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Notes from Springboard Fellows: Inspiring the Next Generation of Jewish Leaders

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January 23, 2025

Notes from Springboard Fellows is a series of deep dives into the work of first and second year Springboard Fellows who play transformative roles in their Hillel communities. Read on to learn more about Lindsay Rosenzweig, the Innovation and Intrapreneurship Springboard Fellow at University of Central Florida. 

Interested in becoming a Springboard Fellow? Apply today.

For Lindsay Rosenzweig, Innovation and Intrapreneurship Springboard Fellow at , Hillel was a passion that unexpectedly became a career.

Lindsay grew up in North Carolina, and attended Elon University as an undergraduate, where she majored in human services studies — a unique course of study that encompasses concepts and skills related to social work, nonprofit management, social justice, and other human service fields. She was active in Hillel, serving as an engagement intern, the religious and education chair on the student board, and then as co-president her junior and senior year. Throughout her undergraduate career, she formed meaningful and impactful relationships with the Hillel staff that influenced her decisions post-graduation.

“They were really my mentors,” she said. “I stayed close with them even after graduation.” As Lindsay began her career working at a domestic violence nonprofit, those relationships proved key to her finding the right fit. 

“I told [my Hillel mentors] where I was working and how I was feeling conflicted about it, and they told me to apply for Springboard,” she said. “They really stressed that they thought I would be a good fit, and a great addition to the movement.”

At first, Lindsay wasn’t sure — she saw Hillel as a passion, but not necessarily a career path. Yet her mentors were persuasive, and Lindsay decided to apply for the fellowship. 

Now, in her second year as a Springboard Fellow at UCF, Lindsay can’t imagine doing anything else. “Innovation and intrapreneurship really stood out to me as an opportunity to try something different than what I had been doing for so long,” she said. Also, as someone interested in social justice, she finds this track of work particularly rewarding, because it’s all about solving problems in a way that starts with what each student needs and why. 

“It’s about taking an emphasis on creating innovative solutions, and bringing them to our campuses,” she explained. “How do we shape our programs and our structure around student needs and wants? That’s what we’re trying to figure out.”

One of Lindsay’s proudest moments as a Springboard Fellow was helping one of her students go through the Springboard application process herself. “Knowing that I had such an impact on her that she wanted to go through the Springboard experience was so rewarding to me,” she said. “We had many conversations, just talking about her future and the schools she matched with, and I got to serve as a mentor for her.”

Professional development is a key part of the Springboard experience, and Lindsay has taken full advantage of the opportunities ���ϴ����� has to offer. 

Last March, she participated in a Sipurim trip to Israel, a special program for Hillel professionals designed to help shift Israel education in a post-October 7 world. “My team was so excited for me when I got accepted,” she said. “They were my biggest cheerleaders.”

Lindsay also worked one-on-one with her Springboard-assigned mentor who works in talent management at ���ϴ�����.

“I’m so appreciative of everything he’s done, because my goal is to stay with Hillel after my fellowship ends,” she said. “It’s been so helpful to hear what happens at the organization behind the scenes, and to have his support in planning conversations I need for my next steps.”

As she heads into the second semester of her final year as a Springboard Fellow, Lindsay has found the cohort experience to be one of the most fulfilling aspects of the program. “You’re joining a group of people who are in similar positions and can really lean on each other,” she said. “Our friendships developed quickly, and that has blossomed into many other connections within the Fellowship and within the Hillel movement.”

Every Springboard Fellow’s experience is different, but they all have one thing in common: They’re helping to make Jewish campus life more engaging and inclusive for college students.

“I wanted to inspire the next generation of Jewish leaders,” Lindsay said. “Just like my mentors did for me.”

To learn more about the Springboard Fellowship and see if it’s right for you, visit today.