Dear Hillel: Celebrating Four Years of Inclusion, Community, and Growth
“Dear Hillel” showcases letters from graduating seniors reflecting on their experiences of joy and belonging with their campus Hillels. Michelle Rosner, a fourth-year student at the University of Delaware and a member of the Hillel International Student Cabinet, shares how Hillel served as the foundation and focal point of her college experience. Read Michelle’s letter to Hillel:
Dear Hillel,
As I look back at my four years as an undergraduate, Hillel stands out as the engine of my friendships, personal growth, and Jewish community. And at the same time, it doesn’t stand out at all, because Hillel is completely synonymous with my college experience. It’s impossible to say where my college journey begins and my Jewish community ends.
I felt that sense of belonging from my first day at Hillel, when I attended the 2022 Fresh Fest Family Welcome Barbecue for all the first-years who’d arrived on campus early to meet other Jewish students. I immediately saw how much in common I had with everyone else there, and I wanted more.
Soon enough, after my early semesters filled with Challah bakes, Shabbat dinners, and “Freshmen Cupcake Wars,” I started a Hillel engagement internship, where I was able to give so many first-years the warm community welcome I experienced.
Our Hillel director actively sought out opportunities for me to share my passions with our community. When he learned that I am a voice performance minor who loves choral music, he proposed that I sing the Kol Nidre prayer on Yom Kippur. Not only had I never led this song before, I had only seen it in my own conservative temple at home, chanted by a male cantor. I’d never thought of leading Kol Nidre as part of a college experience — and definitely not mine. But my Hillel director had faith in me, and I said yes.
When I began the chant, I felt like I was holding every member of my Jewish community in my hands, and felt responsible for giving each a sense of meaning and belonging. When it was over, I felt relieved, but more than that, I was in awe from the experience, and felt a sense of having carried on a tradition with pride.
Since then, singing Kol Nidre annually has been a highlight of meaning and spirituality for me.
My longtime passion for engagement and inclusion at Hillel continued to grow in ways that surprised me. I had personally seen the impact that spaces like Fresh Fest could have, but I also recognized a growing need to make our community spaces more welcoming and expansive for everyone, especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, when so many students were struggling with socialization and mental health.
That realization led me to start conversations about how Fresh Fest, often a student’s very first impression of Hillel, could become more inclusive. Those discussions eventually resulted in the creation of our inaugural Fresh Fest Inclusion Committee – and the impact was immediate. We saw major growth in student retention and engagement, and by my senior year, I was serving as co-director of Hillel at UD’s Markell Fresh Fest. I’m proud to say it was our biggest Fresh Fest yet, with over 180 new students attending.
Inspired by the success of the Inclusion Committee, and by what I learned mentoring first-year students as an engagement intern, I also spearheaded the first student-run ImpACT Fall Freshmen Cohort. The program brought together 30 female-identifying Jewish students for weekly meetings throughout the semester, where we talked about everything from class registration and tutoring resources to roommates and social life.
Most importantly, these first-year students knew they could show up exactly as they were, whether they were having their best day or struggling through a difficult one. Real friendships and sisterhoods grew out of that space. In fact, two students from my cohort last fall went on to lead cohorts of their own this year. Knowing that this community will continue after I graduate, sustained by Jewish joy and connection, feels deeply meaningful to me.
The community I found through Hillel has been a grounding home, a social outlet, and a source of personal growth. My years with Hillel have taught me how to become more fully myself. Now, through my role on the Hillel International Student Cabinet, made up of 20 students from around the world, I continue learning every day. Each of us brings a unique perspective, a different experience of Jewish life, and our own way of strengthening our local Hillel communities.
As I continue taking on leadership and responsibility within the Hillel world, I’m still figuring out exactly what my next step looks like. But I do know that every experience with Hillel brings new knowledge, new connections, and new sources of joy.