Darren ShaveII and his fiancee, Valerie Young, met in New York
Marty Maddin and his fiancee, Lindsey Rosen, are Oakland
City.
County natives but met in Chicago.
hire up to 1,000 workers over the next five
years for its new facility in Ann Arbor.
"There's no magic or miracles here
Rabbi Loss said. `!There are major busi-
ness leaders in this community who are
working hard to employ young people?'
Some of Josh and Shayna's ePrize and
Telemus co-workers also are young Jewish
adults who moved away and have now
returned. Darren Shavell, 27, and his fian-
The Comfort
Of Home
F
ew people have left Michigan
for a more exotic destination
than Dr. Andrew Lofman, 36,
and his wife, Elana, 34, of Southfield.
The Orthodox couple, members of
Young Israel of Oak Park, packed
their bags back in 1995, and moved
to Dominica, a Caribbean island near
South America where Andrew attended
medical school at the Ross University .
School of Medicine. The couple took
part in weekly Shabbat services on
campus and even managed to have a
Torah brought to the island for Rosh
Hashanah.
. "A group of us got together and
decided we wanted to have a rabbi
cee, Valerie Young, 26, just bought a house
in Birmingham and are planning their
wedding for September. Shavell, who's
originally from Bloomfield Hills, met
Young in New York City while he was pur-
suing a career in finance and she . attended
medical school. He joined Telemus as an
asset manager in May.
"If I were still in New York, I'd want to
work [at Telemus]," Shavell said. "They
come for Rosh Hashanah," Elana
recalled. "The rabbi brought the Sefer
Torah with him on the plane. We kept
it in our apartment, and we had to
walk the Torah through the town to the
medical school for services. It was quite
a sight."
After two years in the lush tropical
surroundings of Dominica, the Lofmans
returned to the United States to con-
tinue their adventure. They bounced
across the country from Cincinnati to
Chicago, Cape Cod to Virginia and even-
tually settled in Philadelphia, where
Andrew did his residency in general
surgery. More recently, a fellowship in
plastic and reconstructive surgery at
Providence Hospital in Southfield finally
brought the couple home. Dr. Lofman
now is part of a private plastic surgery
practice in Novi.
"It's been like this crazy whirlwind,"
Elana said. "Somehow, our paths
could compete in any city"
Improving Our Image
But Shavell and many other young adults
believe Metro Detroit still has an image
problem.
"I think it's like a diamond in the
rough;' Shavell said. "Young kids are mov-
ing out to cities where they have a lot of
opportunities. We need to diversify and
have more opportunities here?"
"I didn't know there was such a large
Jewish community here, it's like a hidden
gem:' said Jill Ingber, 27, of Huntington
Woods.
She grew up in Miami and met her
husband, Steven, 27, at the University of
Michigan. After graduation, the couple
moved to Miami for a year, but returned to
Michigan, where Steven attended Wayne
State University Law School in Detroit.
Now they plan to stay.
"I like it a lot, but I'll never get used to
the weather:' Jill joked. "I think people out-
side of Michigan really don't recognize this
area for what it is?'
Jonathan Sterling, 27, a Los Angeles
native, also is getting used to the weather
as he adjusts to life in Michigan. He and
his wife, Lauren, 27, are yet another young
Jewish couple who recently settled in
Huntington Woods. Lauren grew up in
Bloomfield Hills but moved to L.A., where
she met Jonathan. The couple moved back
a little more than a year ago.
"It's a culture shock; I'm used to the
hustle and bustle of the city:' Jonathan
said. "It's really the Jewish activities that
have brought us together with other
people — there's YAD, Friends of the
Israel Defense Forces and Temple Israel's
Imagine group?'
Imagine was formed a few years ago
to generate excitement and encourage
young Jews in their 20s, 30s and 40s to get -
involved. Events have included an annual
Purim bash, musical Shabbat Unplugged
services, playgroups for parents with
Coming Home on page 30
brought us back to
Michigan?'
Along the way,
the Lofman family
grew. The couple now
have three children,
Samantha, 5, Adin,
3, and Aliyah,10
months. Dana, who
teaches early child-
hood yoga at Yeshivat
Akiva in Southfield,
has found a lot of
good things about
being back home.
Dr. Andrew Lofman with Samantha, 5, (top branch), Adin,
"For the kids to be
3, (lower branch), Elana and Aliyah, 10 months
able to celebrate all
the holidays with fam-
the end of the day, who you're around
ily is a really huge thing," Elana says.
and where you feel the most comfort-
"Growing up, I never imagined that I
able is what's important. Now, I couldn't
would actually leave, but I always want-
imagine being anywhere else."
ed to. It just sounded exciting to go
somewhere outside of Michigan. But, at
IN
November 16 • 2006
29