|
I met her on a sunny CA day. I was sitting at a table hoping that students would show up to my weekly Jewish Learning group. She came up to me, and introduced herself. She wanted to learn more about Judaism. For the next few months she would ask me questions and I would answer them to the best of my ability. Soon, she started coming to Shabbat, and was really glad to know more about the service so she wasn't so lost.
She wanted to be a Cantor, but she didn't want to come to Hillel. I met her during the first few weeks at Claremont, but she soon drifted away, and it wasn't until I emailed her and asked if she wanted to go to coffee, that she really became engaged. After a few coffee dates, I knew that to get her to a Hillel event would be hard, but when I invited her to a spa day, she jumped at the chance. With individual contact she has become more excited about various events.
While Tabling at one of the dinning halls on campus, a young women came up to me. She was interested in making a stress ball, and wanted to know why I was there. When I told her that I was part of a Jewish Group on Campus she became very happy. It seems that she did not know one existed. She now comes every so often to different events, and always has a smile on her face (that stress ball must be working magic)
I had an opening program that was not such a success. Only a few students showed up and they only stopped by to say hi, since they had a lot to do. One of these students was Michelle. She seemed very shy, and left only after a few minutes. I emailed her soon after and she began to come every once in a while to Friday night services. Second Semester came, and although she was still shy, she was opening up. When it came time to do the Women's Seder I asked her to help because I knew she had experience. She was very helpful and I can only imagine that in the future she will be able to help out more and more.
|
|  |
|
At the beginning of the year, many students come to check out Hillel, the problem is, that many times few of them stay. That is why personal contact is key. One student that I met come to a few of the first events, then out of the blue stopped coming to things. I called him after a couple of weeks with out seeing him. He told me that homework was getting him down, but took me up on my offer of coffee. I think that he became less stressed as we talked. Now, although he is still bogged down with homework, Harvey Mudd, we still catch up every so often, and he makes it to things when he can. This personal contact that I made seemed to play a wonderful difference in his college life.
When people enter a new group setting it is always hard to not be shy. I noticed that a lot of students were scared to come to Shabbat Services and other regular events because they felt they didn't know enough about Judaism. So I started a weekly Jewish learners circle, and at first it was inconsistent with who came and how many, but soon we formed a small core of students who began to explore and love each bit of knowledge that they soaked up during lunch. It was really wonderful to see this happen, and also see the friendships that formed. I am sure that these students will continue to love learning about their Jewish identity and everything that comes with that.
It was beauty night in the Residence Halls, and we were all making a mess with the oatmeal, and eggs. Hillary came late to the event, since she had only gone back to her room for a minute and got her messages after the program had started. She came in very quietly, trying not to get noticed since she was late. I went up to her to talk to her about all the things that we could make, and soon everyone was sharing their concoctions and meeting new people and having a wonderful time. Hillary did not feel bad for being late after a while. She was very happy. Now, every time that something is happening near her, she loves going since she felt so welcome that first time, and students that met each other that night are still friends. I see them on campus going to coffee every now and then.
|
| |
|
It isn't often that students get to go to the spa, so when I gave them the opportunity they jumped at the chance. Students that had never written, or called me back were begging to bring friends, and so three car loads of women went off to enjoy the day at the spa. The most wonderful thing that happened was, even though there were about three groups of friends, they all started to talk to each other. As they enjoyed the hot tubs, and the steam room, and the mud bath I could see new friendships being formed. It was truly a day of relaxation and bonding. I am sure that none of those girls will forget the wonderful time that they had. They are all begging for more.
We had a Chanukah Murder Mystery in the Pomona Campus Center. Students who usually didn't come out for anything, came to eat the latkes and try to solve the murder of Prof. Plumowitz. It was a lot of fun, and almost all the student that came thanked the cast for a great show. A few students came late though, one of them was Paco. He came and was disappointed to see that the show was over, but glad to have the latkes that were still there. This was someone that we had never really seen before. This spring Paco found the afikomen.
After emailing a bunch of students about FYSH, 'Friends', and Food, I went to the residence hall to start the program in the TV room. Since Claremont is a very academic campus I was not sure how many students would show up. I took out the Pizza and the soda and waited. Only one student that I knew came that night. However, people that didn't even know about the program but wanted to watch 'Friends' showed up. Soon they were telling their friends about the free food, and we were having fun Thursday nights together watching TV.
|
|
|
|