|
|
Inspiring students to make a positive connection to Israel and Jewish life, learning, and values
|
|
Scroll down for Hillel's cool year-end
video
and updates on Hillel for Utah alumni!
|
|
Hillel for Utah students in Kanab, UT at Best Friends Sanctuary for tikkun olam
on International Good Deeds Day
|
|
The Hillel for Utah Effect:
Inspiring the Jewish future
|
|
Let’s imagine you chose to attend college in Utah. Most certainly, you came to Utah because you felt the draw of the outdoors. Or, you found the program of study is one of the best in the country. You think you are the only Jewish student on campus. You stumble upon the Hillel table at a club fair. Wait! There are other Jews in Utah? You tentatively show up for the first Hillel event of the year and realize there are many Jewish college students here. And at that gathering, you feel welcomed and meet new friends.
You’ve just experienced Hillel for Utah magic—you’ve found a campus community of students of all backgrounds from all of Utah’s universities who together find relevance and a campus community through their Judaism.
And what can happen when students get involved with Hillel? They better understand the role Judaism plays in their identity, they integrate Jewish values into their life choices, and they incorporate Jewish tradition into their lives. Students also find a community of Jewish peers and actively explore their relationship with Israel through Birthright trips and other programming.
Hillel for Utah has given me a place to be Jewish
and to become a Jewish adult.
Mara Kushner, Class of 2019
“Hillel has taught me to find the commonalities among others,” said graduating student Alex Bochner. “Hillel has been a route for me to be Jewish with my friends. I have grown so much as a Jew over the past four years--I was able to explore the Jewish part of me and form it to how I want it to be.”
“Hillel for Utah has given me a place to be Jewish and to become a Jewish adult,” said Mara Kushner, graduating vice president. “I have gained valuable leadership skills in program planning and delegation. I have also learned to be flexible and work with those who have different ideas and ways of doing things. I am so thankful for the people I have met through Hillel for Utah.”
This year, Bochner and Kushner will join nine other Hillel for Utah students traveling to Israel on Birthright trips. Continuing the Hillel effect, Junior Chloé Laverson will work in Washington, DC this summer as an intern with Hillel International’s digital marketing department—after she returns from her Birthright trip. And Hillel for Utah’s outgoing president, Maggie Burke, has been selected as a Springboard Fellow for the Hillel at Cornell University.
|
|
A Springboard Fellowship is a prestigious, paid, two-year fellowship that brings together the best, brightest and most diverse Jewish talent through a transformative early career experience in the Hillel movement. Elana Fauth (
pictured at left
), a 2019 grad from North Carolina State University, will join Hillel for Utah as a Springboard Ezra Fellow in Jewish education and engagement in July. “Both Elana and Maggie have been inspired to continue working in the Hillel movement by their campus experiences,” said Dana Tumpowsky, Hillel for Utah’s executive director.
“I am excited Hillel for Utah has the momentum to continue to positively impact others as it did for me, “ said Bochner. When the students we impact say being Jewish will continue to be important to them after graduation. . .that’s the Hillel Effect.
|
|
Hillel for Utah's Chloé Laverson captured footage from Hillel's events all year long to produce Hillel for Utah's first promotional, aka "FOMO," video for 2018-19.
Footage includes fun from the Snow and Desert Winter Shabbaton, Shabbat on the Rocks, Mom Shabbat, The Big Schmooze welcome event, the leadership retreat with Northwest Hillels, and so much more!
|
|
An Out of this World Purim Party featured mocktails, games, a costume contest, and an amazing reading of the Megillah by Eli Wolk.
|
|
Tikkun Olam in Tents
Combine International Good Deeds Day, camping in Southern Utah, and the largest no-kill animal sanctuary in the country and you get Tikkun Olam in Tents. Fourteen Hillel for Utah folks, including three first-time campers headed to the Utah desert in early April. After an afternoon hike, Shabbat blessings, and dinner around the campfire, student Rachel Malaga gave a d'var Torah about what Judaism teaches us about kindness to animals.
A sunrise Shabbat hike set us up for a day of service at the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. In Dogtown, we worked for several hours clearing and weeding dog runs. That evening, after beach games at a nearby lake, Rachel and Sarah Miller led an entertaining session on the similarities and differences of the Negev and Southern Utah deserts. Of course, a bonfire and Havdalah followed with s'mores.
|
|
The next day, we went back to the sanctuary to clean a portion of the pet cemetery after the travails of winter--cleaning and brushing markers and stones on the animal graves. "Rabbi Rachel" taught us more about the Jewish tradition of placing stones on graves. We reflected on the service and desert experience in an area called The Labyrinth before heading back north to Salt Lake City.
This trip was made possible by the Israel on Campus Coalition and the Israel Action Program of Hillel International.
|
|
Charting Hillel
Eli Wolk is Hillel for Utah's President for 2019-20
|
Dr. Seuss advised that you can steer yourself any direction you choose. Eli Wolk chose Utah and Hillel for Utah is fortunate to have Eli at its helm.
“When the wind fills those sails, you know you’re responsible for something bigger than yourself,” said Hillel for Utah’s new student president.
“In my sailing classes, we learned to be adaptable, to trust others, and to be honorable.” The Seattle native and sailor confused a lot of people when he chose to go to college in Utah. He’s also skilled in tying several useful knots and acquired an uncanny charting ability, even in the middle of a forest. “If you can find your way on the water without landmarks, you can find your way almost anywhere." Utah’s easily accessible skiing and mountains lured him here from a maritime track of study elsewhere. So, his choice to attend the inland University of Utah surprised a lot of friends and family and often prompted the question: ‘Where do you boat in Utah?’
Eli knew he’d be involved with Hillel even before he enrolled at the U because his Jewish community has always been important for him. Many students also come to Utah for the outdoors experiences and he finds it easy to match Jewish values with the environment here. "I have found having a group of Jewish friends gives me closer connections than being on a sports team or in student government," he said.
This skiing, ultimate frisbee-playing, sailor and student leader loves system development and admits that numbers come easy for him. He’s pursuing a degree in business administration or economics. As treasurer last year, his skills in accounting enabled Eli to track program costs, making next year's budgeting realistic.
After meeting other Hillel student leaders at a training at UCLA Hillel his freshman year, Eli said something clicked. “Hillel is going to give me the most [from my extracurricular involvement], and so I’m going to give it my all.” Eli puts his heart into this Hillel for Utah community and cares deeply that others get as excited as he is to be part of it. “Most of my friends are from Hillel.” He remarked that he's seeing the ripple effect of Hillel involvement now with five Hillel students working at Jewish summer camp, one on a Hillel Fellowship at Cornell, and another in D.C. for a Hillel International internship. Eli rattled off the names of six Hillel students teaching religious school at a local synagogue, and three who are helping with that synagogue’s youth group!
This sailor dropped his anchor with Hillel--and we're glad he did!
|
|
In a Word
Everything starts with one word, one step, one gift.
Hillel for Utah student leaders recently described what Hillel for Utah is for them. Check out what they said in the word cloud below.
|
|
|
|
When you give to Hillel for Utah, you help to provide a welcoming opportunity for students to explore and celebrate their Jewish identity and assure a Jewish community on Utah’s campuses. With the generous support of friends, parents, and alumni, Hillel for Utah can continue to inspire meaningful Jewish experiences for students. Please consider making an
investment in the Jewish future
today.
|
|
Student Leadership Board for 2019-20
|
|
(l-r Dana Tumpowsky, Sarah Miller, Rachel Malaga, Chloé Laverson, Jessica Mauer, Eli Wolk, Kayla Dworsky, Jacob Olson, Michael Palmer. Not pictured: Adam Weinstein)
We’re proud to announce the Student Leadership Board for 2019-20! This energetic and engaged group of leaders promise a dynamic upcoming year for everyone involved with Hillel for Utah.
Eli Wolk
,
President
Kayla Dworsky
, Vice President for Engagement
Chloé Laverson
, Vice President for Communications
Sarah Miller
,
Vice President for Programming
Rachel Malaga
, Israel Programming
Jessica Mauer
,
SLCC Liaison
Jacob Olson
, Historian
Michael Palmer
, Outdoor and Social Justice Programming
Adam Weinstein
, Israel Programming
All but one student attends the University of Utah, three are from California, two are from Washington State, two are from Utah, with one from New Jersey and another from Texas!
|
|
Raising Kvell
Hillel students and alumni making a difference in the world
|
|
Maggie Burke
was awarded a prestigious Springboard Innovation Fellowship through Hillel International. Maggie graduated summa cum laude from the University of Utah. Maggie will work for Cornell Hillel as a Springboard Fellow,
|
Alumna
Rebekah Freed
is a research assistant at UNC Chapel Hill. She’s studying learning sciences and psychological studies.
|
Alumna
Maiya Haberman
is headed to Boston College to study for her masters in education degree.
|
After graduation from Westminster this month,
Kara Kornhauser
will move to Alaska to begin a funded masters program in biology and wildlife at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
|
Hillel Alumna
Sofie Lahaye
is a network operations rep at SelectHealth in Salt Lake City. She is engaged to Alumnus
Elias Landau
,
co-founder and COO at Landau Financial.
|
Hillel alumnus
David Tumpowsky
i
s a software engineer for Evo, a leading online retailer for outdoor gear and apparel in Seattle.
|
Alumni siblings
Laura
and
Corey Wolf
should now be addressed as the "Dr. Wolves" as they have both earned their M.D. degrees!
|
After graduating from the U,
Jamie Pruden
is moving to Northern Ireland to study for a masters degree in public health Queen’s University Belfast.
|
|
Serena Collins
,
finishing her first year at the University of Utah, is playing the role of Annelle in the play
Steel Magnolias
at Hale Centre Theatre
in Salt Lake City. The play features an all-female cast and tells the story of a small group of Louisiana women who gather at the local beauty shop to share in life’s challenges and triumphs. The play runs March 27-June 1.
|
Alumna
Sarah Tumpowsky Daenitz
and her husband André welcomed their son, Isaac Kurt Daenitz, born February 22, 2019.
|
Alexis Matt Garretson
was selected as a 2019 Science Ambassador with the Science Gateways Community Institute--one of five students selected from schools all over the country. She is a graduate student in biology at Brigham Young University. Her research focuses on using legacy data to investigate the effects of climate change in ecological systems. She is a Community Fellow with the
Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP)
, working with their Data Stewardship Committee and Software Citation Cluster. And, Alexis was awarded a Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation.
|
Rock climber
Eric Jerome
ascended two boulders in Ibex, UT that had never been scaled before. This accomplishment earned him the right to name the boulders: One-Eyed Man and Coppertone.
Click on the photo above for a video of one of his ascents,
|
After her Birthright trip to Israel, Westminster graduate
Mara Kushner
will be teaching in an Early Childhood classroom at the Elizabeth Academy, a Montessori private school, in Salt Lake City.
|
Hillel International’s Digital Marketing Team has hired
Chloé Laverson
for a summer internship in Washington DC.
|
Josh Zweighaft
,
a Hillel alumnus, is an inflight crewmember with Jetblue.
|
|
Board of Directors
Hillel for Utah is honored to have members of our community to help strengthen the Hillel for Utah organization by serving on the Hillel for Utah Board of Directors.
Susan Arsht
, Ph.D
., Assistant Professor of Management,
Gore School of Business at Westminster College
Adam R. Bronfman
,
President, The Samuel Bronfman Foundation
and Adam R. Bronfman Family Foundation;
Founder and Chair, Hillel for Utah Board of Directors
Stephen R. Morgan
, Executive Director, R. Harold Burton Foundation and
President Emeritus, Westminster College
Dana Raucher
,
Executive Director, The Samuel Bronfman Foundation
Dana Tumpowsky,
Executive Director, Hillel for Utah
Eli Wolk
,
President, Hillel for Utah
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
