For the Springboard Alumni Committee Co-Chairs, It’s All About Giving Back
Hillel International is known for championing Jewish life on campus, but did you know that Hillel also invests deeply in young Jewish professionals?
Nowhere is that clearer than in the Springboard Fellowship — a two-year program for recent graduates seeking a purposeful career in the Jewish world. Blending personal growth with professional development, Springboard Fellows serve as Hillel professionals on campuses across the continent, engaging students and building vibrant Jewish communities.
“Springboard doesn’t just prepare you to be a Jewish professional, it opens doors into the greater Hillel professional world— and into the larger Jewish nonprofit ecosystem as a whole,” said Kal Marcus, one of the co-chairs of the Springboard Alumni Committee.
For Kal and his co-chair, Khiya Connolly-Sisk, the Fellowship didn’t just shape their early careers — it charted their professional paths. Kal, who served as a Springboard Fellow at Florida State University from 2019–2021, now works as the associate director of talent development at the Jewish Federations of North America. Khiya began her Springboard journey at Ithaca College in 2022, and now serves as the Midwest engagement coordinator for the Jewish Graduate Organization.
Immediately after completing their Springboard fellowships, both actually stayed for a third year at their respective Hillels as directors of student life — Kal while completing his master’s in Jewish nonprofit management, and Khiya to support her Hillel through a full staff transition.
“Springboard was honestly one of the best jobs I’ve ever had,” Khiya said. “I wanted to explore the intersection of nonprofit work and higher education, and Springboard was the perfect blend of the two.”
Getting involved with the Alumni Committee felt like a natural next step. Kal joined as soon as the committee launched in winter 2023, two years after completing his Fellowship, and Khiya jumped in immediately after finishing hers in spring 2024.
“I’m a huge supporter of the [Hillel] mission and values,” Khiya said. “But more than that, Springboard gave me so much — I wanted to give back.”
Kal echoed that sentiment. Both he and Khiya noted that serving on a small Hillel staff pushed them to take on big responsibilities early, giving them skills they wouldn’t have developed in other entry-level roles.
“I was managing our program budget just a few weeks into my Fellowship,” Kal said. “I didn’t know how to do that yet, and most people don’t get that kind of experience so early in their careers.”
“We were a staff of two when I started at Ithaca, so I learned to do a little bit of everything,” Khiya added. “From programming to fundraising, I had my hands in all of it. Springboard gave me the perspective of, ‘If I can do that, I can do anything,’ which is awesome.”
As co-chairs of the Springboard Alumni Committee, Kal and Khiya are focused not only on supporting future cohorts, but also on strengthening an alumni network that now includes nearly 300 professionals — two-thirds of whom still work in the Jewish community. And the benefits go far beyond career advancement.
“Every single major city has at least one former Springboard Fellow at this point,” Khiya said. “So everywhere you go, you have access to this network. People will post in our WhatsApp group chat, ‘We need another resident for a Moishe house, do you guys know anyone?’ or ‘I’m stranded in Florida this weekend and I need somewhere to go for Shabbat.’ And someone can almost always jump in to help.”
“Having access to multiple pillars of connection and engagement in the alumni network is transformative,” Kal said. “Not just now, but in the future.”
Learn more about the Springboard Fellowship and see if it’s the right fit for you.