JBSA-Randolph Keystone Club members 'think big' at national conference Published April 12, 2012 By Robert Goetz Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph Public Affairs JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas -- A group of teenagers who belong to the Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph Youth Programs' Keystone Club recently spent a weekend in Fort Worth, Texas, honing their leadership skills, building a community garden and listening to motivational speakers and musical performers. The students attended the 45th annual National Keystone Conference March 22-25, an event that attracted some 1,600 teenagers and their club advisers. "Think Big" was the event's theme. "Keystone is a teen character and leadership program sponsored by the Boys and Girls Clubs of America," Andrea Black, Randolph Youth Programs coordinator, said. "Every year, BGCA holds a national conference to provide Keystoners a positive leadership experience where they can engage and socialize with peers, explore relevant issues and develop skills that support and enhance their efforts in their clubs and communities." Black and another youth programs staff member, Katy Taylor, joined nine Keystone Club members from Randolph at the conference, which also included a tour of Paul Quinn College in Dallas, sessions that addressed topics from academic success and self-esteem to bullying prevention and online safety, and a trip to Six Flags over Texas, which wrapped up the event. Leadership was a pervasive theme at the conference. "I learned leadership means you have to stand up for yourself," Khadyajah Jenkins, a 13-year-old eighth-grader at Randolph Middle School, said. Her classmate Bryttney London said leaders "always go the extra step." Attendees also learned the importance of interpersonal skills. "You don't have to hang out with the same people," Khadyajah said. "You can open up yourself to others." Bryttney said she learned "not to judge a person by what they look like on the outside." Another classmate, Kiara Hagans, said the lessons she learned were to "think big, take risks and give back." An important hands-on activity was a community service project in the city of Grand Prairie's Dalworth community, Khadyajah said. The project was one of three to clean up neighborhoods and create vegetable gardens. "We moved more than 36 tons of cinder blocks and built garden beds out of the blocks," she said. "About 200 kids were involved." Khadyajah also said she enjoyed the entertainment, especially singer, actor and dancer Jacob Latimore. Other talents included musical performers Keri Hilson and Miguel, and performance painter David Garibaldi. Black said the Randolph Key Club members raised money to attend the conference, selling cookies, candy, popcorn, nachos and other "goodies" at youth center basketball games and other on-base events, and conducting other fundraisers. She said they already have a nest egg to build on as they plan for next year's Keystone conference in Atlanta. "They're excited about going to the next one," Black said. "They got a lot out of this conference. They represented Randolph in a great way."