Following a successful inaugural Trivia Night fundraiser May 10 with proceeds donated to the Domestic Violence Intervention Program, 1440 Interact has made a community appearance once again.
Students and their families entered The Hilton Garden Inn May 22 to attend the 21st annual Youth Human Rights Awards. At the beginning of the event, Kelsey Paul Shantz, a member of the Iowa City Human Rights Commission, welcomed the crowd by introducing the annual ceremony and the legacy behind the presented awards. Then, the mayor of Iowa City, Bruce Teague, gave a speech about the benefits of being surrounded by “do-ers” and how mistakes are evidence of learning.
Doug Kollasch, another Commission member, presented 25 awards to students from schools across the Iowa City Community School District, including West, City, South East Junior High and North West Junior High. From West, Seniors Zaira Ahmad, Lillian Graham, Kamakshee Kuchhal, Eleanor Weitz, Jules Keranen and Dexter Hanna were awarded their plaques as a group.
Along with these 1440 seniors, West student award recipients included Aaron Kang ’27, Jerry Li ’26, Jack Sun ’27, Olive Ubeda ’25, Sidney Westgard ’25, Lalia Zastrow ’25 and Alisa Zhou ’27.
These students have been a part of West’s volunteering club 1440 Interact since freshman year online when they made bookmarks for the local library and cards for patients over Zoom. Since then, they have become executive board members for the club, taking on leadership roles such as marketing chairs, liaisons and co-presidents. Nancy Pacha and Margaret Winkler, Rotary Club of Iowa City a.m. members and West 1440 Interact advisors, nominated these students for their volunteering efforts with Open Heartland, Shelter House, Coralville Food Pantry, Melrose Meadows, Iowa Children’s Museum, Mercy Hospital and Water to Thrive.
Water to Thrive is a non-profit organization dedicated to building wells in Africa to provide communities with safe, clean water. 1440 Interact partners with them annually to present their mission to students and host the annual Walk for Water, a 1.5- to 2-hour round trip walk from West to the Iowa River. This event is meant to emulate the long, challenging journey of those living in rural communities to access water. As part of 1440’s last meeting for the 2023-24 school year, Walk for Water will be held on Wednesday, May 29th. Anyone is welcome to attend, from students who have never attended a 1440 meeting to all community members.
For more information on how to get involved with 1440 Interact, email teacher advisor Jamie Sandhu at [email protected].
