How would you like to work together not only to benefit yourself but to benefit your neighborhood as well? When you volunteer as a group, more can get done, more issues can be resolved, and visibility can be brought to challenges that face our world today. Here in Lake Nona, there is a group that works together to make this community stronger and a better place to live.
The Rotary Interact Club of Lake Nona is focused on service above self. Interact stands for International Action, and it focuses on shaping the leaders of tomorrow to better our community today. Interact is a club for high school students who want to join together to tackle the issues in our community that need the most attention. Through Interact, you can carry out hands-on service projects, develop leadership skills, and make international connections through the student exchange program.
You might ask yourself, “How does an Interact Club create positive change?” Every Interact Club carries out two service projects a year. One of the projects involves helping out your school or community, while the other promotes international understanding. You might also ask yourself, “Why is the club called Rotary Interact?” Our Interact club is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Lake Nona. That means whatever help we need to make our club thrive, the Rotary Club will be right beside us to support us along the way.
Throughout the year, Interact Club members come together to participate in mentorship activities, fundraisers and leadership conferences. On Nov. 4, at Lake Nona High School, we invited other Interact Clubs from different schools to participate in our District Interact Conference. One-hundred nineteen Interact members came together to engage in leadership activities and guided discussions. The total amount of money raised during the conference totaled close to $700.
Another leadership program that the Interact Club participates in is the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA), which is a four-night camp that awards the leaders in their Interact clubs. The leadership camp is a program run by Rotary. To attend the camp, you must be an ongoing Interact member and be interviewed by officers and your Rotary sponsor. The Rotary Club of Lake Nona pays for all expenses. The camp covers leadership fundamentals and ethics, communications skills, problem solving, and conflict management.
The Lake Nona Interact Club officers are: President Leah Laskowski, Past President and Founder Giullia Galbiatti, Vice President Ashley Andraski, Historian Layla Machado, Secretary Leslie Tubbs, and Head of Committee Cole Jones. The meetings are held the first and last Thursday of every month at Lake Nona High School. If any students are interested in joining, you can contact any of the club officers.
