What’s happening on campus? Hear from students, professionals, and Hillel community members whose lives have been impacted by Hillel and who impact the world with their voices and stories. Share your story with us!
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I am a fourth year student at Brooklyn College and have been an active member of the school鈥檚 Jewish community, serving as the president of my fraternity, Alpha Epsilon Pi, and planning many events with Tanger Hillel at Brooklyn College.聽 Following Hamas鈥 terrorist attack in Israel on October 7th, I was motivated to assume a […]
My commitment to my Jewish identity was always strong, but took shape when I decided to leave my home in Uruguay to attend university in the United States. If I was going to go so far away from home, my mother strongly urged me to pick a school聽with a big Jewish community that could support […]
My story begins with other people鈥檚 stories; namely, my grandmother鈥檚. I was born in Rishon L鈥橳zion a few years after my family emigrated from Belarus to Israel, and I spent the first eight years of my life listening to my grandmother share her memories. Her stories from life in the Soviet Union were poignant and became part of my identity and sense of self.聽
It was the first day of move-in for my first year at University of Maryland, College Park. My dad helped me move into my dorm and then, to my complete shock, dropped me off at Maryland Hillel with the firm suggestion, 鈥淕o make friends.鈥 I was terrified until I walked in and started meeting the […]
Suzy Sostrin, KU Hillel鈥檚 Executive Director, was making coffee when I walked into KU Hillel for the first time. She immediately came over to meet me and then introduced me to the other students who were hanging out at Hillel. From that first interaction with a Hillel professional, I felt like I was enough.
But the beauty of Hillel is that everyone is welcome, no matter how 鈥淛ewish鈥 they feel. Through my experiences, I realized that Judaism was a lot more relatable than what I learned in Hebrew school. In general, I started to feel more proud and more excited to be Jewish.
鈥淎s a high school freshman, I stepped into leadership for the first time through BBYO. My passion for grassroots organizing and teen initiative inspired me to run for BBYO鈥檚 International Board, and I started in February 2020 as the international treasurer. With this position, I was given the platform to take action on causes I鈥檓 […]
鈥淭o me, being Jewish means everything. To be Jewish is to have received a higher calling guiding me to dedicate my life to serving the globe鈥檚 neglected communities. To be Jewish means I face struggles and adversity with a smile on my face because I know my ancestors have given me the strength to overcome […]
I was a freshman at the University of Pittsburgh on October 27, 2018, the day of the Pittsburgh synagogues shooting that took the lives of 11 Jewish people. Now, as a senior, not a day passes where I do not wear my necklace, over my shirt, where everyone can see it. I am proud to be Jewish and I am proud to #OwnMyStar.
The place that I’ve gotten to do a lot of my own personal passion projects in college has been Hillel. It’s made me more of an active Jew, to see Judaism more as doing things for other people, with other people, than just an individual practice.
