Interact Insider | Issue 21

D i s t r ict News D i s t r ict News

Introducing the HOICast

By Alana Weinstein | Area 4

If you ’ ve been following along with District 5170 on social media, you ’ ve probably seen multiple HOICast episode releases, otherwise known as the Humans of Interact Podcast. But what really is HOICast about?

For starters, Humans of Interact was created years ago as a way for District 5170 to feature a wide variety of Interactors throughout the district, and after a brief lull in activity, our Daybreak Digital Media Coordinators (DMC’s) have brought back HOI this year! In order to keep their team active, our DMC’s Kiwi Bautista and Annika Romero have provided

continuous communication and support for their HOI crew. Kiwi Bautista remarked, “whether it’s about what platform to use for recording our podcast or who to reach out for interviews, Annika and I always have a way to help them. We also have bi-weekly meetings to check in with everyone!”

As for the HOICast itself, each episode is hosted by Candra Kou and Sebastian Moya, the media coordinators of HOI, and typically features a few guest Interactors to share their experiences. Each podcast episode’s topic is seemingly random at first, especially to anyone who has been interviewed without previous planning, like some

Daybreak DMCs Annika Romero & Kiwi Bautista

attendees from our recent Area 4x5 bonding event presented in Episode 4. However, Candra Kou shared her preparation for the podcast, mentioning, “We usually try to pick a theme or topic for

each episode, but we typically ask each guest about their Interact journey or what made them want to get more involved!” Even so, the HOICast never comes across as stiff, and as Sebastian Moya said, “Allowing our guests to speak more freely allows the podcast to be more exciting for the listeners and more enjoyable for the people recording.”

HOI Media Coordinator Candra Kou

HOI Media Coordinator Sebastian Moya

So for those of you who never knew what a HOICast episode might hold, hopefully next time you’ll remember the people behind it and pause to listen to the stories of your fellow Interactors. See you next time, District 5170!

Interview with the New D5170 Govs!

By Tiffany Hua | Area 6

Lieutenant Governor Anu Marimuthu

Happy April Interactors! With spring finally here, we’ll finally get to experience the season of warmth and growth, which is the perfect time to look forward to the future of Interact 5170, especially with our new Governor Kylie Nguyen and Lieutenant Governor Anu Marimuthu! With a few questions, let’s see what the

Governor Kylie Nguyen

wonderful governors have to say about Interact 5170!

Why did you decide to run for district governor?

Having made meaningful friendships and gained new enlightening experiences, both Anu and Kylie express their shared eagerness to take their “Interact journey a step further and give back to this community on a larger level,” as well as to be an inspiring figure for service. Kylie also mentions how applying for District Governor “made sense for the goals [she] set out to achieve,” when considering her ambitions for the future of Interact 5170.

How did your Interact journey start and how has it impacted your life?

Kylie’s journey first blossomed in her freshman year (online). She reflects back when the “ zoom meetings every Wednesday at 11 A.M. turned into a habit as [she] navigated that crazy, first year of highschool!” Ever since then, Interact has given her “the confidence and that initial

push to showcase [her] true self & personality.” On the contrary, Anu kickstarted her journey as an Area Apprentice. “From there, it was just exponential growth!” she comments. Through all her positions, she has sharpened her adaptability with her leadership and communication skills. What is your proudest accomplishment this year?

For Kylie, planning District Sunrise was the first event she tackled on an incredible scale, describing “the chaos with the weather and the mass number of at-the-door attendees.” Yet, she finds joy in the overall success of the event and

Interactors at District Sunrise 2022

her own personal growth since then. As A5 Director, Anu feels accomplished in seeing her area flourish. To her area board she says, “I am so proud of them for always trying new things and bringing Area 5 to new heights.”

What should Interactors look forward to in the new term?

Anu and Kylie have several new projects and events as well as more networking opportunities and connections! Until then, they are super excited to be serving you all and hope that “ you’ll welcome us as your governors with open arms. ”

r April, Interactors! Stay tuned u next month!

Day with Daybreak Coverage

By Calista Shih | Area 7

Happy Spring, 5170! As April starts and another great year of District 5170 comes to a close, it is time to bring back an annual tradition, “Day with DC”. “Day with DC” is a fundraiser where Interactors from all around the district can bid money to spend a day with their favorite DC, or District Council, member. Since 2017, this tradition has contributed heavily to our inter-munity projects, with a whopping 51 different bidders and $721 raised in monetary funds for “The Ripple Effect”, our year long international project with a focus on water-access to underprivileged communities abroad.

As far as planning goes, thi a relatively easy event to pl according to Jesus Vargas, one of our co-Event Coordinators along with Ky Nguyen. Reflecting on the p process in an interview, Vargas talked about how “planning this event was simply on our behalf…because everything [was] on social media”, and all that needed to be done was for our ECs to create “ an info google doc telling DC members…to upload…pictures and bios on a google doc”, with the ECs then downloading all of the pics to be instagram ak). From there, tion and reminded DC members to continue to promote” the event. For Vargas, the hardest part was uploading all the DC members’ pictures and bios onto the

account, which he recalled taking almost 2 hours. For other DC members such as Area 7 Director Arushi Goyal, “the hardest part is just coordinating with who won the bid on when we ’ re both available and picking something to do”, though “it hasn’t been very difficult to coordinate” since “Kylie and Jesus did most of the behind the scenes coordination for day with dc…shoutout to them for everything they did to put this all together”!

In addition, Goyal reflected on what she thinks is so special about the tradition:

“it’s an amazing opportunity to better connect with people in my area,

especially because dc normally only gets to connect with their areas during events but we ’ re always running around doing something”. Vargas’ favorite part “is when the deadline for bids nears and bidding wars start happening, ESPECIALLY when people get bid sniped (those are always so entertaining).”

All in all, it was a successful fundraiser as the $721 raised “definitely exceeded the amount of money we ’ ve raised in our prior events (planned by kisses specifically)…One of the best things with this event is that every year we typically see this number continue to increase, so it’s always been an event that we ’ ve been able to raise a lot of money for projects with”, according to Va

Thank you so much to the Dist Council members and anyone bid for their support in an incredible tradition and fundraiser!

Area Area News News

Springtime Sandwiches: A5 Service Event Coverage

By Kayla Espinosa | Area 5

Happy April District 5170! As we spring into a new month, what better way to begin the season with service to our community! To start off the month, Area 5 hosted a service event at Gomes Elementary in which they made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for Martha’s Kitchen, the organization D5170 is partnering with to combat food insecurity. Let’s get more insight from a prominent planner for this event, Candra Kou, also serving as our Area 5 Secretary!

Interactors at Santa Teresa Interact's Sandwich Event

Candra was inspired to plan this event from Santa Teresa Interact’s service learning event earlier this year. “Their sandwich making event partnered with Martha’s Kitchen was such a cool and unique idea to contribute towards projects.”

In regards to logistics, she elaborates as to how she considered spring break and AP season during planning to ensure participation from fellow Interactors. “For planning, we started about over a month in advance designating a location as well as getting in contact with Martha's kitchen regarding their policies on sandwich donations. From there, we arranged who would bring the materials and sign the service forms, and created a

flyer as well as an RSVP form. As for the date, we chose a time that wouldn't conflict with spring break or AP season to encourage more people to attend,” Candra said.

As the event came to a close, Candra states that she enjoyed working and bonding with everyone participating! “We played music and talked while working which was a great bonding experience”. Furthermore, she explained the meaningful impact of this service event to our community. “I think this event spreads joy and gratitude to not only the people we donated the sandwiches to, but also to the people making the sandwiches!”

As we begin a new month, Area 5 is doing an exemplary job at serving our

A5 Secretary Candra Kou

Service Day

By Mars Bau | Area 13

Every year, YCS-Interact hosts Service Day during National Volunteer Week. Service Day offers students the chance to go off-campus during school hours to perform acts of service at various locations around Area 13. It’s a great opportunity to spend time with friends, do anything from weeding plants to counting shoes, and give back to the communities that surround us. This year, students were given a choice between ten different locations, each with their own jobs to perform. In brief summary:

My New Red Shoes

Volunteers helped sort and organize shoes for children and youth experiencing economic hardship.

We Hope

Volunteers created hygiene kits for those facing homelessness and helped clean the office space. Science Resource Center

Volunteers helped garden on site.

Cooley Landing

Volunteers had the opportunity to do a nature walk and monitor the birds before helping clean-up the area.

Walter Hayes Elementary School Library

Volunteers organized books for the Walter Hayes book exchange, sorted and ordered shelves, and performed book inventory.

Rebuilding Together Peninsula

Volunteers off-site helped remove debris, tear down fences, and do light landscaping. Volunteers on-site organized and took inventory in the warehouses ahead of the planned National Rebuilding Day on 4/29.

Ecumenical Hunger Program

Volunteers restocked the food closet, made food bags, re-stocked donations, and folded linens and clothes.

Gamble Gardens

Volunteers helped garden on site.

Ohlone Farm Volunteers helped weed the vegetable garden, turn compost, and clean tools.

EPA Senior Center

Volunteers did tai-chi, bingo, and had conversation with the seniors, along with acting as tech support for cell phones and running a singalong.

Over 170 students offered to volunteer on April 18, spending almost four hours at their respective locations. Service Day is one of Paly YCS-Interact’s largest events, so it was great to see such a large turn out and such overwhelming support for

Interactors Volunteering at the Women’s Shelter

By Sofia Guimaraes | Area 10

several programs including the Early Education Center, Services for Children & Youth, Services for Survivors of Domestic Violence, Family Support Services, and Community Engagement. As minors, Interactors will be volunteering for the Early Education Center and Services for Children & Youth. SV Interactors are thrilled to begin this journey! Some of the core values at Walnut Avenue are empowerment, equity, and integrity. They want to learn more about these values through service and tackle any obstacles they encounter using the founda skills developed in Interact. In this project, they hope to put into practice the vitalness of individuality. When helping others, it is crucial to make them feel heard and give them a sense of volition. While being active in the community,

Interactors hope to harvest people’s unique strengths and help them discover all that they have to offer. Furthermore, it is also necessary to fight implicit biases ingrained by society with intentional awareness. From learning about people’s perspectives, Interactors will grow their own awareness and also become more equipped to spot and address these issues if they arise in other contexts. Overall, Interactors wish to help others thrive in a society that is often stacked against them. They also aspire to become better com themselves through broadening experie

Miscellaneous Miscellaneous

Advice for Studying for AP Exams

By Hui Ying Yu & Khadeejah Khan | Area 1 + 11

Happy April Interactors! Spring is in the air, and so is exam season. As such, many of us find ourselves scrambling to study and prepare for our upcoming SAT and AP exams. It is easy to get overwhelmed or feel defeated during this time, but don’t worry! Area 1 and 11 has your back with study tips and resources to help you feel more prepared to ace standardized testing.

For starters, A1 Interactor MT recommends using Khan Academy and YouTube to prepare for the SAT. “My studying routine for the SAT consists of 15-20 minutes on Khan Academy and then watching people solve SAT questions on YouTube,” MT explains, “I also use test tactics like process of elimination and learning the meaning of words like infer, suggest, describe, etc.”

For Area 11 board publicist Asher Dubin, he finds it beneficial to familiarize himself with the time and pacing for AP exams. Timed practice exams can be particularly helpful, especially as it helps test-takers develop more confidence before taking the real exam.

“My AP teachers are having in-person practice exams, so that will definitely help me get a feel for what the real exam will be like, along with doing online practice tests,” Dubin said. “While doing a couple practice problems is good, it’s really helpful to do a full length exam to get the timing and pacing right.”

Asher Dubin

As interactors across the district prepare for AP exams, Dubin wants them to know that it is important to not over stress and instead, find a sense of balance while preparing by spending time in activities people enjoy.

“Prioritize what you find enriching,” Dubin said. “In the grand scheme of things, it’s not only about doing what looks good on college apps. In the end, you ’ re gonna be most thankful for what you really enjoyed and what helped you gro

2taying Focused with Area 2

By Nathan Le | Area 2

Let’s face it. A large majority of us fall victim to TikTok or Instagram

Doomscrolling. A small 5 minute phone break suddenly turns into an entire afternoon wasted, consuming copious amounts of social media. This behavior is all the more destructive as testing season draws near. Whether it is for AP, SAT, or Standardized testing, getting study time in is vital, but it is far easier said than done. With that being said, here are some tip Interactors to kee your faces out of your devices and the books.

Interactor 1 is

“chronically addicted” to

scrolling their “For You page ” on TikTok.

They have tried numerous strategies to combat their addiction and have realized one thing, “I learned to find out

Whether permanent or temporary, hopefully there was a strategy in there that you can consider utilizing. If not, take it as a sign to change any unhealthy habits that are interfering with test preparations. Happy studying from Area 2!

Advice with Adora

Do: Dublin Interact’s President

By Jada Chow | Area 3

Happy May District 5170! I know this past month has been stressful, as the school

difficult,” but it’s important to know “when to prioritize what.” She further explains that, “anything worth doing requires a lot of commitment, but the experiences you have with Interact are so worth the effort.”

What’s some advice you have for those interested in applying for their home club board or college in the fall?

“Just be yourself and really showcase your strengths,” Do explains. For picking future officers for her board, she says that, “[they] just want to see how you can fit yourself within Interact.” With college applications this Summer and Fall, I asked Adora for any advice she has for any Juniors, and she recommends “start as early as possible” as “ college is a long process she advises to, “keep a list of ideas and just keep adding to it so you have somewhere to start.”

Is there anything you would tell your future self?

Something that Adora would tell her younger self is to “just stop being afraid and start experiencing.” She explains how “ you never know what opportunities can cross your path,” because it never hurts to give something a shot.

Well that’s it for this month Interactors I wish you all luck o finals as we close soon. Thank you congratulations o UC Berkeley :)

Signing off, Jada <3