Rotary Inducts Huntington Interact Club Members
This makes everything “official.” While Huntington High School’s Interact club has been up and running for several months, members were formally inducted into the organization by the local Rotary chapter during a ceremony held earlier this week in the School Heritage Museum.
Rotary sponsors and supports local Interact clubs, hence the organization’s role in this week’s induction. “We are fortunate to have a team of adults interested in working with us and supporting us in what we want to do in our school and the community,” said Camille Tedeschi, a high school social studies teacher who serves as Interact’s faculty advisor.
“The Rotary has many learning and leadership opportunities for students and it is currently looking for three or four sophomore students to apply for the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards program,” Ms. Tedeschi said. Students can visit www.ryla.org to lean more.
Huntington’s Interact club is already quite active. “We have so much fun together and it shows by the involvement each member puts into our club,” Ms. Tedeschi said. “We have great attendance at meetings and the members always make time to attend meetings and/or events. I think it is a valuable club for students to be involved with and I am honored to be the advisor.”
Community service is at the heart of Interact’s mission and its members know it. “It’s an exciting way for students to learn responsibility and help others while helping themselves,” Ms. Tedeschi said. “It is great to not just talk about community service, but to actually do it.”
Club members recently visited Washington Primary School and worked there with the fourth grade leadership team coordinated by teachers Debbie Quiles and Vivian Joseph, who are also Interact members.
“The energy in the room was infectious and both the high school students and fourth graders blended together to get to know each other and promote a sense of community within the classroom and for future projects during this school year,” Ms. Tedeschi.
Club members have also been involved in raising monies to purchase a prosthetic limb for a local veteran and if funds remain after completing that project the Huntington teenagers hope to buy a prosthetic for a high school aged individual in Haiti.
Huntington Interact has also participated in food drives, costume drives and coat drives. “We are eager to work as a team to make a difference in our school, community and the world,” Ms. Tedeschi said.
Several Rotary Club members attended this week’s induction, including Maryann DeSimone, Bill Bohn, Greg Fitzgerald, MJ Fitzgerald and Lynn Plunkett. Mr. Fitzgerald administered the oath of office to Huntington Interact’s executive board followed by the full membership. Students received Interact pins and the school received a club certificate.
Every Interact member has a club t-shirt, which they wear on specified days and at various events. Members wore the shirts to school on the day of the induction and to the ceremony itself to demonstrate their pride in the club’s mission.
“This is not just another club to list on a resume,” Ms. Tedeschi said. “It is a club that each member is committed to and wants to be a part of. We recently had new members join us and we are always open to more.”
A bulletin board containing club announcements is affixed to the wall outside of room 206. Students interested in learning more about the club are encouraged to speak with Ms. Tedeschi.
The club’s executive board consists of Amanda LoScalzo (president), Kayla Ryan (vice president), Gabriella DeLuca (treasurer) and Camille Stafford (secretary). The general membership includes Julia Aureliano, Gabriella Bartley, Sylvia Belanger, Abby Bellistri, Elizabeth Berejka, Lauren Berg, Emma Breitbarth, Mia Breitbarth, Madison Bucholtz, Katie Burton, Jess Cordes, Oscar Aguilar Cruz, Elena Cuascat, Grace Curran, Aisha Dejoie, Christiana DeLuca, Megan Desmond, Keegan Dunne, Charlie Ehrman, Julia Engle, Sabrina Flores, Shannon Foley, Isabella Fox, Sara Frawley, Ryann Gaffney, Meaze Gbalazeh, Jack Glicker, Sarah Grassi, Francesca Greco, Anna Gulizio, Claire Hannon, Noelle Harvey, Madeline Haughwout, Will Hebert, Maya Hoffman, Vivian Joseph, Anjali Kapur, Paige Lennon, Magenta Lopez, Matt McBride, Natalie McCann, Dylan McCarty, Lauren McGlone, Kelsey Miller, Theresa Moreno, Noah Morris, Erin Morrisroe, Haley Mortell, Garrett Moya, Alexandra Muller, Emma Petrizzi, Caroline Petrozzo, Emma Pipolo, Jackson Pitti, Debbie Quiles, Austin Reda, Katie Riley, Rachel Roday, Julia Rogan, Lauren Sage, Kaitlyn Sage, Isabella Scarpati, Matt Sgrizzi, Alexandra Smith, Alyssa Sorensen, Ryan Stieve, Ariana Strieb, Colette Wagner, Tara Wilson and Lydia Witt.