News

This past Monday night over dinner, one of our daughters mentioned that it might snow in New York City the next day. Our youngest lit up, it would be her first time ever seeing snow. Later that night I kept thinking about it: there’s something magical about experiencing something new for the first time. Those life moments stay with you.

It’s the same feeling I get every day working with Jewish grad students on campus.

At a recent Shabbat dinner here in NYC, one student told me, “I’ve never been to a Shabbat dinner in my life and I have no idea what to expect.”

I smiled and said, “Just be yourself. Take it all in. That’s what Shabbat is about: connection and community.”

I watched him the whole night, wide-eyed, trying challah, singing Shalom Aleichem as best he could, making a l’chaim when it was his turn. A first-time moment!

The morning after our daughter’s snow news, I was in the JGO office in the City and I looked out the window and saw the very first flurries of the season. I called home right away, and our girls ran to the window, watching and waiting, eyes wide, as their first snowflakes drifted down.

I love that first time or reignited spark in a student and that’s why the majority of our organizational budget goes straight into our JGO Campus Fund, which fuels Jewish life on grad campuses across North America. In the last school year alone, we hosted 693 campus events and we’re on track for 25% more this year.

Grad school is that inflection point in life when people decide who they’re becoming and how they want to live. And sometimes, a student walks into a JGO event having never been to a Shabbat dinner before, or not having been part of Jewish community since their bar or bat mitzvah. For many, JGO is their first step back into Jewish life as adults.

Moments like that remind me why I’m so grateful to be part of JGO: helping Jewish grad students experience something new, rediscover something timeless, and know they’re never alone.

Today, we’re active on 156 campuses, all with one simple goal: To be there whenever a Jewish grad student needs us.

With gratitude,
Dave