When did you join JHP? How involved were you?
I joined JHP when I was a freshman in fall 2016, and I had a lot of friends on the board. I started lightly going to meetings, once a month, and I got more into it and started going to all of the meetings, the retreats, PB&J, etc. I also ended up going on birthright with JHP, which was amazing.
What is one of your favorite JHP memories and why?
Birthright really has to take the cake. It was so great. I’m sure a lot of people my age will say this but Shabbat on the roof in Jerusalem was an incredible experience, which was very special to JHP Birthright as none of my other friends who did Birthright trips got to have an experience overlooking the Kotel on Shabbat.
What is your favorite thing about JHP?
I think one of my favorite things is the fact that it is really only seeking to help you. Chabad gets this rep that they are only trying to make you more Jewish but JHP really wants what's best for you, they want to help you succeed socially, in your career, academically. Rabbi Menachem and Rabbi Levi are just trying to get you to have the best experience possible in college and out of college. I just went to TONY and saw everyone again for the first time in a long time which was great. I’ve been emailing with Rabbi Menachem and they are really just there for you to help you succeed.
What was your favorite JHP event?
TONY is really fun. I’ve been twice now. It’s good food, good people and drinks. Although, it also goes to show how many people care about JHP. You go and see everyone from current students to alumni 10 to 15 years out who are so excited to see Rabbi Menachem and participate in a night of JHP.
If you went to Israel - has JHP impacted your connection to Israel?
I grew up Conservative, attending Jewish school, so I was very in touch with my Jewish identity, but I hadn’t been to Israel in 2 years when we went on Birthright. Every time you go to Israel, it makes you want to stay forever, and Birthright definitely did that to me.
What have you learned from JHP that you will take with you to your job or to the rest of your life?
I definitely developed networking skills at JHP and that’s one of the biggest things these mentoring retreats have helped me learn; how to speak to people, how to give an elevator pitch about myself and get the most out of a short meeting with someone. I never would have developed those interpersonal skills without JHP.
