It’s a Sunday evening and CSU Hillel’s Leadership Team is about to begin their weekly meeting to discuss upcoming events. The leftover food from the previous Shabbat and has been warmed up and plates are being filled.
This spring, Hillel’s Leadership Team, or LT, consisted of six members: Hillary Lorsch (president), Sadye Hazan (Journalism and Communications intern), Nevan Mandel (Sustainability and Operations intern), Elaine Gay (Marketing Intern), Rose Bork (General Board Member), and Zack Josephs (General Board Member).
Lorsch, Hazan, Bork and Josephs have all been part of the leadership team since they were freshman. “I wanted to be able to make more of a difference within Hillel,” said Bork. “Hillel has given me a sense of community, cooking skills, leadership skills and a connection to my Judaism.”
Being on leadership team has its perks. Students have access to the house at all times with a fully stocked pantry, ability to add what goes on the grocery list, VIP lunches or dinners with guests who speak at Hillel events, as well as being able to choose what meal to have for Shabbat dinner.
In addition to leadership team, Hillel has been continuing to develop the internship program. This semester, there were three interns who worked on many different projects, on top of being a part of leadership team. Mandel worked to make sure Hillel was doing its best to be sustainable, from composting to preparing for our incoming chickens. “I have lived in not very Jewish communities and this is the first one I’ve had in my life,” said Mandel. “It’s nice to have the opportunity to put emphasis on things that interest me into this community.” Because of his work, CSU Hillel was the first Hillel in the country to receive Hazon’s Seal of Sustainability.
Gay markets every event Hillel puts on from something as simple as Shabbat dinner to promoting a guest that Hillel has brought in to speak. Our newest position was the Journalism and Communications internship. Hazan received three credits for all of her work. She wrote all of the articles that can be found on the CSU Hillel blog on the Hillel of Colorado website. She also helped promote the CSU Birthright trip as well as sent out the occasional newsletter, Hillel Happenings.
Hillel is hoping to expand the internship program and have up to eight new interns next semester, ranging from positions related to Israel to the marketing and journalism interns to a horticulture internship. Many of the internships are initiative based, meaning they will receive a stipend for their time working on something they are passionate about for Hillel. There are also opportunities to receive university credit for an internship.
If you’re interested in becoming part of leadership team or an internship position, contact us at hillel@colostate.edu.