TBT Key Club Member Serves Internationally

Feel-good moments and scenarios have not been the norm in the life of Cecelia Ferguson.

Raised as an only child by her financially strapped single-parent mother, the 17-year-old is unaccustomed to the typical frills and frivolities often commonplace among most girls her age.

But one recent happening in her life, she said, makes up for all her struggles and occasions she’s had do without.

During the July Key Club International Convention in Orlando, Cecelia, a Tampa Bay Tech Key Club member, was chosen to serve on the 11-member-board of the Key Club International Board of Trustees that oversees such clubs in 33 countries.

“It’s mind blowing,” said the TBT soon-to-be 12th-grader from Tampa who’s been involved in her school’s Key Club since she was a freshman.

“Things have never come easily for me, and I never thought this would ever happen to me,” said Cecelia, who spoke by phone from the Indianapolis airport while waiting to board a flight home following a week’s training program regarding her new role and responsibilities.

She recalled joining her school’s club because it was the one organization she thought she could truly make a difference in other people’s lives and that she could continue contributing to as an adult by way of Kiwanis, the parent organization known for its worldwide support of people in need.

Last year, Cecelia represented the TBT Key Club as the state’s lieutenant governor, serving under the district governor, a position that oversees 11 clubs in the area.

“Cecilia is always smiley and cheery and always goes above and beyond,” said TBT Key Club Faculty Advisor Debra Conn.

Incoming 12th-grader Jhulianna Vivar, 17, of Valrico, who also joined TBT’s Key Club as a ninth-grader and will serve as this coming year’s president, knows Cecelia well.

“She is awesome and her passion for service is just amazing,” Jhulianna said.

During the convention, the TBT Key Club also was named Club of the Year for the second consecutive year from among about 240 clubs statewide. Last year’s membership numbered 153 students, making it one of the largest Key Club organizations in Florida.

The selection, according to Conn, was based upon the club’s 2,000 service hours and the $10,000 it garnered through its fundraising efforts that included the Kiwanis’ Eliminate Project, meant to wipe out maternal and neonatal tetanus worldwide by 2015.

The TBT Key Club also earned Diamond Distinguished status because of its outstanding achievements and was awarded first place in the Digital Poster category.

“These kids do some pretty miraculous things,” said Conn, a Kiwanis Club member who’s administered the school’s club for six years.

Jhulianna noted that the club is made up of all types of kids, from average students to those who achieve all A’s, like herself.

“I’m really proud that this group is everybody and anybody,” she said. “And what’s even more important is that this Key Club teaches us how to really make a difference and that we should all give back. That’s the whole idea of Kiwanis.”