• Network

The GKA website offers a networking section where you personalize your profile, interact on a message board, find GK Thought Leaders, fellow members and join groups. In addition, the networking section allows you to connect with peers and see what your fellow members are up to. 

• Become a Thought Leader

GK is always looking to feature the work of our members and provide opportunities to showcase their talents. We like to call our contributors Thought Leaders, as we value their opinion and see them as experts in their area of study. Becoming a Thought Leader is as easy as filling out a form and sharing your expert knowledge with others.

• Write an article
  

On GKA, we feature three articles per week written by our Thought Leaders, who are often GK members. If you would like to write an article for GKA, click here to submit your interest. For inspiration, check out our previous articles on GKA.

• Host a webinar

Additionally, on GKA, we regularly present live webinars via Zoom, which run for approximately an hour, including a short Q&A segment at the end. Click here if you are interested in hosting a webinar for GKA. Previous webinars can be viewed on GKA.

• Write an e-book

Do you have an area of expertise that must be shared with the world? Then writing an e-book for GKA may be the perfect chance for you to do that. Our e-books range from finance to college tips. If you have something to share, we have someone to listen. 

To learn more, contact thoughtleaders@goldenkey.org.

• Host a course

If you’ve ever wanted to teach but haven’t gotten around to it, hosting a course on GKA is a great way to dip your toes in the water. On the GKA site, we offer self-paced courses guided by our Thought Leaders, designed to give members the skills necessary for life and earn certificates.

For more information, contact thoughtleaders@goldenkey.org.

Sell your book

GK is happy to announce the development of our GKA library to promote books authored by our Thought Leaders. If you’re a GK member and have written a book, we want to feature it! You can submit your book, including your Amazon affiliate page, to be included in our bookshop here. 

• Interact with GK on Social Media

One of the simplest ways to get involved with GK is to join us on social media. We are very active on social media, and we love when our members are involved. Feel free to leave us a comment, like or share on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn. In addition, we’re always sharing links to webinars and articles, featuring members and hosting chapter takeovers. 

We’d love to feature you on our Instagram and Facebook pages! If you’re interested, DM us with your name, university, major, graduation year and one thing that inspired you this past year.

We’re always happy to hear from alumni, and our undergraduate members love to hear from you too! So feel free to reach out to Golden Key and become more involved in the GK community. 

A Golden Key Alumni, former President of the Macquarie University chapter, and currently a Senior Analyst in the Technology & Controls Team at Deloitte Australia, Rakin Hasan’s journey has been remarkable.

Rakin came from Bangladesh as an international student in 2013.

He says for international students it is difficult to tap into the employment market but with his Golden Key connections, Rakin was able to find employment.

“I went to a lot of the conferences and one of the most exciting was in 2015 at the Gold Coast. That was one of the most helpful summits, because I got my first job from it,” Rakin says.

“I met someone who was a speaker and he was working with one of the Big Four. When I graduated, I stayed in touch with all my Golden Key colleagues, and that person posted a job on LinkedIn. I messaged him, and he said he was happy to refer me.

“Through that networking at the Golden Key International Summit I got my first job. That was a testament for myself that when networking, especially if you can tap into your connections with Golden Key, you can find wonderful things for yourself.”

Staying in touch with his network, Rakin has been involved with many Golden Key initiatives. In 2020, when faced with Covid-19 lockdown and restrictions, Golden Key Asia-Pacific introduced a Webinar series. Rakin lead the initiative and presented the regions first ever GK Talk “Enacting a Beacon for Change with Rakin Hasan”.

“I’ve been a career coach for about five or six years now. I started off in University, and I wanted to help people with resumes and covers letters. I had a side gig going on,” he says.

“It was last year in the pandemic that I wanted to make it free for people.  I put up a post and started giving free career coaching sessions to people who were losing jobs, and to people who could not find jobs.”

It was during this time, Rakin became a CA speaker at Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.

“Over the past year and a half, every moment I could find free out of work, I would invest in helping people create their cover letter or resume, or prepare for interviews.”

“I would go to universities and talk in front of students and professionals, talking about things that were important, things that would help them directly in their job or their career.”

With all the remarkable things Rakin is doing, it is no surprise he was recently identified by Acuity Magazine as one of the Top 20 under 35 Future Leaders.

“I feel like this was something I was building up to for a long time. It helps me continue to do the things I do well, which is going in front of people and talking and motivating people.

For Golden Key members, Rakin offers the following advice.

“Learn to sell yourself. That is why a lot of the Golden Key events are so important, because that is what they teach you. Yes education is important, but we are all a story and you need to learn how to tell your story. “

“Getting the job is literally a sales pitch and you need to have to perfect that sales pitch.”

Want to learn more from Rakin Hasan? Check out his second GK Webinar here: https://academy.goldenkey.org/video/identifying-risks-from-emerging-technologies/

But how do you score a top internship in the first place? By networking. By being thoughtful and strategic about how you network, you can grow your contacts, discover new opportunities, develop your people skills, and generally expand your horizons. Plus, it’s great preparation for later in your career when networking will continue to be so important.

Here are seven tips on networking that can help you earn a top internship in your industry:

1. Always be ready to actively network

Be ready to give an elevator pitch in any setting, whether it’s a meeting, at an actual networking event, or at a party. There are always people around you that may present an opportunity, no matter where you are at that time.

2. Be knowledgeable

I would never expect anyone to understand the ins and outs of every aspect of a business or individual, but go into any professional setting with some knowledge about the company and hiring manager if you know who that person may be. Google search can be one of your best friends, use the tool that’s right at your disposal to have some facts at your disposal if you’re speaking to someone who may be able to offer you that dream internship you’ve wanted to snag for months.

3. Get comfortable with who you are

People can quickly sniff out someone who is unauthentic. If you have an interview coming up do some prep work for the company as mentioned above, but try to go into the meeting as relaxed and calm as possible. Showing your nerves or worrying about it too much can hinder your chances at landing the internship. Be yourself, employers will value that.

4. Know what NOT to do at networking events

It’s easy to tell you what you should do if you want to land that top internship, but you should also keep in mind the things you shouldn’t be doing. Inc.com wrote up a list of what not to do while you’re at a networking event, and these tips are very helpful.

5. Volunteer during your down time

If you’re in between internships and waiting for next summer to land the one you’ve had your eye on, do some volunteering. It’s always good to pad your resume if you have the time to do so, and once that future internship interview comes you’ll have even more contacts through those volunteer opportunities.

6. Master your social network, don’t let it control you

You know the drill. If you haven’t done so by now, clean up your social media presence. There are tools like persona-co.com and others that help you get a clean online reputation. Post less, pay attention to your likes and favorites and scroll through those photos to eliminate any unwanted/less than flattering pictures for a future professional.

7. Stay positive

Positivity can go a long way, and whether it a friend or a prospective employer who sees a smile on your face, you’ll be paying it forward to everyone who may have a lot on their plate. The best networking is a real smile. Stay away from negativity and focus on the positives, and you can land that top internship.

This article was first published by Golden Key partner Dream Careers.

Dream Careers is a tuition based, an all-inclusive internship program, providing motivated college students an easy way to spend a summer in exciting cities such as New York City, Los Angeles, London, Washington DC, Barcelona and more, while also providing custom internship placement at your choice of nearly 5,000 companies. The program tuition ranges from $8,499 – $9,499 and covers your summer housing with hundreds of other college students, a meal plan, academic credit, exciting weekend trips, resume and interview preparation, and career development seminars.

If you’re a Golden Key alumni, we would love you to take five minutes to complete this short survey about your experiences as a member and your advice for younger members:

Be part of it.

Why join today?

• The chance to see the world and develop your skills with Study Abroad – who give priority access to Golden Key members
• Access to a wide range of scholarships and awards that will provide you with the funds to achieve your dreams
• The opportunity to take an active role in chapter activities and gain valuable leadership experience that will help to make your resume stand out
• Assistance when you’re preparing for graduate school, including support during the application process to exclusive grad school scholarships and the biannual Golden Key Virtual Graduate School Fair

Brad Rainey, Golden Key’s Executive Director, Reflects on What Golden Key Has Become in 40 Years . . . and What Its Future Holds

I became involved with Golden Key within a few months of its founding in 1977 and today, I am Executive Director. Even though I devoted 35 years to building a career in real estate, I have always been intimately involved with Golden Key.  For all Golden Key’s 40 years, I have been a champion and a believer.

The Golden Key story began in 1977 but the events that led to my involvement can be traced to the fall of 1973 when I was a freshman at the University of Mississippi. It was then that I met Jim Lewis, who is rightfully recognized as Golden Key’s founder. Jim and I got to be buddies, so much so that we decided to room together our sophomore year. Even though Jim transferred to Georgia State during his sophomore year, we remained friends. And as things turned out, we worked closely together as Golden Key grew and developed.

When he was completing his senior year at Georgia State, Jim saw that there was a need for a new kind of honor society. So he talked to students, got people interested, and ultimately obtained approval from the University to invite students to join the organization that would become Golden Key. The seminal idea was to create an honor society that would extend membership invitations only to top academic achievers – students whose GPA fell within the top 15% at their schools. Jim felt that idea would resonate very well with top students, so invitations were sent out. The response was very good, and the first induction ceremony took place on November 29, 1977 at Georgia State.

Based on that response, Jim saw the he had an idea that was worth pursuing – one that would resonate at other universities as well. A woman named Mary Evans became the first secretary.  And the fledgling staff was soon joined by another student, Steve Pracht, who shared the vision for Golden Key. Things were off to a good start and Golden Key was highly successful wherever it went. Activities increased at such a pace that Steve got excited and worked for a year without taking a paycheck.  Much of the credit for the early success and growth of Golden Key should be assigned to Steve Pracht.  Steve worked full time for the Society for about 25 years and still contributes to its mission.

One reason for Golden Key’s immediate success, I believe, is that it was more ambitious in vision than other honor societies, some of which I was also involved with at the time. One of them was Phi Kappa Phi, really quite a distinguished society. Being tapped to join was, and is, quite an honor. But at that time, Phi Kappa Phi didn’t get too involved with ongoing student activities or programs. Members were nominated by faculty members. There was a very elegant induction dinner, but then not too many more things happened.

Golden Key was conceptualized in a different way. As I noted above, only students who had performed to a high academic standard – the top 15% of students – would be invited to join. That was different from being nominated by a committee that weighed a variety of factors.

Another difference, from the start, was that Golden Key would provide funding to chapters and let the students who led them control what their Chapters would do, and how they would spend their Chapter’s fund. Activities were planned and run by the Chapters, not by the governing organization. That led to some interesting developments. The founders of Golden Key didn’t at first envision it as an organization that would get extensively involved in community service. That activity was actually born in the Chapters. We discovered that when you get a group of high-achieving people together and provide them with funding and other resources, great activities begin to happen almost spontaneously. And when students are given the resources to develop activities that have meaning for them that generates a lot of enthusiasm.

From the early days, Golden Key took a portion of the membership fees received and turned right around and used them to provide scholarships for members in every Chapter. Offering scholarships and financial aid to members is a foundational activity for Golden Key. It remains a central part of our vision for supporting high achievers.

As Golden Key was expanding to new campuses, it got a certain amount of pressure from the administration at Georgia State to incorporate, to file for proper status with the IRS, and to organize a Board of Directors and be properly governed. That was in 1978. I became a Board member, and I have remained involved with Golden Key for its entire 40 years. During those years, I took on many roles, including Chair of the Board, Vice Chair of the Board, Chair of the Finance Committee, Secretary of the Board, and Chair of the Compensation Committee. But I did not actually become an employee of Golden Key until November of 2011. At that time, a search began for a new Executive Director to helm the organization. The Board asked me to watch over the activities of the staff while the search moved forward. But I was then given the opportunity to serve as Executive Director, a position that I gladly accepted. I had spent 35 years in real estate business, and assuming another leadership role at Golden Key was a natural step for me.

I have greatly enjoyed serving as Executive Director, and I am extremely proud that over the last four years alone, Golden Key has awarded millions of dollars to our members in grants and scholarships.  There have been many other activities that have made me especially proud. Over the last few years, we have placed additional emphasis on providing members with opportunities to have international experiences. We’ve been providing travel grants that have helped Golden Key members travel to countries outside their own regions to attend conferences. For example, we are providing travel grants to attend the 6 Leadership Summits that we will host in 2018 for student members in the United States, Canada, South Africa and Australia. As it has been in the past, we are deeply committed to programs that give students the opportunity to study abroad – international experience.  Golden Key is an international society and most of the credit for our presence outside of the United States is due to Mark Herndon who is currently serving the Society as Vice President – International.

I have had the opportunity to meet outstanding students from all over the world. As you know, we have operations in countries that include Australia, Canada, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Africa, and more. I am always impressed at the caliber of our members, just incredibly moved by the stories of many of the people I have met. One is Kenechukwu Ikebuaku, a young man from Nigeria whom I first met at a conference in Australia. Thanks to his hard work and with the support of Golden Key, he first became an outstanding student. He is now in the process of launching Nigel International, an organization whose mission is to expand opportunities for young people in Africa. He is now a graduate student at the University of Texas and he is working with Onesimus Technologies, a company that helps Nigerian youth start and run their businesses. Kene is an inspiration. And a few months ago, I got to know another Golden Key member named Omarwalid Noorazada, an outstanding student and Fulbright Scholar who has traveled all over the world as a Golden Key Chapter President. It is immensely rewarding for me to be involved with so many great students who are performing at such a high level and doing outstanding things around the world.

Where do I see Golden Key going in the future? In the world environment today, I think that it is incumbent on the Honor Society to find ways to better deliver new and more extensive benefits to our members, so they become more empowered.

And the core benefits of Golden Key will remain unchanged. Members know they are part of a quality organization that will help them advance their careers, make valuable connections, and enjoy unequaled opportunities to grow and make contributions to their communities and the world.

That perception is more than one leader’s opinion. It has been borne out in milestones that marked Golden Key’s 40 years of evolution . . .

Students saw Golden Key’s promise at once, and within a few months of that initial induction ceremony in November 1977, efforts began to open new chapters. By the end of 1978, six Golden Key chapters had been established at the University of Georgia, the University of Florida, and other campuses. Chapters began to engage in service projects in the communities where they were located. The Society hired its first staff people and opened its first office to organize programs of foreign study for members.
Then in 1982, the first annual national Golden Key Conference was held in Atlanta. Members connected, shared service opportunities, and the founding values of Golden Key began to resonate on a deeper level. The value of bringing together members was clear and one year later, the first annual Golden Key Regional Conference took place at Michigan State.

The value of offering financial assistance to students began to take life. By 1984, Golden Key had awarded more than $100,000 in scholarships to members. In that same year, the 50^th Golden Key chapter opened at San Diego State University.

In 1985, Golden Key was able to purchase a building to house its national headquarters and a remarkable period of growth began. Corporate sponsors NCR and Peat Marwick came on board and fostered continuing growth.
In 1993, Golden Key opened chapters in Australia. New chapters were established in Malaysia, Canada and other countries and in 2000, the Society changed its name to Golden Key International Honour Society.
Success has followed success. By 2010, Golden Key reached the milestone of having 2 million members. And by 2011, the Society was annually awarding more than $1 million in scholarships to members.

Golden Key Today  

Today, Golden Key International Honour Society is a widely recognized and highly regarded collegiate honor society that prides itself on operating with integrity and transparency at over 400 colleges and universities worldwide.
Golden Key maintains offices in Australia, South Africa and the United States. Its international headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia
Golden Key International Honour Society is governed by an independently elected Board of Directors comprised of highly regarded professionals from universities, businesses and not for profits. These voluntary board members receive no compensation and are legally responsible for ensuring that the Society operates within its charter and in accordance with the various laws and regulations within the jurisdictions where Golden Key operates.
As its 40^th year begins, almost 2.5 million high achieving students have joined Golden Key.  Many members are Rhodes and Fulbright Scholars. Two Governor Generals of Australia, a former Canadian Prime Minister, astronauts, university presidents and other notables such as Bill Clinton, Desmond Tutu, Bill Ford and Elie Wiesel have proudly accepted honorary membership into the Society.

“We are not resting on our accomplishments,” says Executive Director Brad Rainey. And what accomplishments they are – 40 years’ worth.

Rainey adds, “Golden Key’s values, mission, history, accomplishments, and students have built a robust platform for a bright future of supporting students as Golden Key helps to create the world leaders of the future.”
 
Are you eligible? Click here to find out!

So that’s what I grew up watching (meaning hard work). And today, what I teach others and say to my children is that everybody is going to have different abilities. Everyone is going to have a different strategy for success, and everybody can achieve different things academically. But underneath all of that is the question, “Are you willing to work hard or not?”

For me, working long hours has been a key to success. A few years back when I was in public accounting, I sent an email to my managing partner at 9:00 p.m. and he replied, “Are you still in the office?”
I replied and said, “I have read that all successful people work at least 12 hours a day. I figured if I work 13, I’ll get there faster.”
 
What a story. When did you come to the United States?
Adnan Bokhari: I came in 1994, when I was just shy of 16 years old. It was my first international travel, and traveling by myself was quite fascinating and also frightening. My older brother, who is seven years older than I, was already here, living in Virginia. I moved in with him. There was just enough space in his room for two small beds, and that’s where I lived.
 
And did you attend university after you got here?
Adnan Bokhari: I did. I went to Strayer College, which is now Strayer University. I went there because they offered me the chance to take my visitor visa and use it to open the way to a student visa. So that was the opportunity there.

I am pretty sure I was the youngest student at Strayer. I was 16 years old.

 
What did you study?
Adnan Bokhari: I started with economics, just because I was 16 years old and didn’t know anything. My brother was doing an undergrad degree in economics, so I started studying economics too, and I got my Associates degree.
I then shifted to accounting and earned a bachelor’s degree in that field, because that’s where the jobs were in the D.C. area at the time, around year 2000. My Strayer education prepared me to take the CPA exam. I was able to pass the exam and I went into public accounting. In the firm, I continued to work closely with nonprofits and after working there for seven years, I moved to Prosperity Now (then Corporation for Enterprise Development) as its Chief Financial Officer. I’ve been with them since 2011, and two years ago, my role was expanded to Chief Operating Officer. So I’ve spent the last 17 years or so working in the nonprofit sector. My focus has been on building financial resiliency in nonprofits and creating operational excellence.
 
At what point did you first encounter Golden Key?
Adnan Bokhari: I got involved in Golden Key as a member of the Finance Committee, not yet a board member. I was introduced by Jerry Sullivan, who was the Executive Director of the American Association of College-Age Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO), an accounting client of mine. He thought that given my expertise in nonprofit finance, I could be of value to Golden Key.
And as I thought about Golden Key members I was reminded about my father. As I said earlier, he had potential and was willing to work hard. I thought about people who at different times had opened different doors and helped him. In his early years, someone helped him get admitted to grade school by giving him a chance to retake a test. Another person helped pay for part of his law school tuition, without being asked. These “door openers” helped him climb the economic ladder from extreme poverty and even eventually to send all four of his children to a school where Prime Ministers and their children go.

So in Golden Key, I saw an opportunity to open doors for students.

As we know, there is a widening opportunity and income gap not just in the United States, but globally. I care deeply about this issue because of my background. And Golden Key opens doors for the top 15 percent of students in their colleges. When I was a student at Strayer, I did not have Golden Key at my side helping me. But Golden Key has helped me connect with thousands of talented students. We have cumulatively more than two million members and every year, more than 30,000 to 40,000 new members join. That’s a lot of opportunity to make a difference.
 
There are leadership opportunities within the Golden Key campus chapters?
Adnan Bokhari: Yes, but not just on campus. Golden Key is committed to developing the next generation of leaders. We have entire international and regional summit agendas dedicated to leadership development.  Golden Key members learn critical skills while in college and have a leg up when they enter the workforce.
 
So it is safe to assume that you would recommend Golden Key to students who qualify for membership, correct?
Adnan Bokhari: There are many organizations that are trying to do good work on behalf of students, but Golden Key stands out in a few important ways. One is that it’s the largest honor society. The other is its higher educational standard.
In my own student years, I didn’t have the luxury of being a full-time student. I was working full time while I was taking courses. At Golden Key, we allocate a portion of our budget for scholarships, about half a million dollars every year, to help ease the financial burden of college. Golden Key also offers leadership opportunities to all our student members and opportunities to give back to the community.

So my question to students would be, “Why wouldn’t you join Golden Key?” Think about the opportunity cost. There’s no better alternative for the time that you spend while you are in college.

Are you eligible to join Golden Key?

• The experience of looking out for other people and caring for them, thanks to Golden Key’s volunteering opportunities
• The value of joining for a one-time low membership fee and enjoying benefits that are worth many times more
• A sense of community and hope that comes from making things better
• The chance to grow as both a leader and a good team member
• The chance to make a difference in the world
• The opportunity to build a professional and personal network that reaches across national borders
• The opportunity to build the confidence to do anything
• An opportunity to connect with leaders in your own university
• The availability of travel grants to attend Summits in other cities and countries
• A chance to connect with great mentors and advisors
• The opportunity to be part of something for life
• Opportunities to travel and learn about the world

Find More Videos on the Golden Key YouTube Channel
We invite you to visit the Golden Key channel on YouTube. You’ll find videos about members, Golden Key chapters, foreign study experiences, and much more. It’s a great way to learn all about Golden Key and get an inside look at the exciting benefits of being a member.