Interact adviser Toni Normand and students, Angelique Racpan, Nicole Yamada, Noelle Yamamoto, Kellie Komatsu and Theresa Ginter, attended the annual Interact convention on Feb. 28 at the Ala Moana Hotel.

On Friday night, Interact members went to the Polynesian Cultural Center while Saturday morning was filled with workshops on the Academy campus. At night, members ate and played games at the Hawaii Prince Hotel. On Sunday morning, members had another workshop and the closing ceremony of the convention.

Komatsu said, “The Interact convention was surprisingly really fun. I met so many people who had a lot of the same interests. I got a lot of their Instagrams and so I am hoping that I can keep in contact with them. Also, because there were four exchange students, it was very interesting to hear about where they came from and how it’s different. Also, I was able to hear about the different projects that each club does, which then gave me ideas on what kinds of projects that our club can do like host fundraising events and combine with other Interact clubs to create a larger service project.”

Interact members learned about ways that they can become better leaders through creating and running different community projects.

Racpan said, “I learned how to plan a service project from start to finish. I also learned about the use of a specific project planning paper to stay organized. It included a new way to have fun with the voting process using stickers which was awesome! I definitely learned a lot about becoming a better leader. One major thing that stood out was making everyone be involved, such as the voting process. It’s important to include everyone’s opinion because then it really does become a group project that we all did together. Being open to different ideas helps to make a well-rounded leader.”

Interact advisers from different schools organize the event. This year it was Normand’s turn.

“My goals for the convention were for students to meet students from other clubs and to get ideas and inspiration from each other. I wanted them to have a mix of learning, getting ideas and fun.”

Eight other schools, including Kapolei High School and Nanakuli Intermediate and High School, attended the convention.