Last Wednesday we celebrated Youth Day by hearing from the local Interact Clubs, and we were introduced to this year’s scholarship recipients. Interact Clubs bring together young people ages 12-18 to develop leadership skills while discovering the power of Rotary’s “Service Above Self.” Interact clubs sponsor at least two projects every year, one that helps their school or community and one that promotes international understanding. Rotary club sponsors mentor and guide Interactors as they participate in projects and develop leadership skills.

Josh Smith explained that there are over 14,000 Interact clubs around the world and we are fortunate to work with four of them locally, Early College Campus, Monsignor Kelly Catholic High School, Westbrook High School, and Beaumont United High School. Because of testing going on in some of the schools locally, only two of the local clubs were able to attend this meeting. Representatives from those two schools, Kelly High School and Beaumont United came up and presented some of the projects they have completed during the year. The members of each of the groups were introduced as well. Projects completed included packaging meals for Nutritional Services for Seniors, bake sales, ringing the bell for Salvation Army, organizing school activities such as the first ever powder-puff game at Beaumont United, and several other projects. The clubs hope to participate in the “Sleep in Heavenly Peace” project in the future and any other projects we may sponsor as a club.

Judge Marcia Crone then presented the recipients of the two annual scholarships awarded by our club to high school seniors in Beaumont who plan to attend college to pursue a bachelor’s degree. The scholarship committee reviewed sixteen applicants this year for academic excellence, community service, leadership potential, and financial need. The scholarship award is $2000 per year for four years for each student, or $8000 total for each student. The winners this year were Kelsey Elgar and Michala Pollard. Kelsey has maintained excellent grades as a senior at Kelly High School, is the current student body president, is the secretary of the Interact Club and had a leadership role in several other student organizations. She plans to pursue a degree in biology at St Thomas University in Houston, Texas. Michala, also a senior at Kelly High School, is a member of the National Honor Society, Vice President of her class, Parliamentarian of the Key Club, Founder and President of the Black Student Union, captain of her volleyball and soccer high school teams. While participating in all these activities, she also works part-time for Chick-fil-A. She plans to attend Texas Christian University in Fort Worth and work towards becoming an orthopedic surgeon.

It was encouraging to see our future leaders and future fellow Rotarians at our meeting today.