Welcome to Hillel: A Note From the Hillel International Student Cabinet Co-Chairs
Shalom friends,
As you prepare for your college journey, you’re probably thinking about a hundred different things: what to pack, who your roommate will be, whether you’ll find your people, and what this next chapter will entail. Starting college is exciting, but it can also feel uncertain. That’s where your Hillel community comes in.
We’re Ben Small and Rachel Lennard, and four years ago, we were exactly where you are now: anxiously preparing to leave home, wondering what college would be like, and hoping to find a place where we belonged. Today, we’re honored to serve as co-chairs of Hillel International’s Student Cabinet. Along the way, college challenged us, surprised us, and helped us grow into stronger individuals, leaders, and Jewish community builders. And Hillel is at the center of our stories.
For Ben, Hillel was his very first stop after arriving on campus at the University of Pennsylvania, before he had even unpacked his dorm room. Ben knew that finding an emotional sense of home away from home was even more important than establishing his new physical home. Upon arriving at Hillel, Ben immediately signed up for every board, fellowship, and opportunity he could fit into his schedule, including Hillel’s First-Year Leadership Board, weekly time to study Jewish texts, and Friday nights around the Shabbat table with friends who quickly became family. Through Hillel, Ben discovered that while every Jewish student expresses their Judaism differently, each of us has an equally important place in the vibrant mosaic of the Jewish people.
Rachel’s journey with Hillel at the University of Oregon looked a little different. She didn’t know anyone at first, and despite hoping to make connections, she left wondering whether Hillel was really for her. But after the October 7th attacks, campus suddenly felt much smaller and much lonelier. A friend encouraged her to give Hillel another chance, and that second visit changed everything. Today, Rachel spends more time at Hillel than she’d probably like to admit: cooking meals, leading services, and gathering with friends. Along the way, she learned that Hillel is more than a place you can go to for Shabbat — Hillel can be your home away from home if you give it a chance. And she learned that the people she met at Hillel could become her second family, her closest friends, and her biggest cheerleaders.
As you begin this next chapter, we hope you’ll give your campus Hillel a visit. Whether you’re looking for meaningful Jewish learning, spirited Shabbat dinners, lifelong friendships, leadership opportunities, professional connections, or simply a place where you can proudly and joyfully be yourself, Hillel is here for you.
Most of all, remember that you don’t have to have everything figured out on day one. College is about discovering who you are, and Hillel will help you do just that. We can’t wait to see the ways your campus Hillel shapes your college experience and the ways you’ll help shape Jewish life for the generations of students who come after you.
B’hatzlacha, and welcome to the Hillel family.
Rachel Lennard, University of Oregon ‘27
Ben Small, University of Pennsylvania ‘27
Co-Chairs, Hillel International Student Cabinet