A bi-monthly feature in which members of the community
offer insight on topical issues.

opment and marketing (don't
bother asking about math and
science). Last year, she
worked as a counselor at
Camp Tamarack, which she
attended as a child. Camp
food, she says, is passable,
"and you can always eat the
bread."
When not studying or work-
ing in the school store at
North Farmington, Miss Roth
enjoys volunteer projects. She
recently participated in a
Women's Division Federation-
sponsored trip to the Haven,
a Pontiac shelter for battered
women and children, and also
visited with patients at Prov-
idence Hospital.
She enjoys volleyball and
swimming, and of course,
there's all that baby-sitting.
She likes teaching songs to the
little children for whom she
sits.
Miss Roth will be the last
child to leave the family nest.
Besides her bags and clothes
and books, she feels strongly
about bringing her Jewish val-
ues and customs with her to
EMU.

HOW DO YOU FEEL
ABOUT KEEPING UP
JEWISH TRADITIONS
AS YOU PREPARE TO
ENTER COLLEGE?

Leaving The Nest

ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Glenn Triest photography

o cartoons. No
cops and rob-
bers shows. No
dumb sitcoms.
Children be
forewarned:
the only time
you might be able to talk dili-
gent baby-sitter Jodi Roth into
TV is when it comes to Bar-
ney — the friendly, responsi-
ble purple dinosaur who
continues to mesmerize the
under-8 set.
Miss Roth, of West Bloom-

field, loves children. A senior
at North Farmington High
School, she will attend East-
ern Michigan University in
the fall. She plans to major in
child development and espe-
cially would like a career
working with disabled chil-
dren.
Jodi Roth was raised in
Oak Park, where she attend-
ed Avery Elementary School.
Her parents, Burton and Lau-
ra, are longtime members of
Temple Emanu-El. Her broth-

er, Jeffrey, lives in Southfield;
her sister, Melissa, is a recent
graduate of Eastern.
For all her life, Miss Roth
has enjoyed working with
small children. Some of that
may come from the fact that
her own childhood was idyllic,
she says. She adores her par-
ents and siblings despite the
fact that brother Jeffrey "used
to tease me — in fact, he still
does."
In high school, Miss Roth
enjoys courses in child devel-

"I really want to keep my
Jewish values when I get to
school.
"Shabbat is an important
time in our home. We light
candles every Friday night.
My mother makes chicken
and my brother comes over.
"My friends don't always
understand — they want to
go out. But I let them know
that I have to be at home Fri-
day night.
"Knowing that it's Shabbat
is important to me.
"We celebrate the holidays,
too, and all the relatives come
over.
"My parents keep kosher,
and I plan to keep kosher
when I get to school. So I can't —
just eat anything. What if
there's bacon in the soup?
"I'm a little worried about c t
how I'll be able to do it all. It c<
will be hard. Fortunately, my 2
roommate will be Jewish, and
I have a lot of support from 05
my family." ❑

