First Year Students are the first students we meet and the most important students to engage. New students seek out communities that are familiar, comfortable and cool. It is our job to nurture the new Jewish students, to make them feel comfortable on campus and provide a place where they can feel welcome and needed.

As the JCSC Fellow, I have worked diligently throughout the year to engage the freshmen and give them opportunities to be involved in Hillel leadership and activities. This year, I started two programs in the name of FYSH-First Year Students of Hillel.

1. FYSH Dinners: Twice a month, I (along with freshmen student leaders) offered free kosher dinners to the AU Jewish community. The dinners were held in the dorms and at local restaurants. Dinner themes included Dessert Party, Picnic Dinner and Kosher Chinese.  The dinner gained a "cult following" as the year progressed, attracting freshmen and upperclassmen alike.
2. FYSH Council:  A group of freshmen student leaders who planned social programming for the Jewish freshmen. Programs included Speed Dating with GW Hillel, Havdallah on the Mall, and Tossin' in the Quad, a Frisbee game with the United Methodist students. The FYSH council structure was loose and its leadership changed throughout the year. Overall, it provided freshmen a chance to plan programs and gain leadership skills.  

In addition to programming, I also did continual engagement work through mass emails, letters and individual coffee dates with students.

Greek Students: Approximately 20 percent of American University students belong to a fraternity or sorority. Within these organizations a substantial number of the students are Jewish. Many of these students join the Greek system to connect and socialize with other Jewish students, reminiscent of their days at sleep-over camp and in youth groups like USY, BBYO and NFTY. As a Hillel professional, these students are a valuable campus resource. Additionally, many of these students exhibit leadership skills and have taken on leadership within their chapters.

In the beginning of the school year, I took the time to meet one-on-one with several Greek students and chapter presidents. Through these conversations I gained an important perspective on the AU Greek community and the role of the Jewish students as chapter leaders. With several of these students, I established the AU Greek Jewish Council in an attempt to strengthen the link between Hillel and Jewish Greek students. The council was composed of delegates from 5 different sororities and fraternities. Over the year we planned a large Greek social event, titled Latkepalooza.  Planned as a social and cultural celebration of Chanukah, Greek students had an opportunity to schmooze with other Greeks and celebrate the holiday as a community. In addition to Latkepalooza, we brainstormed several other programming ideas, including Greek Shabbat and Speed Dating. Unfortunately, timing and lack of student leadership stood in the way of making these programs a reality. Overall, this year we strengthened the Greek-Hillel connection, which still has a far way to go.

Political Students: Students come to American University to be involved in the political atmosphere of Washington, DC.  AU breeds a driven, pre-professional student body. Students are constantly taking on internships and jobs with Congressmen, non-profits and corporate businesses in the city. I felt strongly that Hillel needed to reach out to politically-active students and create programming that combined their interest in politics with their Jewish heritage and connection.

Seeking to reach out to these Jewish and politically-minded students, I started a program called the Hillel Political Dinner Series. The program provided politically-active Jewish students with the opportunity to get to know a prominent Jewish political figure in an informal and intimate dinner setting.  The dinners were limited to 10 students and the participants were chosen by lottery. We held four dinners during the spring semester and every one was tremendously successful. Our guests included: Jonathan Epstein, Political Advisor to John Kerry; Beth Tritter, Legislative Director for Nita Lowey; Bill Kristol, editor of the Weekly Standard and former Chief of Staff to former Vice President Dan Quayle; Matt Mandel, Legislative Liaison at AIPAC. Because of this program, political programming has become a more central focus and interest of Hillel. It was incredibly well received by the Jewish community (and was even protested by a student group...yeh for political freedom!!).