鈥淚 was adopted from Texas, and raised in New Jersey. My adoptive parents are my only real parents. They鈥檙e the only parents I鈥檝e ever had, and the only parents I鈥檝e ever known. My mother is a German Jew, and my father is an Italian Catholic. Growing up, I would tell people that my mom was Jewish. Many of them would say, 鈥楤ut is your 鈥榬eal鈥� mother Jewish?鈥� They didn鈥檛 see my mom as my 鈥榬eal鈥� mother, so they didn鈥檛 see me as a 鈥榬eal鈥� Jew. And that deterred me from exploring my Judaism until I enrolled at Penn State. My mom suggested that I check out the Hillel. As I headed to Hillel for my first-ever Shabbat dinner, my childhood fears about not being 鈥楯ewish enough鈥� resurfaced. Was I expected to know certain Shabbat traditions? Was I expected to know certain Jewish prayers and songs? But that wasn鈥檛 the case at all. The students were warm and welcoming. They explained our traditions to me. There was no pressure 鈥� no expectations. No one told me how to be Jewish. No one told me I wasn鈥檛 Jewish. Hillel helped me overcome my fears and embrace my identity. Nowadays, I鈥檓 not scared to tell people that I鈥檓 adopted and Jewish anymore.鈥� 鈥� Dani James, Pennsylvania State University

鈥淢y fianc茅 Michael and I met in a film class during my junior year of high school and his senior year. I鈥檓 Jewish and he鈥檚 Episcopalian. But I liked him and he liked me, and I thought this could be something great. Turns out it was and still is. We both ended up at Penn State University after high school. Growing up in a strong Jewish community encouraged me to become co-chair of the Student Life Committee at Penn State Hillel and lead Shabbat services every week. And Michael would come with me each Shabbat. The Hillel community wasn鈥檛 just my campus family 鈥� it was our campus family. Hillel accepted and welcomed us as an interfaith couple. And that鈥檚 what made it the perfect place for Michael to propose to me at a Shabbat dinner two years ago and the perfect place for our upcoming wedding, which will be officiated by Rob France, the previous assistant director of Penn State Hillel. Over the years, Michael and I have found ways to appreciate and celebrate each other鈥檚 traditions. Even though we don鈥檛 share the same faith, our support of each other has helped us become more open minded and has brought us closer together as a couple.鈥� 鈥� Miriam Boulter, Pennsylvania State University 鈥�17

鈥淚 grew up in an interfaith family. My mom is Catholic, and my dad is Jewish. I spent eight years in Catholic school. My parents have given me the freedom and the education to explore both sides of my faith. Near the beginning of middle school, I was identifying more with my Jewish side than my Catholic side. I remember when my dad took me to the Holocaust museum in Washington, D.C. He said, 鈥楾here are so few Jews left in the world, and if you believe in this and you want be part of this, you need to continue our traditions.鈥� When I came to Penn State, I knew I would have a strong Jewish community here, and I was really excited to be a part of the Jewish community. I didn鈥檛 really have a big one growing up. I signed up for the winter Birthright Israel trip, the soonest Birthright Israel trip. It was life-changing. I traveled to Israel, and I had my bat mitzvah there. I hope to continue to strengthen my Judaism. It鈥檚 not the most common journey, but it鈥檚 my journey. And I鈥檓 really proud of it.鈥� 鈥� Morgan Seiff, Pennsylvania State University