Meet Sophia Ni & Max Yu

We were lucky to catch up with Sophia Ni & Max Yu recently and have shared our conversation below.

Max &  Sophia, thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?

We keep our and our members’ creativity alive by always trying to see things from different perspectives and not limiting ourselves to just one way of thinking. For us, creativity often comes from connecting ideas that don’t normally go together, whether it’s designing a unique volunteering project, brainstorming activities for our club, or finding a fresh approach to a class assignment. We often encourage our officers and members to generate many possibilities for community outreach before settling on one, because the process of exploring different options usually leads us to develop our club in a more inclusive, impactful, and collaborative way.

Collaboration is also really important to us. When we work together collectively as a club, we get to hear perspectives that we never would have thought of on our own, and that exchange of ideas often sparks new energy. Because our members are diverse, their ideas and experiences are diverse as well, and this exchange of perspectives sparks fresh energy. We also draw inspiration from our network of Interact Clubs, which broadens our pool of ideas and helps us see what creativity looks like in different contexts. At the same time, we’ve fostered an environment where our members understand that creativity doesn’t always mean something complicated; sometimes our most effective and memorable events usually start off as simple fundraisers. We encourage our members to stay curious, open to new ideas, and willing to share their own creativity in our club. By combining leadership, teamwork, and the ability to simplify, we’re able to maintain our club’s creativity, both in school and in our community.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

Our club aims to have its projects and events deeply rooted in creativity, service, and community impact. In the past, our projects have been about bringing people together, spreading positivity, and empowering youth in meaningful ways. In our very first year, we partnered with The Wishing Crane Project, Sending Sunshine, and Greetings for Healing, collectively creating 300 hand-folded cranes for children in hospitals and writing 100 heartfelt letters for seniors and veterans, which we donated to these respective organizations. Since then, we’ve continued to build on that foundation. For example, we organized a Youth Leadership Awareness Walk last fall to inspire students to take initiative and lead by example by encouraging our members to organize and participate in the walk themselves. We also completed a school beautification project, where we decorated our school with hand-painted motivational posters as a simple but powerful way to brighten the halls and uplift our classmates every day.

What excites us most about our work is how each project allows us to combine innovation with community impact. Whether it’s through art, raising awareness, or direct service, we try to design experiences for our members that not only make them smile but also remind them that they have the power to create change.

Looking ahead, we’re thrilled to be planning an International Festival, which will be a school-wide event that will celebrate the diversity of our student community. The project will highlight different cultures, traditions, and perspectives, creating a community where students can share their unique heritage. For us, this is the heart of what we do: using individuality to build connections, celebrate differences, and inspire each other.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Looking back, we believe these have been the three qualities that have been the most impactful in our journey so far: inspiration, collaboration, and persistence. Inspiration has helped us design projects that are engaging and meaningful, whether it was painting motivational posters, folding cranes and cards for nonprofits, or planning our upcoming International Festival. Collaboration has been just as important, as none of these projects could have happened without working together as a team, sharing ideas, and leaning on our members’ strengths. Finally, persistence has made a big difference, because projects don’t always go perfectly the first time. Learning how to adapt, stay motivated, and keep pushing forward beyond present challenges has been key to our success.
For those who are just beginning to build something new, our advice is to nurture these qualities step by step. For inspiration, don’t be afraid to try new approaches, even small ones, as it often leads to the best ideas. For collaboration, put effort into listening to others as much as you share, because strong teamwork comes from valuing every voice. And for persistence, remind yourself that setbacks are part of the process; the most impactful projects usually grow out of challenges. If you focus on growing these qualities, you’ll not only build stronger projects but also discover more about yourself along the way.

What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?

Over the past 12 months, our biggest area of growth has been in nurturing leadership through creativity. We’ve learned how to take ideas, whether it’s a Leadership Walk, partnering with nonprofits to deliver cranes and cards, or painting motivational posters, and turn them into projects that not only work in practice but also inspire others to get involved. A year ago, we lacked a lot of the practical skills that have allowed us to be successful in our most recent pursuits. However, as we build the plane while it’s flying, we’ve continued to grow in seeing setbacks not as failures but as opportunities to improve and adjust. This shift has helped us step into planning larger projects with a stronger sense of purpose and the belief that we can help bring people together in meaningful ways.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: interact.oths
• Other: Remind: @othsint
  Discord: tinyurl.com/InteractOTHS