By Leah Faupel, Springboard Fellow, Hillel at Georgia Tech
Being Jewish has always been the most central part of my identity. I loved spending my time at my synagogue for Sunday and Hebrew school, I counted down seconds until holiday celebrations with family and friends, and I especially loved learning about my Jewish heritage, history, and culture.
My sophomore year of high school, I was in a position for the first time in my life where I was unsure what I wanted to do with my life. I had bounced back and forth for years between astronaut and actress, scientist and softball player, but I had reached a point where I knew I had to get serious about a future plan as I was beginning to look into colleges. It was not until a night at my Confirmation class at my synagogue where, following a reflective and introspective conversation with my Rabbi and classmates about Jewish identity, that I realized I could be Jewish for a living. I could take all of the joy and solace I find in my own Jewish identity and help others find that same feeling in theirs. I realized my dream job was to become a rabbi.
After that revelation, I threw myself into all of the aspects of Jewish life that I could reach. I became incredibly active in NFTY, on a local and national level. I remained heavily involved with the education program at my synagogue. And when I started looking at colleges, my number one criterion was Hillel.
I had heard from older friends and family how Hillel had impacted them, how it gave them a Jewish home away from their own home, and knew that it would be something I needed in my own college experience. At every school I toured, I met with a Hillel leader and even went to a few Shabbat dinners. Even though I was just a high school student that the Hillel students knew they may never meet again, I was welcomed with open arms and Jewish joy at each campus I visited. The feeling that Hillel would become a very important aspect of my life only continued to grow. When I finally committed to the University of Tennessee (Go Vols!), the first thing I did was reach out to the Hillel director.
After four years of Hillel involvement, three years of sitting on the executive board, and one year as president of Hillel at UTK, I was pleased to be able to say that I was correct in knowing that Hillel would become a huge part of my life. Every holiday observance brought Jewish community together in a place with a small Jewish population, every social event brought friends new and old, and every board meeting brought fantastic ideas and collaboration through a shared passion for Judaism and our campus community. I could not have loved Hillel more, which is why I applied for the Springboard Fellowship. Although my intention is still to attend Rabbinical school, I did not want to wait anymore to jump right into the professional world after my graduation! I have met several Springboard alumni throughout my networking around various Jewish organizations, and have had the program on my radar since high school, so I had been waiting for my chance to apply and join this incredible fellowship.
When I saw Georgia Tech on the list of campuses that were taking fellows, I knew that was where I had to be. Having spent much of my early years driving by campus and knowing several proud alumni, I was thrilled at the prospect of being able to work at such an esteemed institution and on a wonderful campus.
This coming school year, I am eager to bring to life programs that students want to see, give them a place and a community to be their Jewish selves, and get in touch with their Jewish identity in whatever way they want to. I can think of no better place or organization to be with and am so thrilled to be working with Hillel at Georgia Tech for the next two years!
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