By Rachel Gross and Zachary Levy, SCAD '26
Rachel: This year Zac Levy and I are the President and Vice President of the SCAD Hillel board. We first met two years ago, our freshmen year, at the Rosh Hashanah student dinner held at the local Chabad.
This was my first Hillel event and I was nervous. I had joined the Hillel Discord server prior to the high holidays and saw that Zac had offered to meet up with other freshmen at the bus stop.
Zac: I was looking for people to join me for the event. I got a response from someone I didn’t recognize, but I was happy that I had someone to go with!
R: I seemed like a great opportunity to meet someone new! And at least I wouldn’t show up unaware of where to sit or anything. Looking back, it might not have been my brightest plan, since all I knew about him at the time was his Discord username. I really had no clue who I was meeting up with.
Later on that night I headed down to the bus stop and saw someone who I thought was Zac.
Z: I was waiting at the bus stop, and a couple minutes later, a beautiful girl walked up to me and said, “Are you Zac?” I happily responded yes!
R: Even though I was a nervous wreck because it was just us taking the bus to the event and I wasn’t sure what to expect, it ended up being the greatest decision of my life.
Since then, we haven’t attended a Hillel event without each other.
Z: During the next quarter we ended up having two classes together, so we were able to see each other every day. We also joined the Hillel board as Secretary and ICC Liaison. Winter Quarter was also a huge milestone for us because we started dating!
R: Our sophomore year we were the Vice President and Secretary, and now in our junior year we are the President and Vice President.
Z: I’m so glad that I have her as my VP. I can run everything by her, and we piggyback well off of each other.
R: Zac and I are so passionate about sharing Hillel with other Jewish students and helping them find their best Jewish selves. Together we want to continue to give the same great opportunities and experiences to new and current students that we were able to have when we joined Hillel!
Z: One of the reasons I picked this school was because it had a Hillel. Judaism has always been a major part of my identity, so getting the opportunity to be on the board as a freshman jumpstarted my goal of becoming president. Getting that role my junior year has been such a massive achievement.
R: Hillel has helped me find myself and figure out what Judaism means to me. Hillel is overall a great place to connect with people of the same faith and culture as yourself, but you might also find your best friends or boyfriend!
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