University of Texas at Austin Archives - ��ϴ��

��ϴ�� Announces 2022-2023 Student Cabinet

��ϴ�� — Fri, 20 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

News

��ϴ�� Announces 2022-2023 Student Cabinet

Author

Date

May 20, 2022

Washington D.C. — ��ϴ��, the largest and most inclusive Jewish campus organization in the world, announced today the 17 members of the 2022-2023 ��ϴ�� Student Cabinet. The cabinet serves as a vehicle to connect the global Jewish student community, and also serves as an advisory council to ��ϴ��’s leadership in its efforts to engage Jewish college students worldwide.

The members were selected through a highly competitive process. They represent a cross-section of campus experiences, Jewish backgrounds, geography and academic interests. Hillel serves students at more than 850 colleges and universities, and in 17 countries worldwide.

“Hillel is proud to welcome the new Student Cabinet, an inspiring group of ambassadors for our movement, which prides itself above all on ensuring th��ϴ�� is a home for every Jewish student,” said ��ϴ�� President and CEO Adam Lehman. “The leadership of these exceptional students will support and elevate our movement during times of challenge and joy throughout the year.”

Student cabinet co-chairs Jordan Robinson and Jessica Yeroshalmi’s appointment was announced in March.

“I’m excited to work with an incredible group of students who are motivated to better the Hillel movement and add value to our community,” said Yeroshalmi, a member of the class of 2023 at Baruch College in New York City. “I’m looking forward to seeing all that we will accomplish together. I’m grateful for this opportunity and can’t wait to get started.”

“The cabinet this year is dynamic,” said Robinson, a member of the class of 2022 at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Mich. “It’s a spectrum of schools, backgrounds, stories, and visions which will only advance the movement in anticipation of our centennial celebration. I can’t wait to see the energy of our cabinet next year and the potential it holds!”

Below is a full list of the 2022-23 Cabinet members:

Co-Chairs:

Jordan Robinson, MBA candidate, Wayne State University, ’24

Jessica Yeroshalmi, Baruch College, ’23

Cabinet Members:

Avery Adelman, Emory University, ’24

Linoy Barokas, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, ’24

Abram Berry, The University of Utah, ’24

Samantha Brody, Brandeis University, ’24

Elijah Cohen-Gordon, Clark University, ’23

Samuel Cross, Rhodes College, ’24

Dani Duek, Tel Aviv University, ’22

Halle Gordon, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, ’23

Hayley Huber, Washington and Lee University, ’23

Savannah Lipinski, University of Wisconsin, Madison, ’23

Gali Polichuk, University of Florida, ’24

Shannon Saed, , ‘23

Isaac Schneider, , ’23

Danielle Sobkin, , ‘24

Rebecca Weiss, , ‘24

Federico Zalcberg, , ’22

Olivia Zelling, , ’24

Ben Gurion University of the Negev

Brandeis University

Clark University

CUNY Baruch College

Emory University

Hebrew University

International Student Cabinet

Ithaca College

Michigan State University

Rhodes College

Stanford University

Tel Aviv University

The City College of New York

University of California

University of California Berkeley

University of Florida

University of Maryland Baltimore County

University of Texas at Austin

University of Utah

University of Wisconsin Madison

Washington and Lee University

Wayne State University

The post ��ϴ�� Announces 2022-2023 Student Cabinet appeared first on ��ϴ��.

New Hillel ROTC Cohort seeks to give its “lone soldiers” a lasting community

��ϴ�� — Fri, 07 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000

News

New Hillel ROTC Cohort seeks to give its “lone soldiers” a lasting community

Author

Emma Lichtenstein

Date

January 7, 2022

Arielle Fishler (UT-Austin, 2023) and Sophia Bergen (Cornell University, 2023) know that being in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corp isn’t for the faint of heart. ROTC students wake up early multiple times a week to make a 6 a.m. start time. They have weekly training, sometimes overnight, in addition to the demands of their regular college schedule. The ROTC becomes doubly challenging for Jewish students, who often experience isolation during service. That’s why Fishler and Bergen readily agreed to spearhead from all over the country.

Fishler is a member of the Air Force ROTC while Bergen serves in the Army ROTC. Even though the two women come from different branches of the military, they share similar experiences. Both cadets stressed a sense of feeling alone because of their Judaism. “We share the experience that we’re one of very few either in our battalion or our company,” said Bergen. The feeling of separateness was similar for Fishler. “I felt almost like a lone soldier with my identity,” said Fishler. “I had no sense that there were other Jewish cadets around the country.” The two hope to fight this isolation by bringing other Jewish cadets together from all branches of the military.

The idea for the cohort came from Rabbi Tracy Kaplowitz, a long-time chaplain for the armed forces. She is currently working with the to promote Jewish life in the armed forces. “In a meeting with Adam Lehman (president and CEO of ��ϴ��), earlier this year, we learned that JWB and ��ϴ�� share an interest in supporting and connecting ROTC cadets with one another, providing them a space in which to explore what is Jewish about their service commitments and how to engage in Jewish life while on campus and when serving our country as officers,” wrote Rabbi Kaplowitz.

Rabbi Kaplowitz reached out to Fishler and Bergen with the idea for the cohort, and the cadets took over from there. “I am so proud of Arielle and Sophia’s leadership. They personally felt a need to connect with other Jewish ROTC cadets and that has resonated with many others,” she wrote. The two cadets were excited and grateful for the opportunity. “I wanted a Jewish space within the military community because that’s so important to my identity,” said Fishler. Bergen added, “It was such a unique idea to strengthen numbers in a place where you’re normally a minority, and I was really compelled by that idea.”

A community within the military is vital for Jewish students, as military duty is not as common in the U.S., especially among Jewish families. “It’s hard being Jewish even within ROTC because there are such [rigid] expectations for American Jews,” said Fishler. In Fishler’s experience, Jewish young people, especially Jewish women, are often pigeonholed into three careers: doctor, lawyer, or accountant. “[Those careers] have their own version of service, but, [the military] is the most explicit version of service for me,” Fishler added. Both cadets noted how service is more important in Israel, where all citizens are required to do two years of military service. They recognized the meaning behind that duty and have translated it into their own lives.

Fishler and Bergen were excited to meet other cadets who shared their background, as their Jewish identity played a large role in their decisions to pursue a military career. “For me, joining the military was so neatly tied to Judaism and the values of Judaism. When people ask me, ‘Why did you decide to join the military?’ I explain that Judaism is a big reason,” Bergen explained. Fishler agrees about the strong connection between military service and Jewish values. “There are so many values in Judaism that connect to the need for service and to do service,” Fishler elaborated. Both cadets see running the cohort as an extension of their service.

The cohort started meeting in November and now meets once a month via Zoom. Bergen hopes the cohort will continue to bond and members will create new and lasting friendships. “As far as I was concerned, 19 people came to the meeting, and I had 19 new friends,” joked Bergen about the group’s second meeting in December.

In the future, Fishler and Bergen want to have special events or host speakers, but, for now, they’re focused on building the community. “Everyone is just so eager to talk and share their ideas,” explained Bergen. “I imagine a lot of our upcoming meetings will be heavily based in discussion and just getting to hear everyone’s perspectives.”

Interested in joining? . Fishler and Bergen would love to see you there!

University of Texas at Austin

The post New Hillel ROTC Cohort seeks to give its “lone soldiers” a lasting community appeared first on ��ϴ��.

We discussed what we could do as a community of immigrants to support others.

��ϴ�� — Mon, 02 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Hillel Leadership

Jewish Identity

We discussed what we could do as a community of immigrants to support others.

Author

��ϴ��

Date

July 2, 2018

“I got involved with Texas Hillel my first year in college through the Latino-Jewish Student Coalition. As a non-Jewish student, I was pleasantly surprised at how welcoming everyone was. Moving away from home for school was difficult, but LJSC became a second family to me. The organization’s focus on bridging the gap between the Jewish community and the Latino community created an open space where we could explore our own identities and learn from others. The relationships we have formed have allowed students to acknowledge the similarities between both groups while also appreciating the cultural differences of each. One of my favorite events we’ve held has been ‘Hamentashen, Empanadas, and Immigration Education,’ where we gathered to bake, share our immigration stories and learn what we could do as a community of immigrants to support others going through similar situations.” — Melissa Cossio, University of Texas at Austin

Humans of Hillel

University of Texas at Austin

The post We discussed what we could do as a community of immigrants to support others. appeared first on ��ϴ��.

University of Texas at Austin Archives - ��ϴ��

��ϴ�� Announces 2022-2023 Student Cabinet

��ϴ�� Announces 2022-2023 Student Cabinet

Discover the Crew that’s Right for You

New Hillel ROTC Cohort seeks to give its “lone soldiers” a lasting community

New Hillel ROTC Cohort seeks to give its “lone soldiers” a lasting community

Discover the Crew that’s Right for You

We discussed what we could do as a community of immigrants to support others.

We discussed what we could do as a community of immigrants to support others.

Discover the Crew that’s Right for You

University of Texas at Austin Archives - ���ϴ�����

���ϴ����� Announces 2022-2023 Student Cabinet

Discover the Crew that’s Right for You

New Hillel ROTC Cohort seeks to give its “lone soldiers” a lasting community

Discover the Crew that’s Right for You

We discussed what we could do as a community of immigrants to support others.

Discover the Crew that’s Right for You

University of Texas at Austin Archives - ��ϴ��

��ϴ�� Announces 2022-2023 Student Cabinet