For high school seniors, it’s that time of year when the college application process looms. Students begin the rush to finalize their lists of where they want to go to college, checking off considerations as varied as academic rigor, location and social environment.
Yet many believe that Jewish students should add another criteria to that mix.
“Having a Jewish presence on campus is critically important,” explains Rabbi Ari Israel, executive director of Maryland Hillel. “Not only will students find a built-in social network of like-minded peers but a strong Jewish presence often ensures that a campus is sensitive to Jewish issues, such as missing classes for holidays or supporting a pro-Israel environment.”
At the same time, adds Rabbi Josh Snyder, executive director of Goucher Hillel, college is an important time in an emerging adult’s life. “This is when they begin to form an identity and figure out where Jewish ideas fit in. That’s why organizations such as Hillel have expanded, providing engaging programs that will excite Jewish students across the religious spectrum,” he says.
More than a decade ago, Hillel International recognized that there were many Jewish students who were not connecting to traditional Hillel programs. Hillel developed a variety of leadership and involvement opportunities so students can connect to their Jewish identity through their passions and interests.
Today, not only does Hillel offer Shabbat meals and services in its building but it hosts Shabbat dinners in fraternities and sororities, in campus dorms and with innovative offerings like the University of Maryland College Park’s Global Justice Shabbat.
In addition, programs such as the Maryland Hillel’s National Hillel Basketball Tournament, Hackathons and social justice projects that focus on such far-ranging topics as hunger, immigration and interfaith relations, are reaching a diverse Jewish student body. And so are ambassador programs in which students engage their peers.
Mia Kaufman, a sophomore at University of Maryland College Park, served as an ambassador last year. As part of that effort, she reached out to her peers, met them for coffee, talked over bagels, even organized freshman dorm events such as a ”Carb Loading Event” following Passover.
“As an ambassador, I got to know other students and find out what is important to them. Hillel has so many opportunities that I could connect them to projects they might enjoy,” she says.
Goucher College also engages students who get together with their Jewish peers at sporting events, over coffee, and for meals. They talk about what they enjoy and connect them to programs of interest.
“College is a time when Jewish students are integrating with peers from many faiths,” says Snyder. “We want Jewish students to understand where their Jewish identity fits into the mix.”
“When students own their Jewish journey, they will make Jewish-oriented decisions,” adds Israel.
Top photo: Aliza Widroff (left) and Rachel Davis join close to 1,000 University of Maryland, College Park students for Maryland Hillel’s Opening BBQ at the start of the school year.
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