Gillian- I met Gillian at one of my political dinner programs in the spring.  I was surprised that I had not seen her around campus or even heard her name around the office because she was a freshman.  During the dinner I was tremendously impressed with her wit, intelligence and warmth. After the program, I set up a coffee date with Gillian and had the opportunity to hear about her family life, academic interests and religious background. I think that this one coffee date helped Gillian to feel more comfortable with Hillel and Jewish student life on campus. After our date, she started attending Shabbat services and participated in several Hillel programs throughout the spring.  

CJ-CJ is my success story in the making. I met CJ during the first week of school and from the beginning he was full of energy and ideas. For a while, had floated in and out of Hillel, occasionally attending FYSH meetings and dinners. For second semester, I appointed CJ FYSH dinner co-chair. As such, CJ was in charge of planning the dinner themes, organizing publicity and "rallying the troops" to attend the events. CJ was an incredible creative resource.While he is often frazzled and overcommited (mostly meeting social engagements) he is always equipped with an idea and an interesting approach to social programming.  CJ's experience as a FYSH chair gave him an opportunity to fine tune his programming skills and brought tremendous energy to AU Hillel programming. 

Alex-I immediately gravitated toward Alex, from the first time we met. He is from Geneva, Switzerland and this was his first time living and studying away from home. When I met him, he was very lost and simultaneously intrigued by the American college student life. Trudging through the first weeks of freshmen life, he was very lonely and constantly thinking about returning to Geneva to be with friends and family.  Sensing this amibvalence and homesickness, I made a concerted effort to get to know Alex and make sure that he felt comfortable at AU. Having studied abroad in Europe, I empathized with the cultural differences that can make the transition difficult. Throughout the semester, Alex got more comfortable and by the end of the semester, had become a regular member of AU Hillel gatherings and programs, as well as a regular at Shabbat dinner. He helped to found the AU Hillel Orthodox Minyan and has pushed our office to become more knowledgable about Sephardic Judaism.

Naomi- Naomi has been on the fringe of Hillel life since she came to AU a year ago. During this year, we were in a Hebrew class together and got the chance to talk and bond as peers.  One day, during a lunch date, Naomi expressed a desire to be more active in Hillel. So, I whipped out pen and paper and we spend 45 minutes brainstorming program ideas that tapped into her interests. From this once lunch date emerged a very successful anti-semitism program that she planned and executed.  Naomi, since taking ownership over her program, has become a consistent and active member of the Hillel community. She has continued to take on leadership and alays visits our office with a smile!

Louis-I met Louis in the beginning of the year, in my attempt to organize a Greek Jewish Council. Louis was one of two guys on the council, although at first I don't think he knew why he was there. I was definitely more than hesitant as to how the council would get along or who would take leadership. While many of the council members struggled to meet commitments, Louis consistently came through and helped bring out program together successfully.  Although Louis had never held a leadership position in the Jewish community, he was able to bring his leadership skills from the IFC to Hillel and lead the way in terms of Jewish Greek programming. Since then, Louis has expressed interest in working on domestic violence programming within Hillel and taking more leadership in Greek Jewish programming.

Aviva- Aviva was an empowered student waiting to happen. She was active in USY, bubbly, outgoing and friendly. She came to Hillel consistently from the first Shabbat of the year and attended several FYSH and Hillel programs. However, Aviva had a hard time finding her niche in Hillel and often clung to the backdrop. When it came time to find FYSH chairs for second semester, I decided to give Aviva a chance to use her programming skills to help plan FYSH dinners with CJ. Although they had very different programmatic approaches they complimented each other and we were able to create several fabulous programs.  Through her position as FYSH chair, Aviva gained confidence in her ability to lead and became more comfortable being social in the Hillel scene. She has since taken on a board position for the AU Jewish Students Association and continues to be active in programs and events.

Binyamin-I met Binyamin in my Hebrew class first semester. He was a freshman and so I made sure he knew about all of the FYSH events and Hillel programs. Every time I had an event, I would publicize in class and Binyamin consistently would shirk my attempt to invite him to programs.  Finally, after much nagging, I arranged a coffee date with Binyamin and got the chance to talk with him one-on-one. We spent about an hour together, sharing stories and talking about his upbringing and family life. Slowly, Binyamin started showing up to programs, bringing small groups of friends and mostly keeping to himself. Then, he started attending Shabbat dinners and eventually became a regular in the conservative service. By the end of the year, he and several other students founded an orthodox minyan and have set the groundwork for an orthodox Sephardic presence on campus.