCON scrapbook, serving the campus at an Eickhoff clean-up or organiz-ing a Hedgepath Williams tutoring session, Andrew displays a true sense of passion for our organization that makes him one of our most quintessential mem-bers.


Meet Our New NJ District Governor! Dawn Kreder, TCNJ Class of 2015

Hello everyone! For those of you who don’t

know me, my name is Dawn Kreder. I am a junior So-

ciology major here at TCNJ. I have been involved with

our club since the first meeting of my freshman year,

and I have been a part of the Kiwanis family since all

the way back in 8th grade as a Builder’s Club member!

If you asked me right now, my two favorite television

shows are “Once Upon A Time” and “Game of

Thrones”...conveniently back-to-back on Sundays! I’m

also always listening to Spotify while I am getting work

done, and the album that I currently have on repeat is

Twentyonepilots’ “Vessels.”

Throughout this upcoming service year, I hope

to continue all of the successes our might District has

had to that we can strengthen every division of New

Jersey Circle K. Additionally, the end of this year brings

the deadline for Kiwanis’s and UNICEFF’S “The Elimi-

nate Project,” which aims to raise $110 million by 2015

to eliminate maternal and neonatal tetanus worldwide. I

know that the members of TCNJ Circle K are ready for

the challenge to keep fundraising for this project. I also

know that we can increase our overall number of service

hours to help our community even more than in the

past.

We have a lot to be proud of, and I hope that

our enthusiasm for service, leadership and fellowship

will continue to show our campus and our community

that we are ready to make a difference!


Need To Contact The Executive

Board?

President: Danny Kaplan

[email protected]

Co-Vice President: Kelly Krickus

[email protected]

Co-Vice President: Kerrin McLaughlin

[email protected]

Secretary: Lana Rahal

[email protected]

Treasurer: Diana Tenenbaum

tenenbd1@tcnjedu

Editor: Meg Beane-Fox

[email protected]

Upcoming Events

Parents of Children with Autism Walk, Saturday, April 26th, 9:30am-1pm

March for Babies, Sunday, April 27th

Finals Fest, Cookie Giveaway, Date TBA

Last Day of Classes, Thursday May 1st

Graduation Ceremonies, Thursday, May 15th-Friday May 16th

Congratulations Class of 2014!

the cirkulation april 2014

Documents

new service year

senior year

amazing year

unforgettable year

elected eboard tcnj

spectacular year of

past president

best club