My parents have given me the freedom and education to explore both sides of my faith.

“I grew up in an interfaith family. My mom is Catholic, and my dad is Jewish. I spent eight years in Catholic school. My parents have given me the freedom and the education to explore both sides of my faith. Near the beginning of middle school, I was identifying more with my Jewish side than my Catholic side. I remember when my dad took me to the Holocaust museum in Washington, D.C. He said, ‘There are so few Jews left in the world, and if you believe in this and you want be part of this, you need to continue our traditions.’ When I came to Penn State, I knew I would have a strong Jewish community here, and I was really excited to be a part of the Jewish community. I didn’t really have a big one growing up. I signed up for the winter Birthright Israel trip, the soonest Birthright Israel trip. It was life-changing. I traveled to Israel, and I had my bat mitzvah there. I hope to continue to strengthen my Judaism. It’s not the most common journey, but it’s my journey. And I’m really proud of it.” — Morgan Seiff, Pennsylvania State University