Hillel International Writers Program Announces 2021-22 Cohort
Hillel International this week announced the five students chosen to participate in the Fall 2021 cohort of the Hillel International Writers Program, a yearlong opportunity for Jewish undergraduate students interested in journalism.
These talented students, who come from campuses across the nation, will use their storytelling skills to write about Hillel happenings while learning from experienced Jewish journalists and Hillel professionals. Meet our writers:
Rachel Bernstein is a senior with a major in history and a minor in narrative structure at the University of Southern California. On campus, Rachel is a columnist at the Daily Trojan, a writer for Annenberg Media, and a board member at her Hillel. She loves creative writing, niche historical facts, and giving out book and television recommendations.
Alexandra Goldberg is a second year Communication and Journalism student at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is originally from Orange County California where she grew up appreciating the beaches, exploring nature, and finding my love for journalism. Alexandra is a passionate broadcast and print journalist who recently worked as a political correspondent at KCSB-FM 91.9 and as the Director of PR/Marketing for Pi Beta Phi. She currently work as a News Anchor for UCSB TV and as a Research Assistant for the Communication department here at UCSB. Alexandra am unbelievably excited to report on Jewish activism and social justice locally and on an international scale: “I am honored to support my Jewish community and truly look forward to sharing everyone’s story.”
Jordan Greene is a junior at Syracuse University double majoring in magazine, news and digital journalism and political science. On-campus she writes for The Daily Orange and previously served as an assistant copy editor. She is also an active member of her campus Hillel where she’s currently the president of the non-profit Challah for Hunger. Additionally, this past summer she interned for Minute Media for the second time. The San Francisco Bay Area native fell in love with covering human-interest stories about unique cultures, people and communities during her gap year in Israel and Southeast Asia after high school.
Emma Lichtenstein is a senior at Brandeis University, double majoring in English and business and minoring in journalism. She has significant experience with writing, as she has been on her campus paper, The Brandeis Hoot, since her freshman year. She is currently Editor In Chief. Additionally, she has had writing internships with Sarasota Magazine and Study Breaks. She is very excited to further embrace her Jewish heritage in working with Hillel, as so far she has rarely had the opportunity to focus on Jewish culture in her writing. Emma considers herself a Conservative Jew. She is from South Florida, though she currently lives in Massachusetts, where you can find her reading novels with happy endings and frequenting farmer’s markets.
Gabriel Lesser is a sophomore at Johns Hopkins University double majoring in Neuroscience and Romance Languages. At Hopkins, he is a staff writer and social media manager for the JHU-Newsletter, and he is a member of the Hopkins Hillel welcoming team for new students. He is Brazilian-American and loves learning and connecting with the Jewish community around the world.