“Unforgettable.” That was how Ukrainian intern Maryna Kaplan described her experience in The Hillels of Illinois Harriet and Maurice Lewis Family Summer Intern Program (LSIP).
In August, LSIP completed its 37th year bringing together Jewish college students for an eight-week paid work/study internship. Participating this summer were 29 interns from Illinois, Ukraine, and Israel, who worked in various organizations related to the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago (JUF/JF).
Before work even started the interns toured many of the JUF/JF agencies like The ARK and Lieberman Health and Rehabilitation Center during orientation.
“I have a much greater understanding about how the Jewish community in the Greater Chicagoland area works,” said intern Sarah Hermalyn. “When I was younger, I didn’t realize all these organizations were connected to the JUF. I just thought they were all separate, but there is a lot of unity to what goes on here.”
Orientation scratched the surface of the Chicago Jewish community and introduced the interns to each other. After orientation ended, they immediately started work.
Hermalyn, a junior at Bryn Mawr College, worked for the JUF Grants department and PJ Library. Hermalyn wrote several concept papers and a seven-page grant proposal and created an online resource directory for J-HELP that discussed employment, among many other tasks. “It was very cool and engaging,” Hermalyn said. “I felt like I was helping the Jewish community at large.”
Karen Goldmeier, a senior at Northeastern University, served as an assistant to the director of the recreation department of Jewish Child and Family Services’ residential facility. Goldmeier enjoyed her experience “planning trips, activities and sports days.”
Yael Edelman, a senior at Stern College, worked at the Duman Microenterprise Center and Loan Fund of Jewish Vocational Services. “I created a PowerPoint presentation and gave info to clients, and I managed and signed people up for the various workshops. I would interact with clients and talk to them about our program and if they would benefit from it. I enjoyed it a lot; it really was an eye opening-experience in the business world.”
And on a personal note…
What made the program special was what we interns all had in common, not our different jobs.
Twice a week we met for seminars on Jewish topics. One day that particularly stood out was a visit to the new Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie. It’s difficult to assemble 29 young adults in one place at 9 in the morning; to get them there without complaints is near impossible. Yet you could hear not a word of protest that day, as we all understood the significance of what we were doing.
We also went to Camp Chi for a weekend retreat in July. The bus ride was long; the weather was poor. The weekend started modestly with challah cover-making and soccer. Yet it quickly turned into a much more meaningful trip than any of us expected.
Standing for the Shema in a room filled with people of every denomination of Judaism was a powerful experience. (LSIP intentionally brings together people of different upbringings and religious perspectives.)
The retreat allowed us to gain insights into the thoughts of fellow Jews on sensitive subjects such as how to live in a non-Jewish world and intermarriage. It’s not every day that a Conservative Jew engages in a deep philosophical conversation with a Traditional or cultural Jew.
“I gained new insight into many different topics. I think the key word is respect, and I think most if not all of the group respected everyone’s opinion. It was really important for me to listen to what everyone had to say. Everyone is coming from a different standpoint and it essential to educate ourselves on the differences,” Edelman said.
Some discussions became rather heated but, in the end, we became united because of it. The campfire on Saturday night lasted hours. Israeli intern Yaniv Rosenblat and LSIP staff member Nick Liebman, brought guitars, and the flames crackled in the wind while 29 voices sang together, both Hebrew and modern American songs. We stayed out at the campfire for hours that night, content just to be with each other.
Once the fire finally died down, well after midnight, we packed into a few crowded rooms and stayed up for hours talking with each other. The retreat was an incredible experience that I will remember forever.
Sure, I leave this internship with a greater understanding of how to work in journalism. But more importantly, I leave it with a greater understanding of the Jewish community. I leave it knowing that despite all our differences, we are all a part of something. We are all a part of the Jewish community.
Scott Grodsky, of Glenview, was the 2009 Lewis Summer Intern for JUF News. He is a junior at Syracuse University and hopes to develop his career in broadcast journalism, specializing in sports.
The Hillels of Illinois , a partner in serving our community, is supported by the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago and Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life. For information on the Harriet & Maurice Lewis Summer Intern Program 2010, e-mail lsip@juf.org, visit www.juf.org/lsip or call the Hillels of Illinois at (312) 444-2868.
