News

Notes from Springboard Fellows: Thinking Outside the Box

Author

Hillel International

Date

January 30, 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 Craig Carroll, the Springboard Fellow at American University. 

Interested in becoming a Springboard Fellow? Apply today.

Craig Carroll, a first-year Springboard Fellow at American University, started thinking about working for Hillel early in his college career. “I was what you might call a pipeline kid,” he joked. “Hillel was like my second major — I spent all my time at the Hillel building.”

By the time he was a senior, Craig knew he wanted to pursue a career where building relationships was key. “I really wanted something that was people-focused,” he said. “And where the main work is in connecting with people. Because that is what I love doing, and I’m very good at it.”

The Springboard Fellowship brings recent college graduates with raw talent, passion, and skills needed to reimagine and redesign Jewish student life to college campuses across North America. This was the perfect opportunity for Craig to combine his love for the Jewish world with his desire to work in an environment where every day would be different, where he’d get to focus on connection and community-building, and where he’d find great mentoring and professional development.

For Craig, having the support and structure of the Springboard environment has been one of the most rewarding aspects of the fellowship. “Springboard really puts such an emphasis on the growth process,” he said. “It’s made clear what you need to work on and where you need to do better, but it’s not expected that you’ll have all the answers immediately.”

One area where Craig invested a lot of professional development work has been building creative problem-solving skills and learning to facilitate brainstorming sessions with students. He recalled a moment earlier in his fellowship when he and his supervisor were working with students to plan a Wellness Shabbat, and had to go back to the drawing board several times to make sure their programming ideas aligned with what the community was looking for, and Hillel’s values regarding a Shabbat experience. 

“It can be hard to encourage students to turn their ideas into reality,” he said. “Sometimes they hold themselves back if they think an idea is too weird, or if they don’t think they’re the right thing…”

To work through this problem, Craig called on the insights he’d gained from a workshop at Hillel International’s New Professionals Institute (NPI). “We were given a problem to solve, and our instructions were to come up with the worst possible idea to solve the issue. Then we passed it along the table, and the next person had to make it even worse, and so on. What it encouraged us to do was come up with ridiculous ideas and then say, ‘What could make this into a good idea?’ And then model it into something better.” With this strategy in mind, Craig, his supervisor, and the student leaders were able to put together a successful and engaging Wellness Shabbat, and many other programs since.

Asked what advice he’d give a prospective Springboard Fellow, Craig suggested that the most important thing an applicant can do is self-advocate. “You’ll want to make sure you ask for what you need,” he said. “And sometimes that means coming in with your own needs and advocating for them. That’s what I did, and I ended up very happy and fulfilled in my work.”

Join a network of changemakers like Craig and transform Jewish student life— visit hillel.org/springboard-fellowship and apply today!

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

Author

Hillel International

Date

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 University of Central Florida (UCF), 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 Hillel International 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 Hillel International.

“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 hillel.org/springboard-fellowship/ today.

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Notes from Springboard Fellows: Jewish Learning on Campus is About More Than Just Knowledge

Author

Hillel International

Date

January 14, 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 Chaya Mamer, the Ezra Jewish Education Fellow at Guelph Hillel with Hillels of Ontario.

Interested in becoming a Springboard Fellow? Apply today.

Jewish educators have a unique role in their communities, and college communities are no exception. Chaya Mamer, an Ezra Jewish Education Springboard Fellow at the University of Guelph, has made teaching and studying Torah the core of her work with students, encouraging them to use knowledge and exploration to find new ways of forming relationships, deepening their Jewish identities, and developing a sense of curiosity in all aspects of their lives. 

Chaya grew up in Calgary, Canada, and attended the University of Waterloo as an undergraduate, where she studied political science and business with a minor in economics. She was deeply involved in Hillel Waterloo and Laurier, where she served as a student staff member, ran a campus food bank, and ultimately became student president. Inspired by the Springboard Fellow at her Hillel, Chaya knew she wanted to dedicate her life to Jewish nonprofit work. 

After she witnessed the upheaval on college campuses following October 7, Chaya realized she wanted to help build bridges between communities. 

She knew this work would require compassionate, sensitive, and innovative approaches to learning and teaching, and with that in mind, she identified the Springboard Fellowship as a strong pathway to that goal — specifically, the Ezra Jewish Education track of the program.

Ezra Jewish Education Fellows follow in the footsteps of the biblical Ezra, who reengaged and reinvigorated the Jewish community by reading the Torah aloud in the town square on Shabbat and market days, and translating it for people to understand. Ezra’s commitment to teaching, engagement, and innovation is a model for fellows to bring Judaism off the page and into life on campus. 

“With the Ezra track, you can come in with whatever your knowledge base is and you’ll have the opportunity to learn and grow,” she said. “And then you have the opportunity to learn how to share your knowledge with others.”

Over the past six months of her fellowship, Chaya has been able to put her learning into action. And while she’s been an educator for her students, it’s not a one-way relationship — they’ve been teaching her, too. “They walked onto campus this year with joy and courage,” she said. “Seeing them flourish has kept me inspired all semester.”

Another powerful aspect of Chaya’s experience as a Springboard Fellow is the ability to connect with a large group of other young professionals with whom she shares goals and interests. She’s found the support of her cohort to be deeply meaningful. “The early months and years of your career can be really lonely,” she said. “I’m grateful to be able to reach out to people who are at the same stage and in similar roles.”

Recently, Chaya joined the Fellow Advisory Committee, a group of fellows who act as liaisons between their cohorts and the Hillel International Team Springboard, after being inspired by how much Team Springboard cared about hearing feedback and perspectives from her peers. Working with Springboard Fellowship Manager Ava Gurman, Chaya became part of the cohort communications committee, representing the unique Canadian Jewish community. She’s enjoyed being a bridge between Team Springboard and the fellows, as well as getting to know fellows from both active cohorts.

Chaya sees the Springboard Fellowship as an opportunity to work within the Hillel movement and learn what the organization does, and to be part of its next stage of growth in a meaningful way. She also has some advice for prospective Springboard Fellows. 

“Approach your application and your interview process with a desire to improve and support your community. Trust yourself — your experience and perspective is invaluable,” she said.

To learn more about the Springboard Fellowship and see if it’s right for you, visit hillel.org/springboard-fellowship/ today.

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News

Reflections from Hillel’s New Professionals Institute 2024

Author

Hillel International

Date

August 1, 2024

Hillel’s New Professionals Institute is held every year at Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) for all new Hillel staff members. It is an opportunity for new professionals to connect with their peers from all over the world, and to learn about the skills and values that make Hillel special. We caught up with Hailey Smilowitz, incoming Springboard Fellow at Muhlenberg College, to hear her reflections on this year’s conference.

Did you know about NPI before you attended? How did the real-life conference compare to what you expected?

I went to the University of South Carolina as an undergraduate, and I interned with Hillel during that time. I heard about NPI throughout my internship, and was so excited to attend as a new Hillel professional. It’s been an incredible experience, where I’ve met so many different people from across the United States and Canada. Every person here brings a different perspective, and hearing their stories has been inspiring.

How would you describe NPI to someone who’s never heard of it?

Honestly, it feels a lot like summer camp! It’s one big game of Jewish geography. You can constantly hear people shouting, “Oh my gosh, you know so-and-so? I know so-and-so!” I love seeing all the connections people are making — just watching it happen, and seeing that energy is so great. 

The rhythm of each day is similar to camp as well. All the participants eat breakfast together, then kick off the day with a joint opening program. There are different learning tracks and activities throughout the day, including sessions with Jewish texts or team-building, plus tabling and resources for various Hillel programs, Israel resources, and professional development. And snacks, of course! I learned some great team-building activities that I’m really excited to take back to campus. We eat dinner all together, and then the evening programming is a fun activity — like  ax-throwing!

What were some of your biggest takeaways?

As a Springboard Innovation Fellow, I was part of the human-centered design track at NPI — centering on how students experience our work as Hillel professionals, and using that experience to inform how we approach challenges. Specifically, we thought about  programming, relationships, and our roles in a way that tries to help an individual we are working with, rather than inventing big solutions that might not work for everyone. 

 After all, every student has their own story and Jewish journey, and their unique experiences will impact what they need. We explored the different resources that Hillel International offers students, and started to build an approach that meets each student where they are.

How was the NPI experience especially impactful for you as a Springboard Fellow?

There are 56 Springboard Fellows in total, and before NPI, we had only connected online. Being able to meet the other 55 Fellows in person was absolutely amazing. We also had so many wonderful Springboard alumni and current Springboard Fellows who came and facilitated the sessions I attended. These sessions focused on topics like problem-solving and student engagement, and day-to-day skills like how to have a coffee chat or how to navigate a call with your supervisor. 

The NPI organizers also  made it really easy to connect with other Hillel professionals, not just Springboard Fellows or recent graduates. Each attendee was assigned a “peer pal,” and mine was a more experienced professional.  It was cool to learn from them and see how their experience impacted their perspective. 

I am grateful to the Springboard Fellowship team and the rest of the NPI organizers for giving my cohort and me an inspiring and meaningful start to our journeys as Hillel professionals. I can’t wait to take these new skills back to campus with me, and start building relationships with the Jewish students at Muhlenberg.

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News

Working Towards the Future with Springboard

Author

Hillel International

Date

February 6, 2024

One of the most powerful ways that the Springboard Fellowship makes an impact is by preparing participants for a lifetime of career success and connection to the Jewish community.

For Jacob Brickman, involvement in Hillel as an undergraduate led him to Springboard, which has laid the groundwork for him to flourish in his current role as the Jewish Education Coordinator at Hillel Western in London, Ontario. As a Western University alum, Jacob has been connected to the Hillel community there since he was a student. In 2021,as he finished his fifth year, Jacob wasn’t ready for graduate school quite yet, but was sure he wanted to do something meaningful. 

The Springboard Fellowship turned out to be the perfect next step. Jacob dove right into his new community at Hillel Waterloo & Laurier, where he served more than 1,500 students. Working solo on the ground in Waterloo led Jacob to take on new responsibilities and helped him realize that he was interested in taking a larger leadership role in Hillel. His Springboard cohort helped him learn to be part of a team and to ask for help, and his Hillel mentor supported him in his growth as a professional. 

Jacob credits the training he received through Springboard with helping him grow as a learner and an educator. Attending the Hillel International Global Assembly (HIGA) in 2022 had a huge impact on Jacob: Because of the pandemic, it was the first time his cohort had been able to meet the larger movement in person. He was able to meet with educators across Hillel, reflect on his experiences as a Fellow, and really decide how he wanted to use his last semester.

Since completing the Springboard Fellowship in 2023, Jacob has returned to his alma mater, where he infuses Judaism and learning into everything he does. Jacob focuses on learning fellowships and informal, experiential learning, bringing learning into all of his programming. Since October 7, Jacob has taken on more diverse responsibilities, including working with more than 40 student leaders, and programming during this difficult time for so many Jewish students. 

Jacob’s time as a Springboard Fellow gave him a strong foundation that prepared him for the challenges of working in Jewish higher education. He’s still not sure what’s next for his career, but he knows that whatever he does, Hillel will always be his professional home.

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News

At FSU Hillel, Every Experience is Welcome

Author

Hillel International

Date

January 26, 2024

Every Springboard Fellow brings something unique and special to the fellowship that makes the impact of their work meaningful to their students.

For Urban Seiberg (they/them), a First Year Springboard Fellow at Florida State University (FSU) Hillel, their unique contribution is being a supporter of queer Jewish students on campus and being a safe resource in a state with laws that are increasingly hostile to queer students. Having a queer Jewish Hillel professional to look up to as an undergraduate made a huge difference to them, and they’re excited to be paying that forward. When Hillel staff encouraged them to connect with the Jewish community beyond the University of Southern California and get more deeply involved, Springboard seemed like the perfect fit.

Their first goal was to make it loud and clear that FSU Hillel is welcoming to queer and trans Jewish students. One of their most meaningful moments was a trans student coming up to a Hillel table where Urban sat with some rainbow flags to ask if Hillel was safe for trans students. Urban still remembers how overwhelmed the student was when they said yes. The Hillel building now displays a banner welcoming trans students.

Urban also brought their unique perspective to the intimacy section of the Jewish Learning Fellowship curriculum, an experiential, conversational seminar for students looking to deepen their understanding of Judaism. When they got feedback from students, there was a comment that said how impactful the intimacy section had been, especially in light of some personal trauma and pain the student had experienced in the past. As a new Jewish educator, Urban was blown away, and proud of their ability to make such a clear and immediate impact.

For Urban, the Springboard Fellowship has been a source of community and connection, especially in the wake of October 7.  Their cohort bonded right away, forming a close-knit group that has lasted even after each fellow has settled into their individual campuses. 

As their time in the Fellowship continues, Urban is looking forward to connecting Hillel students with the larger Tallahassee community. They hope to help students not just learn about Jewish values, but also have the opportunity to live those values and ideas in their daily life.

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Small Moments, Big Impact

Author

Hillel International

Date

January 18, 2024

The journeys Springboard Fellows take to become part of the Hillel community are as unique and diverse as the Fellows themselves. 

For Olivia Rosenblum, a second-year Fellow at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA, her journey started with something very unexpected: shopping for pajamas. 

Olivia didn’t grow up with an active Jewish community, and becoming part of one wasn’t high on the checklist for her college experience. At home, Judaism was more about family traditions than going to services, so getting involved in Hillel wasn’t on her radar. That changed when her peer mentor at Skidmore College invited her to a Shabbat dinner. She enjoyed it so much that she left already planning to attend another one, and went with a new friend to pick out matching pajamas to wear to the event. 

Before that Shabbat, the idea of finding a sense of connection to Judaism through a pajama set would never have occurred to her. But that small moment ended up making a big difference. 

When the pandemic broke out in the spring of Olivia’s sophomore year, she wasn’t sure what that would mean for the rest of her time in college and her future career choices. Getting involved with student leadership and community-building, in part through the connections she’d made through Jewish student life, helped her stay on track not just with her career exploration, but also in maintaining her relationships with her campus community. 

As graduation approached, it was a Hillel professional who recommended that she apply for the Springboard Fellowship, and Olivia knew it was the perfect opportunity to continue her connection to her community and explore a career in student affairs.

In her first year of the Fellowship, Olivia adjusted to being on a new campus, working through her initial imposter syndrome and embracing the warmth of her new community. Just like she did when she was a student, she put relationships first, and built connections by sitting with students and learning about the small and important moments in their lives. The seeds planted by those conversations gave her the ideas she used to create meaningful and dynamic programs in partnership with student leaders.

The Springboard Fellowship has given Olivia the opportunity to deepen her existing passion for student affairs and program development while building her personal and professional networks. She learned about networking and pitching from her Springboard career coach, attended the 2023 Hillel International General Assembly to meet new people in the Hillel movement, and is currently preparing for an informational meeting with a professional she connected with through Springboard who specializes in organizational development and emotional intelligence coaching — a conversation she hopes will lead to new opportunities to expand the skills she uses in her work with students.

Since that first Shabbat dinner in college, Judaism has become an important part of Olivia’s identity. Being immersed in Hillel has given her the opportunity to work in student life in a way she never expected, and helped her shape her understanding of her future career goals: to keep working with college students in leadership and identity exploration. She’s had the opportunity to support students across a variety of backgrounds with a variety of visions for the future, and offers a meaningful Jewish connection to the students she serves.

Whether it’s with a new pair of pajamas or an invitation to a Shabbat dinner, Olivia is helping her students see that however they express their Jewish identity, there’s a meaningful place for them in the Hillel community. She’s there to help them find it.

The Springboard Fellowship is now accepting applications for the 2024–2026 Cohort Tet. Apply today and impact the Jewish future.

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Campus Microcommunities Have a Big Impact

Author

Sasha Vool and Liora Knizhnik

Date

January 3, 2024

Students step onto college campuses every day to explore their identities, their communities, and to find new ways of expressing who they are. When I was a student at the University of Buffalo, I found ways to lift up the different parts of my own multi-faceted identity. I am Jewish. I grew up speaking Russian. And I also have Japanese roots. Being involved with Hillel gave me opportunities to bring my whole self into the Jewish community. 

When I became the Springboard Fellow at Stony Brook University, I was determined to create the same kind of opportunities for other Jewish students. Together with student leaders, I have worked to create a range of microcommunities within Stony Brook Hillel; spaces where students who share multiple cultural backgrounds can connect with each other and deepen their relationships with their own identities. 

The first community I turned to was the Russian Jewish community. As a Russian-speaking Jew, I was able to ensure that programming was authentic and accurately represented our culture. This brought so much meaning to students within the Jewish Russian-speaking community at Stony Brook and inspired me to further broaden this opportunity to include other microcommunities. I invited students to launch programs that not only brought their identities to life but also introduced their fellow students to their unique cultural backgrounds.

Just a few months later, with the creation of the “Culture Committee,” a cohort that empowers students to authentically and effectively host events for microcommunities, we are growing into a Hillel that celebrates the diversity of the Jewish people by hosting events that gather Jews from various backgrounds. Whether watching Russian cartoons or painting tote bags together at the LGBTQ center, we create meaningful opportunities for students to connect with and learn from one another.

This work helps me connect with students who may not have initially found meaning in their Jewish identities. While the Jewish community is often perceived as monolithic, our microcommunity-focused work uplifts all kinds of Jewish students, altering that perception both within the Jewish community as well as the broader campus community. This means that Jewish students who would have never considered connecting with a Jewish community on campus now feel welcome and that they have a home at Hillel.  

We have also been able to welcome a new group of student leaders who began their Hillel journeys in the Culture Committee. Students who have led microcommunity-specific events have gained experience and confidence to take on other leadership roles at Hillel. 

I’m so grateful that our efforts around building space for all kinds of Jewish identities have provided Stony Brook students the opportunity to connect Jewishly and culturally and grow in their leadership abilities. I am excited to see the ongoing growth of our Hillel as the Culture Committee continues to evolve. 

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Reflections from Hillel’s New Professionals Institute 2023

Author

Hannah Parish Erbrick

Date

July 28, 2023

Hillel’s New Professionals Institute is held every year at Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) for all new staff members in the Hillel movement. It is an opportunity for new professionals to connect with their peers from all over the world and to learn about the skills and values that make Hillel the largest and most inclusive Jewish campus organization in the world. Hannah Parish Erbrick, a first-year Springboard Fellow at Tulane University, shares her experience at NPI below:

Vibe Check:

As a brand new Ezra Jewish Education Springboard Fellow at Tulane Hillel, fresh off the plane from a year in Israel with Masa, all I knew about Hillel’s New Professionals Institute (NPI) was to bring an extra blanket because the WashU dorms would be cold. While I had been involved with Hillel at Tulane University as a student, I was not sure what to expect as a staff member and a Springboard Fellow. 

What I found was warmth (thanks in part to the extra blanket!), caring, and fun. Every new Hillel professional who came to St. Louis this week walked in with an open heart and ready to learn. The collaborative, relationship-focused environment was so familiar to me from my days as a student — it really carried through to every interaction and every session at NPI. It was incredible to be surrounded by people who are joyfully working together for a common mission — to enhance the lives of Jewish students on campus. 

Three Moments of Wonder:

Throughout NPI, I found moments of inspiration and connection that are fueling my excitement for my work at Tulane Hillel. Here are just a few:

I often struggle with what I call “Jewish insecurity” — a feeling that I am not Jewish enough or don’t know enough about Judaism. Growing up in an interfaith family and not being raised traditionally Jewish, I was apprehensive about becoming a Jewish educator at Hillel. Before NPI, I knew that this fellowship would be an opportunity to enhance my Judaism, but I didn’t anticipate how many people I would meet from all different kinds of Jewish backgrounds. It was an amazing experience to speak with people who work at Hillel and who come from backgrounds like mine. I’m leaving NPI feeling like Hillel is a place where I can thrive and belong.

One of the most powerful moments at NPI was when my Springboard cohort studied a Torah text together. We discussed the story of Rabbi Akiva, a sage from the Mishnah and the Talmud who didn’t start learning Torah until he was 40 years old. I love connecting with Judaism through text and find it so meaningful to see myself and my experience of learning Torah for the first time as an adult reflected in texts that are thousands of years old. I’m excited to bring that connection and meaning to learning sessions with students. 

In one of our other cohort sessions, the facilitators wrote out Jewish texts on poster boards all over the room. We each walked around the room and added our reactions to the different texts. Then we added our reactions to our peers’ reactions. Over the course of the hour, we created a living Talmud of commentary and reflections on these meaningful texts. It was a moment filled with joy and connection with our tradition which I’m so excited to bring back to campus. 

What I’m Bringing Back:

As I pack my bags and head back to New Orleans, there are two ideas from the week that are sitting with me. 

For the first time, I encountered a famous Jewish text from Pirkei Avot, Chapter 2, “Rabbi Tarfon used to say: It is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.” When I feel overwhelmed by the challenge that I’m taking on in my Hillel work, I remember this text and use it to center myself. It is my job to work with students to enhance their Jewish lives, and I have a team and a movement of people on my side doing the work with me and helping me grow and learn. 

The other idea that continues to resonate with me is that failure is an opportunity for learning. I will fail, my students will fail, and we will use those moments to learn together how to move forward. Empowering student leaders is a big part of the work I’m excited for at Hillel, and this framing is inspiring me to start building those relationships and seeking out those moments of growth and learning. 

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Springboard on the Street: Thoughts and Advice from Current Fellows to Future Fellows

Author

Hillel International

Date

January 25, 2023

Springboard Fellowship applications are open! As early career professionals start their Springboard journeys, we asked current Springboard fellows to share their experiences and advice for applicants and future fellows. 

Why did you apply for Springboard?

Shaina Morrel, Syracuse Hillel – Social Justice Fellow:  During college, I discovered  the intersections of Judaism and social justice, and I explored local non-profits like the Religious Action Center, Avodah, and Hazon, and participated in every social justice learning opportunity possible through my Hillel. I never thought that Jewish social justice work could actually be a career until college, and from that point on, I was hooked. When I found out about Springboard from the fellow at my Hillel, I knew it was the direction I wanted to take. It was a perfect and natural next step – combining the things I was most passionate about, and how I felt I could make a difference. I was drawn to the fellowship structure and having a cohort of peers and mentors. I loved the idea of working at Hillel and learning about the Jewish world from a new perspective. Thank goodness I applied because Springboard was what I was looking for. 

Olivia Rosenblum, Muhlenberg Hillel – Intrapraneurship Fellow: I started getting all of the “what are you doing after college” questions in the midst of the pandemic and being forced to slow down helped me realize I wanted to work with college students on leadership development and programming. So I started doing informational interviews with professionals on my campus. When I met with our Jewish Student Life Coordinator, she asked me if I had heard about the Springboard Fellowship. I remember telling her point blank that I did not want to be a Jewish professional, but she asked me to humor her and apply. So I did, and the more I learned about it, the more I was interested in the Fellowship. I was drawn to the cohort model which provides you with a brand new network of friends to support you through the successes and challenges of transitioning out of student life to the professional world.

LilyFish Gomberg, Vanderbilt Hillel – Ezra Jewish Education Fellow: I applied for the Springboard Fellowship as an opportunity to work in the Jewish community before attending Rabbinical school. I knew I wanted to go into Rabbinical school and Springboard is the perfect platform for me to develop professional skills before returning to school. 

Eli Hartman-Seeskin, Cohen Hillel at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign – Innovation Fellow: I applied for Springboard because it allowed me to bring together the diverse skills I developed in college. This program offered me a chance to combine my video production experience, journalism training, Jewish studies degree, and interest in non-profits to do meaningful work on behalf of the Jewish community.

What do you hope to accomplish by participating in Springboard?

Shaina: As I enter my last semester as a Springboard Fellow, I can say that I have accomplished almost everything I had hoped to in this Fellowship. I have built lasting, meaningful, and transformative relationships with students. I created and led an 8-week Jewish social justice learning curriculum. I built up a vast network of community service opportunities. I fostered a culture of wellness, and so much more. I am excited and proud to have set the foundation for this work on my campus, AND I know there is so much more work to be done! So that’s why we need more Springboard fellows! None of us finish the work, but we all take part in the change in some way! 

Olivia:  I hope to make an impact in the lives of students the same way that my mentors and Hillel staff did for me! At this point in my first year I am already astounded by the growth of the student leaders that I  work with. I am also excited to continue to be a part of the programming staff and learn more about the field of student affairs. 

LilyFish: My Springboard capstone project is to develop a curriculum called Jewish Intimacy and Vulnerability, which is sexuality education combined with Jewish learning. Through the cohort, students are able to learn factually accurate information about their bodies and sexuality within the context of their Jewish values.

Eli: I hope that I will leave behind systems and programs that can be self-sustaining and helpful for students and future staff. My goal is to build structures to maximize the impact of my work beyond the 2 years of this fellowship.

What’s the best piece of advice that you could give to someone considering applying to Springboard?

Shaina:  Make sure that you listen to your heart throughout the campus matching process. As much as a Hillel is interviewing you, you are also interviewing them. You are trying to figure out if it is an environment you could see yourself living and working in for two years. That’s a big deal! It’s exciting to get matches and offers, but I would encourage you to not jump at the first thing that comes your way, but rather to reflect and listen to yourself about what really feels right. 

Olivia: Be yourself in every answer you give; the application and interviews are there to help match you with a best fit!

LilyFish: Springboard is what you make it!

Eli:  Know what you want going into interviews. If a campus wows you and you think you’d be a great fit, tell them that you want to be there! If after a first interview you couldn’t see yourself working directly under your interviewer every day for 2 years, trust that feeling too. And do your research on each campus and its staff before you interview with them; it shows you care.

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