Hillel Stories

Jewish Joy and Belonging

America at 250: Serving My Country and My Community

Author

Olivia Raykhman

Date

July 1, 2026

Olivia Raykhman is an Air Force officer, a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, and a graduate of Stanford University where she earned her master’s in communication this past June. In celebration of America at 250, she shared how she creates community for Jewish service members and cadets.   

Some of my clearest memories of West Point are not from the parade field or the classroom. They are from Friday nights at Hillel, walking past a wall of names of every Jewish graduate since Simon M. Levy in 1802, and into our sanctuary. Once inside, the ark stands between an American flag and an Israeli flag, and the room is full of Jewish cadets trading stories from the week before settling in for Shabbat dinner.

For four years, that community was my anchor. It was the first place I regained my “speaking privileges” during Week 1 of Beast, our cadet basic training. It was where I put on my Air Force officer uniform for the first time on the day I graduated. Most importantly, it was where I learned that I could be fully an American soldier and fully a Jew. Since joining the military, I have never felt like I had to choose between the two.

My family came to Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, as refugees from the Soviet Union, where they had been denied their rights as Jews and their voices as humans. They taught me that freedom is not free and that America’s democracy has endured for 250 years only because each generation chooses to preserve it. 

My father taught me what that responsibility looks like in practice. He became a physician because he believed a life is not only for yourself; it is for service. I thought I would follow him into medicine. However, attending high school blocks from the World Trade Center and later spending a semester in Israel – two places where the cost of freedom is not abstract – drew me toward national security instead. West Point’s Jewish community helped complement both my faith and love for my country by becoming a place where my service and my Judaism reinforced each other.

That balance wasn’t always so easy to find. To many of the cadets I’ve trained alongside, I was the first Jew they had ever met. To many people in my Jewish community back in Brooklyn, I was the first service member they had ever known. For a long time, I assumed that was simply my story — a quirk of growing up in one cultural world and choosing to serve in another. Then I started listening to other Jewish cadets, and I realized it wasn’t just my story. It was many of ours.

West Point Hillel is unusual. It sits inside a military academy, its rabbi assigned by the Army, its Shabbat services shift depending on who is serving in that role. But in many ways, it does what every Hillel does: it welcomes observant and secular students, lifelong learners and those just beginning to explore their identities. As co-president, I ran Shabbat, holidays, and sometimes three events in a single week; I mentored underclass cadets finding their footing as Jewish Americans in uniform. In return, Hillel gave me the thing every Jewish student deserves — a community where I never had to explain who I was. 

I thought every Jewish cadet had what I had. Then, I led Jewish Warrior Weekend, an annual gathering that brings Jewish service academy cadets together for a weekend of military, spiritual, and social programming. The one we built was the first to include a significant contingent of ROTC cadets. It became the largest gathering of Jewish military-affiliated students in recorded history.

That weekend changed my understanding of the challenges Jewish service members face outside of West Point. As I spoke with ROTC students from civilian campuses across the country, I kept hearing the same thing: they felt like they were on an island.

While my West Point peers had a thriving Hillel community alongside nearly 200 Jewish cadets, many ROTC cadets found themselves confronting a different reality. They were often one of few Jewish students in their detachment and, at the same time, one of few military-affiliated students in their campus Hillel. While there were wonderful organizations designed for Jewish students and those designed for service members, almost none existed for students who were both.

So I built one.

I called it Nesharim, Hebrew for “eagles,” an organization devoted entirely to supporting Jewish cadets and midshipmen, so none have to feel like outliers in either of the communities they belong to.

This past year, as a master’s student at Stanford University, I hosted virtual gatherings and in person programming to help Jewish cadets at over a dozen campuses connect with one another. These Jewish cadets are scattered across ROTC detachments nationwide, often without knowing that the others exist. Much of my year has gone into the un-glamorous, essential work of finding them, introducing them to one another, and giving them a reason and a place to gather.

The clearest picture of what we are building came at a Shabbat dinner at UCLA Hillel. Behind that one evening were weeks of planning with UCLA Hillel student leaders Delilah Hirshland, Valerie Munerman, and Kendall Bristol, who were immediately motivated by Nesharim’s vision. Valerie is the daughter of an Army Ranger. Kendall hopes to serve as a JAG officer after graduation. Delilah is spending the summer at the Department of Justice at the intersection of Jewish life and national security. Each knew the importance of service to the country and simultaneously recognized that Jewish ROTC students on their campus had been moving through college without a clear place to belong.

Invitations went out to the ROTC detachment, the veteran’s club, and Jewish student groups on campus. The evening was designed around one goal: to bring together communities that overlap constantly but rarely meet. We welcomed Shabbat with candle lighting, blessings, and a joyful dinner. Then I gave everyone one instruction: find someone different from you and start a conversation.

Chairs shifted, strangers turned toward one another, and introductions began. By the end of the evening, the room no longer felt like separate groups of civilian students and ROTC cadets. It felt like one community. Watching those conversations unfold brought me back to my own first Shabbat at West Point.

After all, that sense of community is what Hillel gave me. And that is what Hillels across the country have made possible for Nesharim. When I wanted to bring Jewish cadets together, Hillels including Dartmouth, UVA, and Stanford gave us a table to gather around, literally and figuratively.

And there is so much more we can do. Imagine a world where every Hillel knew which of its students were ROTC cadets and welcomed them by name. Imagine a Jewish cadet moving across the country for training who already knows there is a Hillel community waiting on the other side — one where they wouldn’t be anyone’s “first.”

I believe that every Jewish cadet I meet is a future leader who will go on to lead platoons, formations, wings, and fleets. Especially since October 7, Jewish students everywhere have needed one another more than ever, and Jewish cadets, often the most isolated, need it most. We get to decide whether the next Jewish cadet has to be someone’s “first,” or whether they walk into a detachment, or a Hillel, and simply find their people already waiting.

This is my call to the Jewish cadet who is certain they are the only one in their detachment, and to every Hillel professional with the power to prove them wrong: you are not alone; you are not on an island.

Calling all Jewish cadets: come find us. We have been waiting for you.

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Diversity and Inclusion

Hillel Stories

At Hillel, I didn’t have to pick and choose

Author

Hadley Kalson

Date

June 23, 2026

“Hello, my name is Hadley Kalson, I use they/them pronouns, and I am the UVM Hillel student president.”

This is how I introduced myself for two years at the University of Vermont, where I served as the Hillel student president.?

But it wasn’t always so simple. When I was in high school, my friends knew I was non-binary, but I was always too nervous to correct anyone when they misgendered me. I told myself college would be a new start, and I wanted to be more outwardly proud about my queer and non-binary identities.? But after the first few days of class, I felt myself sliding back into old patterns — I did not feel comfortable sharing my true self with everyone I met, especially teachers.

Then, the second semester of my first year, I started going to Hillel. I decided to try again and shared my name, my queer identities, and what I was studying. And for the first time, I felt like my whole self was being heard by both students and the staff.

Hillel was one of the first places where I felt that everyone took all my identities seriously and made a true effort to understand my experience. It was also one of the first places where the adults I encountered introduced themselves with names AND pronouns. My friends and I loved how our executive director always had the same introduction: “My name is Matt Vogel, I use he and him pronouns, and I’m the executive director of UVM Hillel.” Matt made it clear that this introduction wasn’t forced and it wasn’t a chore — it was just normal.

Later in my first year, UVM Hillel handed out different Pride flags printed with Jewish stars. When I saw the non-binary flag with the Jewish star on it, I knew Hillel was going to be my home. I still have that flag and have hung it up in every dorm room and apartment I have lived in since.

For the next few years, Hillel was a place where my friends and I could be our fullest queer and Jewish selves, and I found opportunity after opportunity to be my full self in different Hillel spaces. One of my favorite queer Hillel events was “Queers and Schmears.” It was a simple bagel brunch specifically for queer Jews, yet it showed me how easy it could be to celebrate my Jewish and queer identities together.

In my second year on campus, I became the Hillel student president. I was now the most visible student leader in my Hillel, and would always welcome people to events, whether for a weekly Shabbat celebration or the High Holidays. And every time I introduced myself, I said, “Hello, my name is Hadley Kalson, I use they/them pronouns, and I am the UVM Hillel student president.” I had come full circle in my comfort and confidence in my identity, in large part thanks to Hillel.????

Growing up, there were times I was worried about being open about my non-binary and queer identity and feared I was not going to be taken seriously. Then, in college, there were times when I was in queer spaces and did not feel comfortable expressing my Jewish Identity. At Hillel, I did not have to pick and choose.

Hillel gave me the chance to feel fully like myself for the first time in my life. I cannot express how grateful I am to have been Hadley Kalson, they/them pronouns, and the UVM Hillel student president.

Hadley Kalson is a recent graduate of the University of Vermont and an incoming Springboard Fellow at Hillel San Antonio.

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糖心vlogl Internships

Hillel Stories

How a 糖心vlogl Internship Changed My Life

Author

Courtney Saxe

Date

June 11, 2026

When I arrived as a student at the University of Arizona, I was looking for ways to deepen my involvement in Jewish life. I came into college with a tight-knit Jewish community and an appreciation for the Jewish community I found at Hillel, but I was also curious about what happened behind the scenes. Who creates experiences like an exciting, welcoming FreshFest or a meaningful Shabbat? How do programs involving hundreds of Jewish students across multiple campuses come together? What does it actually look like to build Jewish community as a profession?

That curiosity is what led me to apply for 糖心vlogl’s Student Engagement, Experiences and Leadership (SEEL) internship in the summer of 2025, and I was absolutely thrilled when I found out I had been selected.

After months of applications, interviews, and anticipation, I stepped into a world I had only seen from the outside. What I did not expect was how quickly it would begin to feel like home.

From my first introductory calls to learning how to navigate working with new colleagues in a remote environment, I was welcomed into a cohort of interns who shared my passion for Jewish life and community-building. We learned together, asked questions together, and discovered just how many people dedicate themselves every day to creating meaningful Jewish experiences for students around the world.

Throughout the summer, I had the opportunity to meet with Hillel professionals and senior leaders, including 糖心vlogl President and CEO Adam Lehman. Those conversations opened my eyes to the many different paths within Jewish communal work, and helped me understand the tremendous care, creativity, and intentionality that go into supporting students.

For the first time, I was seeing the bigger picture.

I was also trusted with meaningful work. One of my proudest moments was moderating a student gathering on the conflict between Israel and Iran, where I helped facilitate a conversation for students across the Hillel movement about the complex geopolitical situation in the Middle East. Experiences like that challenged me to step outside my comfort zone and grew my confidence.

By the end of the summer, I had gained far more than professional experience. I found mentors, friendships, and a deeper understanding of the Jewish community that I hope to continue serving long after graduation.

Then came an amazing surprise. My supervisor, Michael Kagan, 糖心vlogl’s director of Student Engagement and Experiences, asked if I would be interested in extending my internship into the academic year.

The answer was easy.

Michael was one of the most influential mentors in my internship experience. He challenged me, encouraged me, and consistently made me feel capable of taking on new opportunities. His support helped me grow as a professional and as an individual. I jumped at the opportunity to continue working with him and his team.

The extension opened the door to some of the most meaningful experiences of my internship, including helping plan the fourth annual 糖心vlogl Content Creators Forum in New York City.

Bringing together 120 student creators to strengthen their digital storytelling skills and explore how they can respond to antisemitism online is no small task. In the months leading up to the forum, I learned so much from my colleagues on the SEEL team about event planning, collaboration, and what it takes to create a meaningful experience for students.

When the weekend finally arrived, I helped facilitate the culture track, which encouraged students to explore the purpose behind their content creation and the stories they wanted to tell. I also had the opportunity to interview Jewish creators Carly Weinstein and Jake Goldberg about their experiences on social media.

Looking back, the forum stands out as one of the defining moments of my internship, not because of a single session or project, but because of the people. The energy, creativity, and sense of purpose in those rooms was inspiring, as was building relationships with students who were passionate about sharing their Jewish stories.

Throughout the year, I gained a new appreciation for the work happening behind the scenes at 糖心vlogl, but what surprised me most was how much my own voice mattered. Whether discussing a new initiative, brainstorming ideas, or weighing in on small details, I never felt like “just an intern.” My perspective as a student was valued, and I felt trusted as a contributor to the work.

Then, as my third year at the University of Arizona came to a close and I packed for my Birthright Israel trip, I was offered the opportunity to continue my internship into another summer. I didn’t hesitate in saying yes once more. 

After all, what began as a search for one more way to get involved in Jewish life became one of the most meaningful experiences of my college career. This internship gave me practical skills, professional experience, and incredible mentors. More importantly, it showed me the impact that dedicated professionals can have on students’ lives.

I am deeply grateful for the people who invested in me, challenged me, and helped me grow. I cannot wait to continue learning, and I am excited to see where this journey leads next.

Courtney Saxe is a rising fourth-year student at the University of Arizona and a second-year 糖心vlogl intern.

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Hillel Stories

Proud to be Jewish

Jewish Enough to Share My Voice with Joy and Pride

Author

Tessa Hewitson

Date

May 28, 2026

It is hard to believe that my four years as a college student are now over, and I am starting the next step of my journey. Before I arrived at the University of Michigan-Dearborn in 2022, I carried a quiet insecurity with me: that I was never quite “Jewish enough.” But when I stepped onto campus in Dearborn, that fear inverted almost overnight. Suddenly, I was “too Jewish” in almost every room I walked into — both the first Jewish person my peers had ever met, and a representative of a people they did not understand. 

When you are the sole representative of an entire people to your classmates, the responsibility to engage can feel incredibly heavy. I often spoke up alone on issues confronting the Jewish people and Israel. At first, I was terrified that speaking against the hate that I experienced could carry consequences. But after I confessed to a fellow Hillel of Metro Detroit student that I was considering pulling out of a meeting with professors about an anti-Israel seminar that had been held on campus, his response, rooted in Jewish wisdom, shifted my resolve: “If you do not show up, who will?”

That single conversation with my friend two years ago has fueled me ever since. It became the core of how I understood Jewish advocacy on campus: to show up even when I did not feel fully prepared or confident, because just showing up sometimes makes all the difference.

That conviction was strengthened when I attended the 糖心vlogl Content Creators Forum this past spring. For so long, I was advocating just for myself, as the only visible Jewish student on campus. Then suddenly, I was surrounded by students anchored to the same goal: humanizing, highlighting, and uplifting the vibrancy of Jewish life.

I sat with TikTok creators, a Holocaust educator, news correspondents, an incredible Olympic athlete, and over 100 Jewish students whose voices belong in rooms of national leadership. For the first time in a long time, I was with people who inspired me, and who I know are working together to build a better world.

It was also there in New York that my understanding of advocacy deepened in a new way. During a plenary speech, creator Eliana Jolkovsky (@thatkoreanjew) shared a lesson that struck a chord with me: “If I do not speak, someone else will speak for me.”

Eliana’s words helped me realize that choosing not to speak up actually hands the microphone to someone else. Silence creates an opening for others to define Jews and Jewish experiences for us. And I want to hold the ownership of my own story. 

Every student at the Content Creators Forum had a different story to tell and a different medium through which to tell it. But together, we shared the same drive to show up, speak honestly, and create space for Jewish stories to be heard. And hearing those stories, along with the years of community and belonging that I found at Metro Detroit Hillel, finally silenced that insecurity that I was not Jewish enough. 

I was Jewish enough to speak up for myself and my community. I was Jewish enough to build friendships with Jewish student creators across the country. And I am Jewish enough to take the lessons that I learned at Hillel with me as I head out into the wider world and continue sharing Jewish stories, including my own, as far and wide as possible.

Tessa Hewitson is a graduating senior at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, and a 糖心vlogl student leader.

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Hillel Stories

Celebrating Asian Jewish Life

Author

Benjamin Nuland

Date

May 27, 2026

As I reflect on Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month as an Asian Jew from Shanghai, China, I keep returning to one question: What does it mean to be an Asian Jew today?

I don’t have a simple answer. But over time, I have come to believe that identity is less a fixed definition and more an ongoing experiment, shaped through history, ritual, and the communities we build together.

Growing up in Shanghai, I was surrounded by Jewish history. The city had once been home to Baghdadi Jewish families, Russian Jews fleeing persecution, and later, German and Austrian Jews escaping Nazism. Even today, traces of those communities remain visible across the city.

But despite that history, my own experience of Jewish life often felt uncertain.

My father, who is Jewish, first brought me to services at Ohel Rachel Synagogue, a historic congregation, when I was very young. Through that community and through Chabad of Shanghai, I learned prayers, melodies, and the rhythms of Jewish communal life. But because my mother is Chinese and Buddhist, I often felt uncertain of my place in those communities. At the same time, restrictions on religious life in China were tightening, dictating who and how many people could participate in religious institutions. Eventually, under both legal and communal pressure, my family had no choice but to leave the community I grew up in.

Rather than stepping away from Judaism, my family helped create something new. Alongside several other mixed and interfaith families, we built , a grassroots Jewish organization that held seders in hotel conference rooms, Shabbat dinners in private homes, and classes in rented coworking spaces.

That experience shaped the way I understood Jewish community long before I arrived at Yale as a college student.

In fact, when I first came to the United States, I experienced a kind of Jewish culture shock. American Jewish life felt far more structured than anything I had known growing up. And as an Asian Jew, I suddenly found myself navigating spaces where people perceived me as unexpected or foreign.

But at Yale Hillel, I also began finding something I had not fully realized I was searching for: other Asian Jews and Asian American Jews.

At first, these relationships started casually. A few conversations in the . Students comparing stories and realizing there were far more Asian Jews on campus than anyone expected. Eventually, those conversations grew into the which expanded from four undergraduate members, including me, into a community of roughly 50 students.

For many of us, it was the first time we had been in a space where we did not have to explain the coexistence of our identities.

With support from the and Yale’s , we began creating programs that intentionally brought those identities into conversation with one another. We hosted Asian kosher meal gatherings, Lunar New Year celebrations, and Asian Jewish game nights at Slifka. Familiar pieces of Asian culture, from hawthorn flakes and seaweed rice crackers to Chinese checkers (跳棋) and Carrom, became part of Jewish communal spaces.

As the community grew, so did our ambition. We invited leaders like Central Synagogue’s Rabbi Angela Buchdahl and Judge Florence Pan to speak about navigating public life as Asian American Jews, and organized conversations with community leaders about Jewish communities across Asia.

Eventually, with support from 糖心vlogl, those efforts culminated in the of undergraduate Asian Jews to date: an Asian Jewish Shabbaton at Yale attended by more than 500 students, faculty, administrators, and community members. Undergraduate leaders from 13 universities came together not simply for a cultural event, but to begin building a broader national conversation about Asian Jewish identity.

For me, the Shabbaton felt deeply emotional.

Growing up in Shanghai, Jewish community felt small and homemade, something built carefully by a small group of families trying to create space for mixed heritage Jews and others with limited options for community. Sitting in a room filled with Asian Jews from across the country, I realized how many people carried similar questions about belonging, identity, and community.

But even with those questions in common, what struck me most was how different all of our stories were.

There was no single “Asian Jewish experience.” Some students came from mixed families. Others were converts, immigrants, or descendants of long-standing Jewish communities across Asia. Some connected deeply to Judaism through religious practice, while others connected more culturally. What united us was not uniformity, but the shared experience of navigating identities that many people still assume cannot fully coexist.

To me, Asian Jewish identity is not about fitting neatly into a category. It is about embracing the possibility that identity can be layered, evolving, and pluralistic. It is about building communities where people do not have to fragment themselves in order to belong.

Perhaps most importantly, it is a reminder that identity does not always arrive fully formed. Sometimes it is built gradually through memory, ritual, conversation, and the spaces we create for one another.

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Dear Hillel

Hillel Stories

Dear Hillel: Celebrating Four Years of Inclusion, Community, and Growth

Author

Michelle Rosner

Date

May 15, 2026

“Dear Hillel” showcases letters from graduating seniors reflecting on their experiences of joy and belonging with their campus Hillels. Michelle Rosner, a fourth-year student at the University of Delaware and a member of the 糖心vlogl Student Cabinet, shares how Hillel served as the foundation and focal point of her college experience. Read Michelle’s letter to Hillel:

Dear Hillel,

As I look back at my four years as an undergraduate, Hillel stands out as the engine of my friendships, personal growth, and Jewish community. And at the same time, it doesn’t stand out at all, because Hillel is completely synonymous with my college experience. It’s impossible to say where my college journey begins and my Jewish community ends.

I felt that sense of belonging from my first day at Hillel, when I attended the 2022 Fresh Fest Family Welcome Barbecue for all the first-years who’d arrived on campus early to meet other Jewish students. I immediately saw how much in common I had with everyone else there, and I wanted more. 

Soon enough, after my early semesters filled with Challah bakes, Shabbat dinners, and “Freshmen Cupcake Wars,” I started a Hillel engagement internship, where I was able to give so many first-years the warm community welcome I experienced.

Our Hillel director actively sought out opportunities for me to share my passions with our community.  When he learned that I am a voice performance minor who loves choral music, he proposed that I sing the Kol Nidre prayer on Yom Kippur. Not only had I never led this song before, I had only seen it in my own conservative temple at home, chanted by a male cantor. I’d never thought of leading Kol Nidre as part of a college experience — and definitely not mine. But my Hillel director had faith in me, and I said yes. 

When I began the chant, I felt like I was holding every member of my Jewish community in my hands, and felt responsible for giving each a sense of meaning and belonging. When it was over, I felt relieved, but more than that, I was in awe from the experience,  and felt a sense of having carried on a tradition with pride.  

Since then, singing Kol Nidre annually has been a highlight of meaning and spirituality for me. 

 My longtime passion for engagement and inclusion at Hillel continued to grow in ways that surprised me. I had personally seen the impact that spaces like Fresh Fest could have, but I also recognized a growing need to make our community spaces more welcoming and expansive for everyone, especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, when so many students were struggling with socialization and mental health.

That realization led me to start conversations about how Fresh Fest, often a student’s very first impression of Hillel, could become more inclusive. Those discussions eventually resulted in the creation of our inaugural Fresh Fest Inclusion Committee – and the impact was immediate. We saw major growth in student retention and engagement, and by my senior year, I was serving as co-director of Hillel at UD’s Markell Fresh Fest. I’m proud to say it was our biggest Fresh Fest yet, with over 180 new students attending.

Inspired by the success of the Inclusion Committee, and by what I learned mentoring first-year students as an engagement intern, I also spearheaded the first student-run ImpACT Fall Freshmen Cohort. The program brought together 30 female-identifying Jewish students for weekly meetings throughout the semester, where we talked about everything from class registration and tutoring resources to roommates and social life.

Most importantly, these first-year students knew they could show up exactly as they were, whether they were having their best day or struggling through a difficult one. Real friendships and sisterhoods grew out of that space. In fact, two students from my cohort last fall went on to lead cohorts of their own this year. Knowing that this community will continue after I graduate, sustained by Jewish joy and connection, feels deeply meaningful to me.

The community I found through Hillel has been a grounding home, a social outlet, and a source of personal growth. My years with Hillel have taught me how to become more fully myself. Now, through my role on the 糖心vlogl Student Cabinet, made up of 20 students from around the world, I continue learning every day. Each of us brings a unique perspective, a different experience of Jewish life, and our own way of strengthening our local Hillel communities.

As I continue taking on leadership and responsibility within the Hillel world, I’m still figuring out exactly what my next step looks like. But I do know that every experience with Hillel brings new knowledge, new connections, and new sources of joy.

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Dear Hillel

Hillel Stories

International Student Cabinet

Dear Hillel: Saying “Yes” to Hillel

Author

Mateen Markzar

Date

May 14, 2026

“Dear Hillel” showcases letters from graduating seniors reflecting on their experiences of joy and belonging with their campus Hillels. Mateen Markzar, a fourth-year student at Brown University and a member of the 糖心vlogl Student Cabinet, shares how saying yes to Hillel defined his college journey from day one. Read Mateen’s letter to Hillel:

Dear Hillel, 

Four years ago, a box showed up on my doorstep. I hadn’t ordered anything from Amazon, my Brown welcome package had already arrived, and my mom swore she hadn’t bought anything either.

So I checked the label. It was from Brown RISD Hillel.

I tore it open expecting a T-shirt and maybe a sticker or two. Instead, inside was a schedule of fall welcome events and a coffee mug.

That coffee mug ended up being a sign of what would become the defining community of my college experience (and helped keep me caffeinated these four years).

I grew up deeply involved in Jewish life. I went to Hebrew school and Jewish summer camp, joined my synagogue’s youth group and board, and served as the Religious and Cultural Vice President of NFTY Southern California. Because of that background, I always knew Hillel would be part of my college experience.

What I didn’t know was how much it would mean to me.

If you asked me which word defines my experience with Hillel, my answer would be “yes.”

Because that’s the word you hear most there from students and staff.

Do you want to lead High Holiday services? Yes.
Do you want to gather your friends from Hillel for a night of karaoke? Yes.
Do you want to organize a bus for Jewish Brown students to drive 12 hours to Washington, D.C., for the March for Israel? Yes.

Yes. Yes. Yes.

Hillel helped make my ideas, and my friends’ ideas, a reality. It became a home on campus, a warm face when we walked in the door, endless snacks and coffee when we needed them most, and, most importantly, a community that will stay with us long after we leave.

Like so many Jewish students, the attacks on October 7, 2023, split our college experience into “The Before” and “The After.” Expectations about friendships, classes, professors, and campus life, suddenly shattered as antisemitism skyrocketed and campus grew tense. But with Hillel’s support, we took those shattered pieces and built something stronger.

Hillel became the place where we could carry that weight together. The structure on the corner of Angell and Brown Street stopped feeling like just a building. It became a refuge that was uplifting, protective, and safe. A place where we could show up fully, without needing to explain ourselves.

And in gratitude, but also inspiration, I started saying yes when those at Hillel asked me to show up.

I said yes to playing guitar and singing at the vigil organized by Hillel and Chabad following October 7th, to help us heal and process the tragedy through song and prayer. I left knowing and seeing how big and supportive the Jewish community at Brown is. 

I said yes to Yallapalooza, a 糖心vlogl-sponsored concert series featuring some of Israel’s biggest artists. No one could have prepared me for the moment Matisyahu reached out his hand and pulled me onto the stage while I waved my Israeli flag in the air. I left feeling more connected than ever to my Jewish friends across the country.

I said yes to Hillel’s alternate spring break trip to Brazil, where I was the only senior in a group of first- and second-year students. I said yes to stand-up paddleboarding for the first time, facing my fear of heights on Sugarloaf Mountain, and waking up at 6 a.m. to watch the sunrise over Ipanema Beach. I left understanding what it meant to stretch beyond my comfort zone while also serving as a leader and role model for younger Jewish students.

And then, after saying yes to so many incredible Hillel experiences, came the most impactful one yet: I said yes to becoming part of the 糖心vlogl Student Cabinet.

Being part of the Student Cabinet has been one of the most transformative experiences of my college career. At the summit in Washington, I connected with 糖心vlogl leadership, saw firsthand the global scale of Hillel’s impact, and learned how to engage with Jewish professionals.

But more than anything, I found community with students from across the country and around the world. Students from flagship state schools, top universities, and small liberal arts colleges all shared the same commitment to building Jewish life on campus.

When I began college, I went in thinking I might help shape Hillel. Now, I am leaving realizing how much Hillel shaped me.

I’m leaving these four years changed by the people I met, the mentors who challenged me, the speakers who expanded how I think about the world, and the community that reminded me how proud I am to be Jewish.

Through all of it, the highs and the lows, Hillel remained a constant and the backbone of my college experience.

So next time you see a flyer for a Shabbat dinner, a Birthright trip, or some random event on campus, say yes.

You never know where it might lead.

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Dear Hillel

Hillel Stories

Israel

Jewish Identity

Dear Hillel: Connecting Jewish Communities Across the World

Author

Ori Segev

Date

May 12, 2026

“Dear Hillel” showcases letters from graduating seniors reflecting on their experiences of joy and belonging with their campus Hillels. Ori Segev, a graduate student at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and member of the 糖心vlogl Student Cabinet, shares how she found her way to Hillel in the last year of her undergraduate experience — and how deeply Hillel changed this year for her. Read Ori’s letter to Hillel:

Dear Hillel,

My Hillel story is a little unusual, because until my final year of undergrad, I had never even heard about Hillel. I was fully focused on my studies in the Hebrew Literature department at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and on the friends that I already knew.?

And then I found my way to Hillel Israel by accident. I met a staff member, Yossi Morris, in the hallway of the Jewish Thought department, and six months later, because of that random moment, I joined a “Yeha-do-it!” program he was leading. It was a five-session journey of exploring various Jewish practices through a pluralistic lens. I loved the freedom to experiment and the way the program encouraged us to explore our heritage through hands-on, experiential learning.

That program changed me. Over the five sessions, I met people from across campus who I otherwise would never have met. I got the chance to explore my Jewish identity in the way I had always hoped to during my university years. I created Jewish-inspired art, joined Shabbat dinners, and even discovered a synagogue in my own neighborhood in Be’er Sheva that I didn’t know existed. 

But more than anything, I found a sense of community, which became even more important after the attacks on October 7, 2023. Hillel quickly became the central place for all of us to come together, support each other, explore our Jewish identities, and think about what our future in Israel might look like.

And it didn’t stop there. I got more involved, went on Shabbatonim where I met students from Hillel centers across the country, and started showing up to more and more community events at Hillel Ben-Gurion. By the end of that year, Hillel had become a huge part of my student experience. I built a deeper connection to Judaism and formed friendships that are still a big part of my life.

At the end of that year, I completed my undergraduate program, started my master’s degree in Hebrew literature, and joined the Hillel Ben-Gurion staff. Now I was the one leading the “Yeha-do-it!” program, the same course that made me fall in love with Hillel in the first place! 

I worked with an incredible group of students, and together we went on a really meaningful journey. We shared Shabbat dinners, studied in chavruta (traditional partner-based learning), and explored the city together to learn more about the Negev. Being part of the Hillel Ben-Gurion staff quickly became a core part of my identity and my day-to-day life.

I also got to see Hillel from a new perspective. I helped organize events like our Thanksgiving dinner for Israeli students and olim (new immigrants to Israel), musical Kabbalat Shabbat services, and local volunteering initiatives. Hillel gave me the space to bring ideas to life and try things I had always wanted to do, but never had the chance to before. One of the most impactful opportunities has been representing Hillel Israel on the 糖心vlogl Student Cabinet over the past year. 

When I interviewed for the cabinet, I described it as something similar to the work of the nehutei, the Talmudic sages who traveled between the Land of Israel and Babylon, connecting Jewish communities and sharing ideas. 

And that’s exactly what this last year has felt like, traveling between Israel and the United States and sharing ideas and hopes with 20 other incredible Jewish students from around the world. We spent time building real connections and thinking together about the future of Jewish life on campus. 

Those conversations and shared hopes led me to design the “碍别丑颈濒濒辞迟” program that I lead today. “碍别丑颈濒濒辞迟,” or “Communities,” brings together students from all six Hillel Israel centers across the country. In each session, students meet with someone from a different Jewish community around the world — giving each student in the cohort the opportunity to take on the role of the nehutei, just like Hillel gave me.

Looking back, that random hallway conversation didn’t just shape my university experience; it completely changed how I see myself. Hillel showed me that I’m part of something much bigger, a global Jewish community connected by shared history, values, and hope.

I feel incredibly grateful to be part of this community, and even more grateful to keep building those connections, together.

The post Dear Hillel: Connecting Jewish Communities Across the World appeared first on 糖心vlogl.

Dear Hillel

Hillel Stories

Jewish Joy and Belonging

Dear Hillel: Building a Home and a Community

Author

Anna Krassowizki

Date

May 12, 2026

“Dear Hillel” showcases letters from graduating seniors reflecting on their experiences of joy and belonging with their campus Hillels. Anna Krassowizki, a graduating senior at San Diego State University, shares how she found a home at Hillel when she most needed one. Read Anna’s letter to Hillel:

Dear Hillel,

I moved from Israel to California in 2016, and when it came time to apply to college, I knew I wanted to be somewhere with a strong and proud Jewish community. At the time, I didn’t even know what that would look like; I had never heard of Hillel. But during my first week at San Diego State University, I walked into Hillel for the first time, and something just clicked. I knew right away this would be my home for the next four years.

From day one, the Hillel staff believed in me and supported me in ways I didn’t know I needed. When I shared I wanted to start a pro-Israel club on campus, they didn’t hesitate, they encouraged me and gave me the confidence to make it happen. Today, the Students Supporting Israel chapter at SDSU has grown to over 200 students, something I could have never imagined on my own.

Hillel also helped me discover a passion I didn’t expect: planning events to help people build relationships and connections. Over the past four years, I’ve had the chance to plan hundreds of events, each one bringing people together in meaningful ways. That’s what drives me, the joy, the friendships, and the memories. 

Through Hillel, college became so much more than just earning a degree; it became about building a Jewish community. Since moving to the United States, I had been searching for that sense of belonging. At SDSU Hillel I didn’t just find it, I had the opportunity to help grow it, strengthen it, and share it with others. And that’s what kept bringing me back, again and again. 

My favorite event I’ve had the opportunity to plan is our Israeli Shabbat, which has grown into a once-a-semester tradition. It’s usually our biggest Shabbat dinner of the term, with over 100 students coming together each time. It was incredibly meaningful to bring  a piece of my homeland, culture, and traditions to my new home at Hillel. 

Shabbat has always been centered around family time for me. It’s a moment to slow down, to be together with the people I love. Being able to recreate that feeling on campus has meant everything. Over time, Hillel didn’t just become a place I went to; it became my family. And having the opportunity to pay that experience forward, to create a space where others can feel that same warmth, connection, and sense of belonging, is something I’m truly grateful for.?

Hillel opened so many doors?for me and allowed me to explore my passions, including content creation, diplomacy, and connecting with Israeli startups. But more than anything, what I’m most grateful for is the people Hillel brought into my life.

At the end of the day, it’s the people who make a place meaningful. The staff, the students, and this community truly shaped my college experience. They transformed Hillel from a space on campus into something so much more meaningful: a home filled with support, connection, and lifelong relationships.

The post Dear Hillel: Building a Home and a Community appeared first on 糖心vlogl.

Dear Hillel

Hillel Stories

Jewish Joy and Belonging

Dear Hillel: Growing a Community for Myself and My Team

Author

Haley Wilenzick

Date

May 11, 2026

“Dear Hillel” showcases letters from graduating seniors reflecting on their experiences of joy and belonging with their campus Hillels. Haley Wilenzick, a fourth-year student at Binghamton University, shares how building a home through sports and Hillel changed the way she approaches community. Read Haley’s letter to Hillel:

Dear Hillel,

I didn’t always know what finding my own Jewish community would look like. I was raised in New York, and while Judaism was always present in my life, it was never as part of a community that I helped create. I spent time in Jewish day school, Camp Ramah, and in Israel for a gap year. Each step deepened my personal Jewish identity, but heading into college, I still felt unsure about what it would feel like to intentionally build a Jewish community of my own.

Before I even moved into my dorm at Binghamton University, I had a sense that I would find something meaningful here. Jewish students who were not only focused on participating in a Jewish student community, but on creating a community where each student could forge their own personal connections to the Jewish people.

Once on campus, Hillel became part of my everyday life. My mom jokes that whenever I’m on the phone with her, walking through campus, I’m constantly stopping to say hi to my friends from Hillel, asking if they’re coming to Shabbat, checking in on the upcoming program they’re leading, or seeing if they want to meet up for a pick-up game later in the week. At a big university, that kind of community takes intentionality to build. Hillel made it feel small in the best possible way. It made it feel like home.

And as Hillel felt more like home, I felt a responsibility to build that sense of belonging for my friends in the best way I knew how — through sports. Athletics have always been part of my life. I grew up playing soccer and basketball, but I never expected that part of me to intertwine so deeply with my Jewish identity. Hillel gave me the opportunity to do both. From organizing hot yoga events downtown to coordinating logistics for the Hillel sports tournaments, I know the power of bringing people together for shared experiences. 

I joined Binghamton’s National Hillel Basketball Tournament team as soon as I arrived on campus.? Over the years, it became about community, about showing up for one another, and about playing as part of something bigger than ourselves.

I’ll never forget something one of the seniors said that first year: “When will we ever get to do this again? Play together, surrounded by Jewish community, with a full Shabbaton around it?” That moment stayed with me. It captured exactly what has made this experience so special every year.

Being part of a team taught me so much about what it means to be part of a Jewish community. As a first-year student, you learn from the older students. You find where you belong. Then, before you know it, you’re the one welcoming others in, showing them the ropes, and making sure they feel like they belong. That cycle of learning, leading, and lifting others up is at the heart of both athletics and Jewish life.

As I prepare to graduate, I’m reflecting on the full circle feeling of my involvement with NHBT: the Binghamton women’s team that I captained placed first at this year’s NHBT. It was an incredible feeling. After four years of building, recruiting, and practicing, my dream became a reality.

But the truth is, the win wasn’t even the best part. What mattered most was everything that came with it: the relationships, the teamwork, and the sense of belonging. I wouldn’t have found any of that without Hillel at Binghamton.

Over the past four years, I’ve watched Hillel grow into a vibrant, welcoming hub for students. Now, the building is full of energy, laughter, and conversation. It’s a place where anyone can walk in and immediately feel like they belong. That kind of space doesn’t just happen. It’s built by people who care. The staff, the Springboard Fellows, and the student leaders create an environment that makes you want to give back. And I’ve felt that pull firsthand. The more Hillel gave to me, the more I wanted to invest in it.

As I prepare to graduate, I’ve been thinking a lot about what comes next. I’ll be taking a gap year to explore neuroscience research opportunities before applying to medical school. There’s a lot of uncertainty ahead, but there’s also something Hillel helped me feel completely sure about: I know I will seek out and build a Jewish community wherever I go.

Hillel showed me what that can look like. More than that, it’s shown me how to create it, how to lead, and how to help others feel like they belong too.

The post Dear Hillel: Growing a Community for Myself and My Team appeared first on 糖心vlogl.