Have you ever met someone and just instantly developed a connection? All of a sudden, you feel as though you’ve known them your whole life and feel warm and fuzzy inside. As a Circle K treasurer, this is what I experience every time I meet someone new in the organization. For those of you who don’t know, Circle K international is an international organization that promotes service, leadership, and fellowship with over 13,000 members. Manchester University’s chapter of Circle K is in the Northern Plains district of Indiana. Northern Plains also includes Ball State University, Grace College, IPFW, and Trine University. Over the course of two weeks, we had two successful events and a significant increase in the number of club members.

The best event was an interclub sponsored by Huntington University’s Circle K. An interclub is when at least two members from another club fellowship or complete a service activity together. My friend Cassie and I did not have a ride and so Sarah Gruenewald the President of Huntington University’s Circle K offered to pick us up and go to the event in Fort Wayne. Now, you’ll learn fast that the Circle K family has a long-standing tradition of Steak and Shake runs with each other. It’s cheap, fast, and delicious. Also, I can exchange loving gazes with the Red Bull refrigerator and reluctantly sigh because my wallet and heart can’t bear to buy another beautiful can. The fries are crispy and piping hot like golden pieces of angel hair. The burgers are cooked to perfection. The shakes are thick and sweet like my grandma. Besides the food, I loved connecting with other college students who were from different areas of Indiana. After a while, you realize that your problems aren’t as bad as you thought. In the end, we are all coming together for a cause greater than ourselves and that’s commendable considering all of our individual stresses.

After Steak and Shake, we went to Crazy Pins. Crazy Pins has bowling, karaoke, putt- putt, laser tag, bumper cars, and an arcade. We had originally planned to go glow bowling, but all of the lanes were too full and there was an hour-long wait. That said, putt-putt was just as great and we had a wonderful time. Word of advice: putt-putt is a great stress reliever. My friend, Cassie beat me and I feel embarrassed to share my score. Who knew putt putting was a dangerous sport? That day, I hit everything except the hole.  No one was injured in the making of this blog.

All in all, we had a great time. I am honored to serve as a treasurer of Circle K. I am grateful to be a part of an organization with members who are so dedicated that they do not mind driving 35 minutes out of their way to take you to an event. I’m excited to see what the future holds because if this is just the beginning I can only imagine how this year will turn out.