Hailing from the northeast, sophomore Kenny Shuster made his way out to CSU for school. He has quickly found a home away from home at CSU Hillel and on Hillel leadership team.
Kenny grew up back east in Ashland, Massachusetts, about an hour away from downtown Boston. He decided on made his way out to Colorado in part because he has family in state, as well, as a child he would attend “Ramah in the Rockies”, which is a Jewish summer camp up in the Rocky Mountains. Kenny also came to CSU to study Biomedical sciences, he plans to go onto medical school in hopes of becoming a cardiothoracic surgeon. A cardiothoracic surgeon is a doctor who specializes in surgical procedures inside the thorax, location such as the heart, lungs esophagus and other organ in the chest. In the meantime, Kenny is deeply entrenched in his studies because the BMS major is one of CSU’s more rigorous majors, yet he has still found time to make new friendships and opportunities at Hillel.
“This semester is my first at Hillel, it all started when I saw a internship posting for a Jewish genetic testing service called ‘JScreen’ and it fit well with my interests so I decided to take the job,” said Shuster.
This semester working with Hillel and ‘JScreen’ has opened the door for Kenny to cultivate new relationships with fellow Jewish rams, especially at weekly Shabbats dinner.
“The Shabbats on Friday nights are great; it’s a relaxing atmosphere to wind down the week, chat with friend and enjoy a delicious home cooked meal. Also the mid week meals like the ‘Taco Tuesday’s’ are a way to break up the week and have a nice meal with other Jews,” he added.
Even though this semester is Kenny’s first experience at Hillel he already has memorable moments to look back on.
“One of the Shabbats I was cooking for was not going to plan and it was really nice to see everyone at Hillel help chip in make sure everything got back on schedule, it was nice to have everyone come together to help,” said Shuster.
In between his duties at Hillel and school work it’s hard to find free time but Kenny still manages to squeeze in his ‘me time’.
“I don’t have as much free time as I’d like but I like to play the saxophone – it’s a nice decompressor for me. Also I’m active in CSU concert band which is an extracurricular activity but it allows me to play my music which I love,” said Shuster.
Back home in Massachusetts Kenny has a younger brother Josh who is currently a sophomore in high school and adorable Goldendoodle named Max.
If you want meet or chat with Kenny come to an upcoming Shabbat dinner or Taco Tuesday!
CSU Hillel serves as an important bridge from the Jewish kid world to the Jewish adult world. We empower students to become leaders, and provide a warm and welcoming home-away-from-home for every student. Additionally, at CSU Hillel we take pride in cultivating a strong community with our weekly shabbats, sustainability projects and community mitzvahs around Fort Collins, as well as, helping our students learn about Judaism and Israel in whatever capacity most comfortable to them. To learn more about CSU Hillel visit our website and make sure to follow us on social media on Facebook at CSU Hillel and Twitter @CSUHillel.