Posted on June 6, 2012
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| Lauren Tessler – Areyvut Summer Intern |
The summer is a time of new beginnings and having just graduated from college, I am ready for just that. This summer I have the privilege of interning at Areyvut and writing on our blog. In honor of new beginnings I’d like to introduce myself. My name is Lauren Tessler and I’m from Northern New Jersey. I recently graduated from Yeshiva University’s Stern College for Women with my B.A. in Psychology and English Literature. In addition to learning about the human psyche as well as how to better myself as a reader and writer, Stern taught me invaluable lessons on what it means to be a Jew and on the importance of Torah u’madda (literally Torah and science – but for various ideas on what Torah u’madda means, click here). I had some of the most amazing professors who have changed the way I think and will forever impact the way in which I see the world and interact with it. In the past I have worked in the classrooms of the Queen’s Children’s Psychiatric Center and the Bergen County High School of Jewish Studies. Additionally, I was a regional advisor for NJ NCSY and both a research assistant in the Psychology lab as well as a peer mentor at Stern College. The year prior to the past four amazing years at Stern, I studied at the seminary Ba’er Miriam in Har Nof Jerusalem which was an incredible learning opportunity and allowed me to strengthen my Judaism further. Next year, b’ezrat Hashem (with G-d’s help), I will be back in Israel living in the land that I’ve been missing working with post-high school students and volunteering around Jerusalem.
I look forward to blogging about various articles on the topic of Jewish philanthropy, philanthropy in general, and organizations that are making exciting strides! I also intend to blog about chesed (kindness) opportunities both on the local and global level, as well as inspiring Jewish thoughts as they come to mind and relate to tzedakah (charity), chesed (kindness), and tikkun olam (social action). Feel free to comment on the posts since discussion can be a positive way in which to share ideas and explore options for doing good. You can also email me at Lauren@areyvut.org if there are ideas you’d like to share or have information about a foundation that is doing great things for the people they serve. Thank you for reading the Areyvut blog! Stay positive and have a great day!
