Although the festivities and the deliciously free baked goods were the main allure tonight, there was more to the meeting than just that.
The Halloween event was all about recruiting members for the club. Interact is the high school equivalent of the Rotary Club, an organization dedicated to volunteering and helping humanitarian efforts all over the world. Nadege Uwase, a member of Rotaract, the post-high school arm of the Rotary Club open to those between the ages of 19 and 29, is a sponsor of the Interact Club. In her mind, there are two main aspects to the high school organization.
“It’s a really amazing opportunity for high school students to work with each other and to interact,” Uwase said. “It’s an opportunity for them to learn leadership skills, to get involved in their community, and to hopefully broaden their horizons.”
As last year was the first year that the club even existed, it has already overcome most of the organizational and foundation obstacles that are posed to new groups. The goal the club focused on this year was to choose two volunteer projects, one international and one local, with which to get involved with. Nancy Zhao, a senior at CIS and the vice president of the club, is quite proud of the progress the group has made in the past year.
Interact “has gotten bigger and we have more people from other schools,” Zhao said. “I’m really happy and I think the club is going really well. ”
As for the Halloween recruitment party itself, Uwase believes it was a smashing success. Not only were there many new members who had never even attended an Interact session before, but the peals of laughter reverberating throughout the room made it seem as though everyone was enjoying themselves.
“It’s great because all the members can invite their friends and have fun,” Uwase said. “I mean, we’re bobbing for apples and we just ate a bunch of pizza!”
The fun atmosphere pervading the atmosphere persuaded at least one attendee that returning would be a good idea. RBHS senior Bridget Bier thoroughly enjoyed the idea behind the club as well as the party.
“I think it’d be a great idea to join Interact to make friends with people that you wouldn’t ordinarily know and to do good in the community,” Bier said. “I’m definitely going to be coming to future meetings.”
By Rajesh Satpathy
The Interact Club meets the first and third Thursday of every month from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. It is located at the Hampton Inn and Suites off of East Stadium Blvd. and Rock Quarry Rd. For more information, like the Columbia Interact Facebook page or follow Interact at @InteractCOMO.
