Out of 14,911 Interact clubs in the world, MSA junior Nilufer Karahan leads one here at Ocean Lakes as the club founder and president.
The Ocean Lakes Interact Club launched this year and is sponsored by AP Computer Science A and Computer Programming teacher Jack Wheeler.
“The club was founded about a year or two ago, but it is a relatively new club,” student activity coordinator Reece Benzel said.
Interact clubs, sponsored by Rotary International, are service clubs for youth aged 14 to 18. These Interact clubs focus on community service to help promote causes such as hunger, peace and sanitation. Rotary and Interact share common interests, except that Rotary is only for those aged 21 or above.
Nilufer initially found out about Rotary and its sponsorship of Interact through a friend who was also president for the Interact club at their school.
“I noticed at Ocean Lakes, there was not a huge service club that dealt with not just a specific area, but everything in general,” Nilufer said. “I was encouraged by her to start it in our community.”
Interact clubs are required to organize at least two service projects a year; one project must help the school community and another must promote international understanding. So far, the club has conducted their first project at Eastern Shore Chapel Episcopal Church, where they packaged food. Acts like these are one of the reasons that Nilufer continues to lead Interact.
“I think community service is really important and that others should also see it as something that is important. Honestly, it makes me happy to see others happy and taken care of,” Nilufer said.
Nilufer continues to lead the club due to the experience she had being at a Rotary meeting. The meeting was at the Town Center where she felt respected and heard as an adult, not just a “teenager.”
“From this, I want to make sure that other students in Interact learn the ability to be selfless, care about others and encourage others to have that culture within them and throughout the club,” Nilufer said.
Alongside being Interact club’s president, she’s on the varsity girls tennis team and is the first sergeant in her Civil Air Patrol squadron.
Not only does she work hard to balance these activities out with Interact, but makes sure to resolve conflicts within the club that may arise by making sure to listen to everyone’s opinions.
“Working with Nilufer is incredible because she’s not just a great leader but also an amazing teammate,” junior and Interact club vice president Nyzier Gary-Privott said. “She knows how to balance being professional with being relatable, which makes everyone feel comfortable sharing ideas and contributing.”
Nilufer did not learn these leading techniques on her own; rather, she observed leaders around her and took inspiration from her father, who was a former NATO officer.
“He definitely taught me what a leader should be, how to lead others and the importance of community service,” Nilufer said.
Currently, the club plans to conduct a service project to tutor elementary students with math and science. Nilufer has plans to do nationwide projects by June. By next year, she hopes the club can conduct international projects with Interact clubs in other countries, a cause she is looking forward to.
“We get a glimpse of their life, a glimpse of how they lead. I’m enthusiastic because this will be a very interesting viewpoint,” Nilufer said.
Moving forward, Nilufer hopes that Interact will be able to collaborate with other schools and students nationally and globally. Not only this, but she hopes that underclassmen who eventually take her position will progress the club. She also has plans to join Rotary after she graduates.
“The whole point of Interact is to pass not just the club, but to pass the character traits, experiences, respect for others and all those good qualities that the club encourages,” Nilufer said.
