The Bobcat’s Post

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A Message from the Editor

What’s up guys, Kevin Lao here

introducing you to the first CKI

Newsletter of the 15-16 term for UCM

Circle K, went through a lot of

articles as well as a number of good

interviews and would like to ask you

all to please enjoy this newsletter.

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Table of Contents

Pg3. Meet the board Pg11. Kite Festival

Pg7. D-Con Pg12. C3

Pg8. Boys and Girls club Pg13. Home for the homeless

Pg9. Ohana Luau Pg13. Relay For Life

Pg10. Bobcat Day

Pg6. Relay For Life

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President

Name: Jorge Lopez

Interests: Food, Sleep, Service

Dislikes: School, jk but there are times when it does suck

Goals: Circle K goal: I want to be able to develop myself as a leader, as well as the club in any way that I can

alongside my fellow board members. Personal Goal: I want to work hard in my education to hopefully become a physical therapist.

Work Ethic: I like to plan things to make sure work is organized in a timely matter.

Quote to Describe Yourself: "A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination,

and hard work." -C. Powell

VPA

Name: Ana Le

Interests: Happiness, anime, manga, gaming, listening to music, reading, sleeping, writing and eating.

Dislikes: I dislike monotone voices, country and some classical music.

Goals: To always be self-reflective in everything that I do, never get content and to always find a way to be happy.

Work Ethic: Two words: hard-working.

Quote to Describe Yourself: "If you don't have a smile, you can take one of mine."

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Treasurer

Name: Dann

Interests: Learning, Kendama, hiking, meeting people, strategy games

Dislikes: Testing, ignorant people

Goals: Graduating with a B.S. in Chemistry, becoming a better person

Work Ethic: My work ethic is best in the morning, midday, and late evening. I tend to finish my work based on

priority. Being a twin, I tend to be more motivated if I am doing something with another person. I try to have a goal in mind when doing a task. And if I don't want to do something. I will avoid doing that task until necessary.

Quote to Describe Yourself: I never lose. Either I win or I learn.

VPS

Name: David Valles

Interests: Video Games, Girls, programming, Piano, Sports, Kobe Bryant <3, Shopping!!,

Dislikes: When the DC don't fold my burrito correctly, Onions, When my sister takes my things without asking, when

people are stubborn.

Goals: Recruit 5 people into circle K, Build a website for the club, Get an A in core, pass my finals with B or above,

be more social and easy going, make more friends throughout the division.

Work Ethic: Depends, if needed I have shown that I can exceed levels of expectations if there’s something I want or

if I'm motivated enough. Overall depends on my motivation, which is usually standard.

Quote to Describe Yourself: Try to find an easier and better way to do something all the time.

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MD&E

Name: Kevin

Interests: Making videos, watching movies,

Dislikes: None

Goals: Work with start-ups or non-profits through marketing

Work Ethic: I only take on tasks that I'm passionate about in order to give it my all and enjoy it.

Quote to Describe Yourself: "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become

more, you are a leader." -John Quincy Adams

Secretary

Name: Lexus

Interests: playing sports, Supernatural <3, and other geek-related things

Dislikes: Sea food, waking up extremely early, and rodents

Goals: Obtain a research position, and a job in education

Work Ethic: I believe that I am a perfectionist, especially with my school work. I pay very close attention to small

details, and continue working until my work is as perfect as possible.

Quote to Describe Yourself: "If you ain't first, you're last."

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Editor

Name: Kevin

Interests: Video Games, Music, Anime, Physics, Math,

Dislikes: Bad Food

Goals: Know most of the members in the board, be successful in college, be an awesome editor

Work Ethic: A bit lazy but gets the job done when he needs too

Quote to Describe Yourself: "Fall Down Seven Times, Stand Up Eight" -Japanese Proverb

The SPIRIT Meter

Going around The Board I asked them a range of questions including how much they rated the club as a whole in terms of how spirited we are. Here’s their ratings and reasons:

President’s Average spirit rating: 2 and 1/3

Reason: “I feel as if we can get more participation, as well as coming up with our own club

cheers, people will grow more spirited.”

VPA’s Average spirit rating: 3

Reason: “We need to practice more cheers.”

VPS’s Average spirit rating: 3 and 1/3

Reason: “I try to be spirited and i love spirit, but compared to others in this organization,

they're just at a whole other level.”

Treasurer’s Average spirit rating: 3

Reason: “Our school's spirit is represented by the pride of what we have done. Not our in-the-

present energy at events. Another factor is our clubs discretion to avoid cheers. (It's nice imo,

but time consuming. Personal praise over public praise.)”

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D-con

is an annual event where

the whole district of

Nevada, Hawaii, and

California all come together to

celebrate the past year with the

past district board members, as well

as wish good luck to the new elected board members for the coming year. To

the members who went, it was an awesome experience, to not only learn more

about what it is to have a leadership role in circle K, such as VPS or Secretary,

but also to gain new friends as well as new connections from places outside of just

where you came from. I was lucky enough to be able to interview two members from

our very own club, and they each had very different experiences. The first interviewee

told me about the experience, in his very own words he said he was, “digging it” and

he loved how spirited the atmosphere was, as well as all the new friends he made. The

other interviewee I asked told me it was the second time she had gone, and she had a

much different expectation saying that, “I didn’t put myself out there like I did last

time.” As I interviewed these two people I saw the real reason why D-con was so

special; D-con was the place where the two tenants: Fellowship and Leadership,

actually came to life. The second interviewee didn’t have as much time as the first one

because she, “Chose to stay with people who [she knew] when D-con is a way to get to

know many Circle K members from many different clubs in the California-Nevada-

Hawaii Convention” what made her experience so different is the intention of trying to

get to know people you never even think you would talk to before. The first interviewee

Apocalypse Now

“Never be picky Choosing Weapons”

There were many workshops at D-con and one workshop that stood out to me was how to survive a

zombie apocalypse, so as a tribute I went around and asked what weapons you would use in an

apocalypse scenario, here’s what I got:

What is your weapon of choice in a zombie Apocalypse? : Crossbow, Daul Barretas, Shotgun,

Technology? (Electricity), Superman, and Dean Winchester (Supernatural)

BONUS: What about Alien Invasion? : Energy Sword, Light Saber, Charming Personality, Flamethrower,

and Sonic Screw driver

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summed it up best when he said, “D-con taught me to not be afraid to talk to new

people….. just go out there, make new friends, and you’ll be a lot happier.”

In a typical month we generally

volunteer at the Boys and Girls Club

doing various arts and crafts, but this

month with Easter two days away we

were able to help in the organizations

Easter egg hunt. Not only did we help

hide the eggs for roughly three

different groups of children ranging

from first to fourth grade, but we also

helped maintain the boundary so

children wouldn’t wander off and help

them find any hard to find eggs.

Boxing for a Cause “Benefit for Boxing” was an event held at Le Grand High School to support youth boxing in Merced. I was

able to interview Dann Young for more information:

How do you think the event went?

The boxing fundraising event was great! The event had a full house of guests that supported the fundraiser.

The dinner served was delicious by the way.

Was there anything fun/interesting that went on during the event?

During the event, they showcased their boxers in few short one-minute rounds. You could see all of their

hard work over the years through the showcase. Stitch, a famous local, also was there. He advocated the

uses of boxing and gave autographs at the end of the event.

Are you a big fan of boxing?

Personally, I am not a big enough fan to fully understand the sport of boxing. But I have watched a fair

number of videos and pay-per-views to know how exciting it can be. Exciting is an understatement of how

much hype there is.

Do you agree with "stitch"'s decision for putting his money on Mayweather

Why? Or why not?

I think Mr. Duran's confidence in Mayweather is a personal preference. Although I don't follow boxing,

between Mayweather and Pacqiou (spelling?), I would choose to support my country's fighter. Mayweather

gonnaaaaa beatttttt paqyao. I still don't know how to spell his name.

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Afterwards, we then got on to our typical activities and helped the kids make one of two

different projects. One being a bunny’s face made out of marshmallows and the other being

construction paper chicks hatching out of an egg.

As with any event with young children there were some issues with keeping the kids on

track, as we had to deal with a time limit, but beyond that the event was really enjoyable. Not

only were we able to see the creativity and individuality of the children while making their

crafts, but we also saw a sense of enjoyment from similar to that of when they were looking for

eggs not much earlier, which was truly satisfying.

At the Ohana Lu’au on 4/19/15, performers from the school’s many cultural clubs danced to their own

specific songs. This onslaught of performers would only begin at 6pm, after 10 hours of preparation.

Tables for volunteers and representatives from other clubs, including our Circle K, lined the entrance to

bombard guests with greetings and handouts. Our table was slightly further from the others, just far

enough to see the swarms of people be greeted by other tables. Thankfully, this also meant less work, as

we only had to deal with guests arriving from one direction.

Volunteers began to arrive in the morning, to help prepare the location. Soon, people began to

arrive, both guests, merchants, and more volunteers (to replace the worn out peons). As the day grew

on, the mass of people became larger. Fortunately for some, they were quick enough to receive from a

limited amount of leis; meanwhile,

others were too slow to arrive. A

diverse series of music began to play,

with what I assume was performers

representing an aspect of their culture.

Unfortunately, volunteers from Circle K

could only guess what was happening,

as we were posted out of sight from

the performance. However, our

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location also had its benefits. Sparing us from overworking, most of the guests from the other direction

had the tact not to approach our isolated table.

As night fell, people stopped entering, people started leaving, and we started to have a moment of

reprieve. When not collecting garbage from the audience, we attempted a few games, chatted, Kevin

suffered from allergies, and Ruben (I’d guess) silently suffered from being there from since early

morning. By 10pm, performances ended, the audience dispersed (into the photo booth, then out), and

the music died out; nevertheless, volunteers began to take down the tables, lights, and decorations.

After an hour, it had ended and, although fired up, Circle K members retreated to prepare for a fast

approaching Monday.

Saturday, April 11th was Bobcat Day. The premier day in which potential students come to

campus to view the school and interact with the organizations on campus in order to get a grasp of UC

Merced before they make their final decision on where to go for school.

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While this wasn’t exactly a recruitment event it was very similar to one, and we essentially

tabled as if it was one. Overall the event went well and we ended up getting somewhere upwards of

forty interested perspective students, but that doesn’t mean that there weren’t some issues. For one,

there were some issues with some members not knowing what to say in some situations, and we also

had issues with having too many members at the table, which led to a decrease in productivity. Besides

that everything went pretty well and has left our club looking forward towards the future the possible

increase in membership that this event has provided us.

“Flying Kites so high” For our Kiwanis One Day event we helped out at the Livingston Kite Festival. This is the second year in a row in which we

have done this event, and this year it took place on Sunday, April 12th.

Last year we mainly helped out with attending the attractions, like the bounce houses, but this year we helped teach children

how to make kites in collaboration with our Kiwins from El Capitan and Merced High. Not only that, but we also helped out at the

face painting booth.

Overall the event was exhausting (like last year), but at the same time it was an entirely different situation as we were able

to spend such a large amount of time with our Kiwins, which really made the event much more enjoyable.

One interviewee talked about his experience during the kite festival, “while we were at the tables making kites one kid and his family

came up to ask we could fix his kite. After we fixed it, we ended up going out to the field to try and get it off the ground. It didn’t

really fly as much, but looking at the kid smile, you could tell he was having tons of fun.”

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C^3 was an extremely fun event. Not only was the social portion of the event enjoyable, but the

service itself was fun and allowed for

the creation of bonds with people from

various divisions.

C^3’s name is derived from the

fact that it is a collaborative event

between the Central Coast and Capital

divisions, but we also had Golden Gate

and Sunset approved to attend the

event. Not only did we have a large

amount of people attending the event, but there were people from various different schools,

and it was nice to be able to meet and interact with them.

For the service part of the event we did a river and park cleanup, which basically

involved us going along a river bank and picking up any trash we saw. The way the groups were

formed allowed for us to meet various people from different schools, which was nice because

without events like this it would otherwise be difficult to meet people from

so many different places. Then, we had the social portion, which consisted

of the DCM, scavenger hunt, and the fundraising portion.

The DCM was rather standard, but the scavenger hunt was really

fun as we had to find certain things on campus and do various odd tasks.

The scavenger hunt would have been more enjoyable if the banner hadn’t

been taken, but that’s an entirely different story. Then we had the

fundraising portion which was an auction to pie the various current and

former LTGs and the new Central Coast Presidents. For me seeing the

Central Coast Presidents getting pied was one of my favorite moments of

C3

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the event because of how psyched Fresno State was for having pooled up enough money to win

and pie their new president.

On April 25

we also attended Relay for Life,

which took place at Merced College. We had

one member there since three, and our clubs president

and I showed up a little later after we finished with the Junior

Olympics that day.

As you could probably assume we mainly just walked, and walked, and walked. It was

exhausting for Jorge and I, but probably even more so for Kevin Cruz who had gotten there about two

hours before us.

“Hope for the Homeless” On April 7 we volunteered at the homeless shelter with our Kiwanis. It was a very

humbling event, but at the same time it was nice to be able to see the different personalities

of the people there and to be able to just be there and help out.

When we got there we helped out set up the chairs and then we moved on to the main

portion of what we were supposed to do, which was preparing and serving the food.

Our Kiwanis made the food and we helped serve it onto plates and then pass it out to

the homeless arriving at the shelter. One of the things that stuck with me most was the

outlook and personalities of the people we met because the people there were kind and fairly

optimistic despite their circumstances.

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At one of the tents a group was giving out necklaces where you would add a bead to it for every

lap you did, and the three of us decided to partake in it, and at the end of that very long day I ended up

with about sixty beads.

In the past we had had events that were strenuous and exhausting, but this one took the cake, it

took so much to stay awake and keep walking that at one point I hid in the tent because of the cold,

which is why I feel Kevin deserves a lot of praise because when Jorge and I stayed in the tent to rest a bit

Kevin basically walked the whole time. We spent a majority of the time walking together and because of

that we all were able to bond, which is sort of funny because we all were already decently close. Back

when Jorge and I first joined the club Kevin provided us with various opportunities to develop ourselves

into better leaders and helped us transition into things, so it was nice being able to spend time with

them like this.

Beyond that the event was filled with experiences ranging from fun to somewhat bizarre like

having some members from Kappa Sigma bring us a tent to having Jorge’s sleeping bag “misplaced,” but

all in all the event was extremely fun, albeit tiring, but still fun and a great experience.

Contributors:

Rueben Olmos(Boys and Girls club, Bobcat Day, Kite

Festival, C3, Junior Olympics, Feeding the Homeless,

and Relay For Life)

Brian Tsan (Ohana Luau)

Rodrigo Riega, and Alysia Nichols(Pictures)

Interviewees:

Dann Young

David Valles

Jorge Lopez

Ana Le

Lexus Palominos

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