for college students by college students ■ MAY 20, 2010 / 7 SIVAN 5770 ■ Wayne State Junior Earns $500 Hillel Scholarship Love Of Judaism Jewish At OU OCC student takes on Hillel Israel advocacy role after "amazing" Birthright trip. by Alyssa McMillan I jewish@edu staff writer Freshman's involvement allows her to be comfortable with her religion. by Jennifer Goodman jewish@edu staff writer Growing up in a Modern Orthodox household, I was surrounded by religion. I attended a Jewish school from kindergarten to my senior year, attending classes with the same people year after year. After school, I worked at my parents' kosher restaurant, Sara's Deli in Southfield, serv- ing most of the Detroit Jewish community. Between work and school, I was always in a place where living a Jewish lifestyle was the norm. I admit that I lived in a bubble although once I graduated from high school, my bubble burst. Most of my friends chose to go to Israel to study in seminary for the year, but I decided to get a head start on my college career and applied to Oakland University (OU). I honestly was a little wor- ried as to how I was going to keep my Jewish iden- tity when all of my religious safety nets had been cut out I 'ni Alyssa McMillan, and yes, I am a black Jew. Some people might use the term "blewish" to describe me. Instead, let me describe who I really am. I grew up in north Oak Park and attended the Berkley School District. In those surroundings, I was exposed to many Jewish rituals and traditions — and I learned a lot. My parents and I were always very open-minded about different cultures and religions, and the one that captivated us the most was Judaism. My parents and I started taking classes at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield and felt the comfort and family within the congregation. In October of 2006, at age 20, I con- verted to Judaism. One week later, my mother converted and two years after that, my father followed in our footsteps. In February of 2008, I was recruited by a Hillel of Metro Detroit (HMD) staff member to go to Israel on Taglit- Birthright. Everything happened so fast; that May, I was crossing the Atlantic Ocean on my way to the Holy Land! After participating in this amazing experience, I wanted to take on more of a leadership role in the Jewish community and applied to become Hillel of Metro Detroit's Grinspoon Israel Advocacy Intern with a focus on multicultural dia- logue. As a Grinspoon intern, my aim is to enhance Israel's image and educate HMD's campus communities to become more knowledgeable about and supportive of the State of Israel. I try to connect Metro Detroit college students and young adults to Israeli culture, history and diversity and get them to recognize the unique role that Israel plays in their lives. The multicultural dialogue ini- tiative has given me the framework in which to put on educational and social programming, such as Israel and Diversity Lunch & Learns, Falafel & Film with the Jewish Gay Network of Detroit, Israeli Purim Masquerade, Faces of Israel Panel and Israeli Earth Day Shabbat. It has been such a positive learning experience to put on these programs through a team effort, with help from HMD, the network of Grinspoon interns throughout the country and the Israel on Campus Coalition. With all of my partners, I believe we are making a difference and positively affecting people's views of and feelings toward Israel. Beyond my role with Hillel of Metro Detroit, I am a stu- dent at Oakland Community College in Farmington Hills and Schoolcraft College in Livonia, working on a degree in vocal performance with a minor in Hebrew. Next year, I am transferring to Oakland University. I am heavily involved in my synagogue, Temple Israel, where I sing on two choirs, the T'fillah Team and Kol HaKahal. I am also an AmeriCorps member serving at the South Oakland Shelter in Royal Oak. I love to volunteer and help people; and I hope to one day open up my own nonprofit organization. And that is the real Alyssa McMillan. Alyssa McMillan of West Bloomfield just finished her freshman year at Oakland Community College. from under me. I was already dreading the questions I knew I would be asked such as: "Why are you wearing a skirt when it is below zero, aren't you cold?" or Goodman, just graduated from OU and was the presi- "Why can't you come out on dent of the Jewish Student Organization/Hillel (JSO) there if I was interested, I should consider taking on this leader- the year before I enrolled so I already knew some Jewish ship role. I thought about it, and I really did want to get involved, so I stepped up and minority and portray a good representation of how a Jewish woman behaves; it seemed like a lot of pressure. 78 May 20 2010 Family Scholarship to Wayne State University student Erica Rogers of Birmingham. The $500 scholarship is awarded to a student currently enrolled in a Metro Detroit university on the basis of academic strength, need, service to the community and HMD involvement. Rogers is a junior at Wayne State University in Detroit studying public relations. She also is a Peer Network Engagement Intern for HMD and assisted in planning HMD's Alternative Spring Break program. "I was uninvolved until I took a chance and went on HMD's Alternative Spring Break to New Orleans last year," Rogers said. "As an HMD intern, I try to show people just what I saw and learned after New Orleans. The experiences gained through HMD and being part of the Detroit Jewish community have added a great richness to my life." HMD also awarded two honorable mention Direnfeld Family Scholarships to Kristina Yusufova of Detroit, a WSU senior studying mechanical engineering, and Ari Jacobovitz of Oak Park, a WSU freshman studying marketing manage- ment. @ Jacqueline Gordon, who told me the JSO needed a secretary. She suggested that Saturday?" I knew it was going to be tough having to be the Hillel of Metro Detroit (HMD) awarded its annual Direnfeld Luckily, my brother, Jereme students and most of the JSO board before attending school. On the first day of classes, I ran into the new president, became their secretary during my first year in college. Ever since then, I have been involved in organizing lunch-and-learns, Shabbat dinners, tabling events and holiday parties with other executive board members, Vice President Alaina Farber, Treasurer Maxx Lesnick and our Hillel of Metro Detroit (HMD) adviser Julie Schechter. Being able to be part of the Jewish Student Organization and HMD has allowed me to be comfortable with my reli- gion so that I am not afraid to dress a certain way or to decline an event because it is conflicting with Shabbat or a certain holiday. Overall, the JSO at Oakland University, along with Hillel of Metro Detroit, has allowed Jewish students to meet oth- ers with similar values and empower them to feel free to live a Jewish lifestyle. I am glad to be a leader in an organization that strives to grow Jewish life at Oakland University and on other Metro Detroit campuses. @ Jennifer Goodman of Oak Park just finished her freshman year at Oakland University.