Bonnie Cooper, adviser of the NDSU chapter of Golden Key International Honour Society, attended the organization's 2009 International Convention July 30 to Aug. 2, in Orlando, Fla. NDSU was recognized for being a Gold-Level Chapter (the highest status possible) for the fifth consecutive year. This year's theme was “Be the Captain … Your Ship is Waiting.” More than 500 delegates were in attendance.

NDSU also had a display at the conference’s CitizenSHIP Showcase. The display outlined last year’s successful "Read for the Record" event and also had information about this year’s Oct. 8 event in which NDSU Golden Key members attempted to read Eric Carle's "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" to as many children as possible that day. Worldwide, 2,019,752 children had the story read to them, breaking last year’s record of 688,781. NDSU Golden Key members read to 165 children at Robert Asp Elementary in Moorhead. "Read for the Record" activities in Moorhead were sponsored, in part, by the Minnesota Reading Corps.

More information about Read for the Record is available at www.readfortherecord.org.

NDSU Golden Key recognizes sophomores (with at least 45 credits), juniors and seniors in all academic fields. Students at these levels who are in the top 15 percent of their respective classes are invited to join annually. Golden Key has 370 chapters in Australia, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Canada, the Virgin Islands, Malaysia, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and the United States. 

The NDSU chapter was established on Nov. 21, 1995, and chartered on April 16, 1996. Since then, the chapter has received numerous regional and international awards, including Best New Chapter, Key Chapter, Honorable Mention Key Chapter and Gold-Level Chapter.