metro » Peer Power Move over, Millennials. Here comes Gen Z. MEET EMMY LULKIN: IN SHORT Vivian Henoch | Special to the Jewish News What were your projects? Emmy: I worked with the Eden Garden Block Club, associated with the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue (IADS). Eden Garden is really a beautiful place, fighting blight in a neighborhood on the east side of Detroit. Food grown in the garden goes 26 July 28 • 2016 to neighborhood volunteers and Shabbat dinners at IADS. Over the winter months, we worked in the Downtown Synagogue to help organize their newly renovated kitch- en. We also painted planters for volunteers in the garden to plant seeds. Maya: I worked with kids in the base- ment of the Church of the Messiah, which they have turned into a youth and job program they call the Mt. Elliott Maker Space. It’s been an interesting year working with them in their wide range of activities. It can be gardening one week, bike repair another or just playing with the kids who show up each week. It’s taught me a lot about planning, creativity and communi- cating. Will: I worked at Voices for Earth Justice at the Hope House in Brightmoor, a neighborhood with a lot of blight. Working with Naim Edwards, program manager and a garden designer, I was part of a mentoring program for youth with a focus on interfaith networking and environmen- tal and science education. ON LESSONS LEARNED What have you learned from your expe- rience with PeerCorps and how has that changed your view of the city? Emmy: Before PeerCorps, I thought of Detroit as a place with nothing going on for me. Today, I think of Detroit as my city, and I love showing friends who visit all the cool things going on here. And I like to take pictures! Maya: I think PeerCorps has shown me how wide the scope of the city is. Will: What PeerCorps has taught me: Don’t judge a book by its cover. I’ve learned that you have to dig deeper to really understand a place and that the con- nections you establish get more meaning- ful over time. Maya: I agree completely with Will on that point. A huge part of my experience has been communication — the real work of becoming part of a community, entering it respectfully and mentoring kids in ways to learn and make friends. Emmy: There are so many opportuni- ties to learn and to do this kind of work in the city. There are girls I’ve met working in the garden — we’re so similar, and yet we live worlds apart in the same city. I feel so lucky to have the opportunities I’ve had. Photos by John Hardwick B orn in the late ’90s, barely out of high school, they are coming of age today. Tech-savvy, app-happy and connected — a generation raised in the era of smartphones and Snapchat — they are smart about their choices, com- mitted to real and meaningful work in their community, passionate about Detroit and here to make a difference. Beyond their notable academic achieve- ments and extracurricular activities, Emily “Emmy” Lulkin, Maya Goldman and Will Shulak have participated as mentors with PeerCorps Detroit, a yearlong program in partnership with Federation, Repair the World and area congregations, invit- ing Jewish teens, b’nai mitzvah students and their families from all denominations to build deep relations with one another through community-based work in Detroit. How has their service to PeerCorps influenced Emmy, Maya and Will and what are their dreams for the future? Here, they share their thoughts: Emmy: I had been looking for more meaningful work in the community. This program seemed to be a perfect fit of grassroots and genuine. I really liked that it was Jewish. Maya: My sisters were mentees in the first years of PeerCorps, and they certainly influenced my own decision to become a mentor. I wanted to work in Detroit, where my grandparents grew up — to have that kind of connection — and to get to better know the city. I also liked the idea of the program running all year long so I could build relationships and invest myself in the work. Will: A friend of mine was a second- year mentor, so I heard about all the great experiences he had. My mom and her siblings also grew up in Detroit, so my family always has had a connection to the city. Though I had worked at the Eastern Market a little before joining PeerCorps, I really valued the cohesive experience I gained in the program. From Bloomfield Hills, a junior at Groves High School, Emmy has been elected president of student council for her senior year. This summer, she has chosen to con- tinue her work as a mentor in a PeerCorps pilot summer program for students in grades 6-12. Loves camp and kids, and wants to make the world a better place. Only 5 feet tall, but #shortgirlsdoitbetter. MEET MAYA GOLDMAN: WORLD TRAVELER A student/camper/reader/traveler/optimist looking for adventures and ways to help out in Detroit and the broader world. From Farmington Hills, a graduate of North Farmington High School, captain of her cross-country team, involved in Model U.N. and writing for her school’s literary magazine, Maya will attend the University of Michigan in the fall. A world trav- eler (literally), at 13, Maya spent a year with her family circling the globe. As a counselor this summer, Maya will complete her 10th year at Tamarack Camps. MEET WILL SHULAK: ACTOR, SINGER, WRITER Excited to bring his skills in people-to-people interaction to build meaningful experiences to Detroit and to college moving forward. HOPES AND DREAMS Emmy: My hope is to use all the oppor- tunities I’ve been provided to give back to others around the world. After college, I want to move to Africa to learn about dif- ferent cultures and help people peacefully coexist. Maya: At the moment, as I look forward From Huntington Woods, a graduate of Berkley High School, Will is headed to the residential college of the University of Michigan in September. Actor, singer, comic-book enthusiast and sometimes stand-in help for produce sales at the Eastern Market, Will plans to pursue his passion for performing arts, journalism and community building through his college studies. to college, I want to find a field of study I really love and run with it. Will: I want to live in a world that is safe, heathy and prosperous. * Vivian Henoch is editor of Federation’s myjewish- detroit.org, where a longer version of this story first appeared.