for college students by college students

Summer Internships!

Rachel Levy in Washington, D.C. for a Machon Kaplan internship

From Clueless To Clued In

Rachel Levy } jewish@edu writer

A

s passengers abandoned airplane
mode, buzzes from CNN or New
York Times lit up their phones, updat-
ing them of what had or hadn’t transpired
domestically and abroad in the nearly five-hour
flight between Arizona and
Washington, D.C.
I opened my phone to
two Snapchats, a text from
my mom and a “like” on
Instagram.
I knew I was in trouble
when I sat down with my
internship supervisor, Erin, on
Rachel Levy
the first day and she asked
me, probably rhetorically,
“So, you’re the public policy
intern?” and I responded, completely seri-
ously, with, “Well, I’m actually the social justice
intern.” We both laughed — me nervously
because I am not a public policy student and
her because she thought I was being witty. As
she continued with our orientation, listing off
tasks, expectations and goals, I began to think
to myself: What have I done?
In terms of politics, I had been mostly clue-
less. I could name my state senators and a
few of the representatives; I knew who Ruth
Bader Ginsburg is, but mostly because I had
just seen the movie about her; and the issues
I cared about were usually the ones that my
“woke” friends in College Democrats had
heard about and relayed to me.
At least that’s how I related to politics

before participating in the Reform movement’s
Religious Action Center’s Machon Kaplan
summer internship program. Machon Kaplan
has given me the chance to live out politics.
From organizing and social justice work on
campus, I had learned to care about certain
issues; but through Machon Kaplan, I have
the chance to see those protests and petitions
and calls for action actually change minds and
uphold justice.
In Pirkei Avot, we learn that Rabbi Akiva,
one of our greatest scholars, did not begin
to learn Torah until he was 40 years old.
However, as soon as his teacher taught him
the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, he did
not stop studying until he had learned it all.
I still don’t recognize members of Congress
when I walk down Constitution Avenue, and
I didn’t read the entirety of Breyer’s dissent
on the AMEX case. But I am young, and I am
interested and I am motivated, just like Rabbi
Akiva was, to continue to learn about how I
can make a difference and to not stop until I
am satisfied.
This city is making me buzz — and not
just from the CNN and New York Times noti-
fications that are now lighting up my iPhone
screen. @

Rachel Levy is a 2018 Machon Kaplan participant and a
junior at the University of Michigan. She is the Reform
Community Leader at U-M Hillel. Last year, she was
a Hebrew Union College Founders Fellow and a JNet
Engagement Fellow at U-M Hillel.

Learning From
Our Seniors

Monica Merzin } jewish@edu writer

I

had the privilege to spend my summer as a Jeanette and
Oscar Cook JOIN intern, a local annual internship program
in Jewish communal service administered through JVS. I
interned at Jewish Senior Life (JSL) in Oak Park.
I spent half of my summer working at Coville Assisted Living
and the other half at Prentis Independent Living apartments. I
was nervous at first, having no experience with
older adults outside my family, but quickly fell
in love with the work. I got to work with the
administrators, social workers and program
coordinators at each facility.
With the program coordinators, I got to lead
exercise classes, play bingo, do brain activities
and go on outings to Kensington Metropark
and different synagogues for concerts. It was a
Monica Merzin
great way to get to know the residents.
With the social workers, I learned how to do
assessments, work with the families and help
meet the needs of the residents. I learned so much from not
just the staff but from the residents themselves; they have so
much wisdom.
One of my favorite parts was listening to some of them get
interviewed. They were asked, “What was something you
would want the younger generations to know to live a long,
good life?”
Many of them said, “Live in each moment and stay involved
and active.”
I always thought I wanted to work as a school social worker,
but this opened my eyes to something new, so now I have
a new field to explore. JSL takes care of its residents, and I
am so happy I got the opportunity to be a part of their team.
Knowing I was able to impact them just as much as they

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August 23 • 2018

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