Arizona is not usually the best place to be during the hottest month of the year, but for NKU’s Golden Key’s International Student Leader Award recipient, the end justified the means.

Jeff Fox, a senior public relation major, received the award at the closing ceremony of the Golden Key International Conference in Scottsdale, Ariz., Aug. 12.

The Golden Key International Honour Society recognizes one student out of the 1.6 million members who exhibits an exceptional “dedication to the society as well as for campus leadership, community service and an outstanding undergraduate record,” according to the Society’s Web site. Fox was the winner of the award and will receive a $1,000 scholarship from the Society.

With an excellent transcript and a community service list ranging from Adopt a Highway to Make a Difference Day under his belt, Fox applied for the Regional Student Leader Award and won earlier this summer. After winning at the Regional level, Fox was nominated for the international honor. “I was very excited but I didn’t know what I was up against,” Fox said. “Honor societies are taken much more seriously in other countries.”

More than 700 people attended the closing ceremony where Fox was announced as the winner of award. The Honor society has 335 chapters around the globe and gives out $400,000 annually to its qualifying members.

Fox was president of the NKU chapter of Golden Key last year, which under his leadership was named the Most Improved Student Organization in 2005 to 2006. “Golden Key had a presence on campus,” Fox said, “but no one really knew who we were