Five Fantastic Highlights from Hillel Welcome Week
Back-to-school season is one of our favorite times of year at Hillel International — and part of what makes it amazing is seeing how campus Hillels welcome new and returning students to their Jewish home-away-from-home.
Hillel welcome programs come in all shapes and sizes, but they all have one thing in common: They make a difference in helping new and returning Jewish students feel instantly connected, supported, and safe on campus. We’re excited to share some highlights from this year’s programming — check it out!
Hillel of San Diego
Hillel of San Diego supports more than 3,000 Jewish students who go to college in San Diego, attending SDSU, UC San Diego, CSU San Marcos, and University of San Diego. This year, approximately 300 students attended their Welcome Back BBQ, where Hillel of San Diego built community by pairing every student who walked through the doors with a new friend — making sure that everyone had a person to connect with in the crowd.
“I was never really in Jewish settings growing up, and I wanted to see what it was all about in college,” said Brianna, a first-year student, in an interview with San Diego Jewish World. “It feels so nice to be around so many Jews.”
The Welcome Back BBQ included a hot dog eating contest, goody bags with the Hillel Shabbat schedule, and a focus on relationship-building across the Hillel of San Diego community. What a blast!
University of Wisconsin (UW), Madison
FreshFest is an annual tradition at University of Wisconsin Hillel, where first-year student programming has its own unique name: FYSH (First Year Students at Hillel). This active group runs events throughout the year, including first-year Shabbats, ice cream socials, leadership opportunities, and residence hall events — and, of course, their annual Early Access FreshFest Retreat!
This year, UW Hillel welcomed 90 students to FreshFest 2025 for three days of programming, community-building, and more. Led by their dedicated FreshFest counselors, they enjoyed a food tour in downtown Madison, a tour of Babcock Creamery, a group “challahbration” (homemade challahs for everyone!), and tons of great food, outdoor time, and connection.
Arizona State University (ASU) Hillel
Hillel at ASU serves students at Arizona State University’s four campuses — and instead of just one week of welcome programming, they have six! Starting with their annual Welcome Back Brunch in mid-August, ASU kicked off more than a month of events focused on helping new students connect to their Hillel community, make new friends, and settle into their new home.
One of the biggest highlights for ASU students is Food Truck Fest, a fan favorite where students get together in their best Western gear to check out some of the area’s most delicious food truck offerings. “Yum eats, cool drinks, and great vibes!!” ASU Hillel wrote on their Instagram page. And looking at the pictures, we couldn’t agree more!
University of Connecticut (UConn) Hillel
Welcome Week at UConn Hillel kicked off with a Welcome Back BBQ (we’re sensing a food theme…but then, it wouldn’t be Jewish programming without opportunities to nosh!) offering a delicious kosher dinner, music, games, and, of course, UConn Hillel swag.
For students who didn’t get a chance to come for dinner, UConn Hillel’s Welcome Back Brunch was the very next day, followed by a week of events including Trivia Night, a bonfire, bingo, challah baking, and a Welcome Back Shabbat.
“FYSH Fest was a blast!” UConn Hillel wrote on Instagram. “Thank you to everyone who made it so special. We loved welcoming our newest Huskies and are excited for an amazing year ahead!”
Hillel at Elon University
The Sklut Hillel Center at Elon University is homey, comfortable, and cozy, but that doesn’t mean this Jewish community doesn’t pull out all the stops to welcome new and returning students to campus.
Starting off with a Move-in Shabbat that offered support, music, food, and fun to students and their families, they kept the ball rolling with their Tuesday Shmoozeday event, where students headed to the Sklut Hillel Center for cool drinks, snacks, and meet-and-greet time with Hillel staff and student leaders. Students who missed this first week don’t need to worry — Tuesday Shmoozeday is a weekly happening at Elon!
The week finished up with a Welcome Back Shabbat, a meaningful way to close out the week with connection, community, prayer, and (of course) dinner. “The year is just getting started and the energy is already amazing,” Elon Hillel staffers wrote in their community newsletter, The Shmooze. “Welcome back to our returning students and to our first years and families, we’re so glad you’re here!”
We couldn’t have said it any better. Welcome back, Hillel community — here’s to a great new school year!