Co-reported by Rana Aghababazadeh. Additional reporting by Emma Lam.
moke rose from near the cafeteria, the scent of hamburgers wafted through the air. A long line of students had gathered around in the rally court, grabbing plates and chips and waiting to fill their stomachs with the patties being grilled in front of them. Amongst the crowd of hungry teenagers were students decked in crimson shirts with the words “Monta Vista Interact” written across the front.
Every year, MVHS Interact holds an annual barbeque andwelcomes students from all grade levels to their club. The event, held after school on Sept. 15 in front of the student union, was free for everyone. However, priority was given to those wearing Interact apparel. Officers and FUHSD liaisons to the Rotary Club, who help sponsor Interact, also helped with serving food.
Through the event, the club aims to find and recruit new students interested in the club as well as bond with returning members. As Community Project Chair of the club, sophomore Priyasha Agarwal says that Interact is a closely knit organization and that the club uses the event as a means to promote their club and inform more students about how they differ from other service groups.
“We also differentiate ourselves from other service clubs because Interact stands for international action,” Agarwal said. “So we try to promote certain activities and causes internationally.”
Since Interact is a global organization and has many different chapters across the world, each chapter has two committees – the International Project Committee and the Community Project Committee. Every year, Interact chooses one cause to help out and creates projects for the two committees that the members of the club will work towards throughout the year. These projects are announced every October at the Fall Leadership Conference (FLC), which will be taking place at Independence High School, in San Jose on Oct. 9 this year. The club helps to raise awareness for the cause by organizing events that members can volunteer at to increase their own service hours.
“Last year, this cause was called ‘Under One Roof’ where basically we helped homeless people feel more like welcomed into the community,” Agarwal said.
The club will be hosting an event on Sept. 24 in Memorial Park as a precursor to FLC. The event includes blanket and tutu-making as well as a bonding session where new members learn chants and play games.
As students moved over to the tables in the rally court with their friends, holding their freshly cooked burgers and chattering about, officers wove in between the crowd to introduce themselves to surrounding students.
With only a couple of patties remaining by the end of the whole event, the barbeque was quite successful. Agarwal hopes that through the event, the club was able to show its hospitality and desire to bring its members closer together.
“We want to bond with our members and by providing such events we get to see whoever is part of interact or is interested in joining,” Agarwal said. “We can help, we get to know their name and we bond with them.”
