Cornell Hillel Q&A

I was recently approached by Cornell Hillel to share my experiences abroad working with the JDC. The Q&A can also be found on Cornell Hillel's blog.

Q: What did you study at Cornell?

A: I graduated from Cornell in 2010 with a degree in Policy Analysis and Management.  I focused my studies on consumer policy and received a concentration in Law & Society as well.

Q: What do you miss most about life on campus?

A: I miss so much about Cornell!  It’s hard to know where to start.  I took a lot of great courses and saw some incredible guest speakers.  My favorites were the Dalai Lama, Sandra Day O’Connor, and Nicholas Kristof.  I also miss CTB, hanging out in the Arts Quad, Slope Day, lacrosse games, reading the Daily Sun, and Wegmans.

Q: What inspired you to be involved with Hillel/Jewish life on-campus?

A: During spring break my freshman year, I went on a trip with Cornell Hillel to Montevideo, Uruguay.  I was initially drawn to going because of the building project in the slums, but on the trip I met a number of people who were very active in Jewish life on-campus and learned about the phenomenal programs that are funded by Hillel. These opportunities were not only a great way to meet new people but also to become involved in another facet of Cornell life and contribute to the Jewish community. 

Working with NGO Un Techo Para Mi País, we built a new house for a single 
mother and her children

Q: What was your favorite memory of Hillel/Jewish life on-campus?

A: My favorite memory of Hillel was a trip Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine in July 2008.  The trip turned out to be both meaningful and enjoyable.  I have great-grandparents from Ukraine, and it was my first time in Eastern Europe.  The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) organized the trip.  I was introduced to the JDC’s work in the Former Soviet Union and its three-fold mission of rescue, relief, and renewal.  It was inspiring to see the community in Dnepropetrovsk reviving Jewish life with such enthusiasm after years of repression and censure.  I also met some amazing people, many of whom I’m still close with today.

The Cornell Hillel group

Q: How did you find out about the Jewish Service Corps Fellowship program, and what made you decide to participate?

A: I’ve had a long relationship with the JDC.  I first learned about the JDC my sophomore year of college when Hillel was traveling with the JDC to Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine for a short-term service trip over the summer.  The following semester I studied abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina and volunteered weekly at the JDC Baby Help Center, a day center for babies and toddlers.  I stayed in contact with a JDC staffer from the Ukraine trip, another Cornell, after graduating. 

Then last March I traveled with the JDC again on a young professionals service trip to Istanbul, Turkey and Berlin, Germany.  I met the Jewish Service Corps (JSC) volunteers in these placements and was floored with their jobs and lifestyles.  I went back to New York and found myself sitting in my cubicle thinking about my time in Turkey and Germany.  I quickly realized that I had the rest of my life to be in an office and while I was young, I wanted to be on the ground enacting change.  I had few responsibilities and some time before graduate school, allowing me to pursue a long-term volunteer opportunity like the JSC.

Mark Twain once said, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.  So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor.  Catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore.  Dream.  Discover.”  I felt as though the JSC opportunity was a calling that I just couldn’t refuse.  Now that I'm four months into my placement, I haven’t regretted my decision for a second.

JDC Baby Help Center

JDC young professionals service trip to Istanbul and Berlin

Q: What are your responsibilities as a Jewish Services Corps Fellow?

A: I am currently serving as a JSC fellow in Gonder, Ethiopia, a city about 400 kilometers northwest of the capital Addis Ababa.  My work is primarily non-sectarian through the JDC’s International Development Program.  A co-fellow and I teach English to 9^th grade students at Fasiledes General Secondary School, a public school in the city.  We also teach English to children hoping to make aliyah to Israel at the Jewish Agency for Israel’s community center.  While teaching is our main responsibility, we periodically travel to rural schools built by the JDC to write reports on their conditions.  A laptop was recently donated to one of those schools, Shumarjie, and we’ve been visiting weekly to provide instruction on using it.  Lastly, whenever missions visit Gonder we discuss our experiences and insights.  Often we volunteer with them as well.

View of Gonder

JSC Fellows serving in Ethiopia 

We are instructing one of the teachers at Shumarjie, a two-classroom school built by
the JDC, how to use a donated laptop

Q: What is it like working with the Jewish community in Ethiopia?
A: The JDC operates a health clinic for the remaining Felas Mora (Ethiopians of Jewish ancestry) in Gonder. My co-fellow and I have helped with minor projects there such as creating posters with the statistical data from 2011 to hang in the clinic and helping to distribute Plumpy’nut, a ready-to-use therapeutic food, to underweight children and pregnant women.  We have also been able to interact with the community’s youth through our classes at the Jewish Agency.  My class at the Jewish Agency is small, and I’ve enjoyed getting to know my students.  My class is appreciative and enthusiastic.

I find the history of the Beta Israel and Felas Mora fascinating.  While much of it is steeped in legend and shrouded in mystery, I find the narrative of the Ethiopian Jews compelling.  It is a resilient community with a strong will and sense of tradition.  The immigration policy to Israel is very controversial and luckily, we are able to stay out politics.  Being on the ground has provided me with a unique perspective.  In the future, I would really like to visit Israel’s absorption centers and Ethiopian communities to see how well the population has transitioned and adapted to life in a completely different environment.

JDC Health Clinic

My class at the Jewish Agency working on a grammar exercise

Q: How are you continuing to establish your Jewish identity outside of Cornell?

A: I do my best to stay informed about issues in Israel and Jewish communities around the world.  Whenever I am traveling I make an effort to seek out historical Jewish sites.

I’ve also been able to find a Jewish community in Gonder.  Historically, there was Jewish population in the Amhara region of Ethiopia. According to the Jewish Agency, there are currently about 3,000 Felas Mora currently awaiting emigration from Ethiopia to Israel.  The Jewish Agency for Israel runs a community center in Gonder where I’ve been fortunate enough to attend services.  A group of students put on a fantastic skit for Hanukkah, and I am looking forward to upcoming performances.  Every Friday night, my co-fellow and I have Shabbat dinner with a group of Israeli Jewish Agency volunteers and any Jewish tourists in the area.

Q: What do you plan on doing next/does it involve Jewish life?

A: After my JSC placement ends, I will be starting law school at the University of Michigan.  I’m looking forward to graduate school, having routine and structure, and challenging myself in ways that are starkly different from the challenges I have met in Gonder.  After taking time off time to both work and volunteer abroad, I’m prepared for the next phase in my life.

The JDC has impacted my life tremendously over the past few years, and I have developed strong relationships with the organization and its staff.  I plan to be involved with the JDC for years to come.  My time in Ethiopia and experiences with the JDC have reaffirmed my dedication to Chesed Rachamim and Tikkun Olam.