I was able to see the impact that Hillel actually has on students all around the country and all around the world.

“Last summer I was looking for an internship, and I thought, ‘What better place than Hillel?’ So I applied and interviewed for the Hillel@Home internship and I got the job. I worked with them for five months, and then after that, they contacted me and asked if I wanted to be a part of the Hillel@Homies, which is a cohort of students from all over that helps plan and facilitate online programs for Hillel International. So, right after I finished my internship, I started doing that too.

“I was able to host sort of smaller sessions, so I was able to see the impact that Hillel actually has on students all around the country and all around the world. A moment that stood out to me was when I got to work with Sheila Katz, and we were talking about the importance of getting the payment you deserve as women. This was super influential for me because I am going into the work world soon and I didn’t realize the importance of advocating for yourself and getting what you deserve even if it’s a hard conversation to have.

“In an ideal world, I will be doing marketing or something like that for Hillel when I get older. And so I’ve been looking at schools that have non-profit classes and stuff so that I can learn more about the business model because I’m doing marketing. My experience definitely changed the type of business I want to do and the type of people I want to work with and what kind of organization and company I want to work with. It’s definitely given me a target of where I want to go when I get older.

“I want other people to know that Hillel is such an amazing place to work. It showed me a safe space to talk openly about being Jewish, which can be very hard to find these days.” — Chana Ellenberger, California Lutheran University

As told to Deanna Schwartz, writer in the Hillel International Writers Program.