 MAY 28 • 2020 | 75

for college students by college students
 May 28, 2020/5 Sivan 5780

O

n March 11, I was about six 
weeks into a semester abroad in 
Budapest, Hungary. Restaurants 
and pubs began to close, and my new friends 
and I decided to treat this night like it was 
our last. We wanted to try and enjoy every 
second we had left, which we foolishly 
thought would actually last many more 
weeks. A few hours later, we found out that 
this night would, in fact, be our last night 
abroad and we would immediately begin the 
journey home to the United States. 
At first, I was hit with shock and sadness, 
like any 20-year-old would be. Once I finally 
made it home, I took time to reflect on how 
lucky I was to be able to go in the first place. 
A week after I came home, all my friends 

from Michigan State University started to 
leave campus and head home as well, due 
to the university’
s decision to move classes 
online. Previously, I had mostly thought that 
the COVID-19 pandemic had only affected 
Europe, but seeing my friends leave East 
Lansing put everything into perspective. 
Now my friends’
 lives and community at 
school were forced to be shut down as well? 
I started to think about MSU Hillel, an 
organization and community that has given 
me so much since my first days at MSU. 
Through my involvement, I was elected to 
the Jewish Student Union’
s Executive Board 
as the vice president of community pro-
gramming. As a student leader, I understand 
the hard work that goes into planning events 

and programs for the Jewish community 
on campus, and I was distressed for my 
peers who put in so much effort to make 
the Spring 2020 semester exciting and inno-
vative. I knew if I had been in their shoes, I 
would have been devastated. 
Through my involvement and passion for 
Jewish life on campus, I made the decision 
to run to be the president of the Jewish 
Student Union for the 2020-2021 academic 
year. Shortly after everyone settled into their 
quarantine, elections were held, and I was 
selected as president of the organization that 
meant so much to me. I worked extremely 
hard to get here and cannot wait to see what 
next year brings for Hillel and for myself as 
a leader. 
Through early meetings with the new 
Jewish Student Union Executive Board, 
we’
ve discussed the upcoming year, but it 
is difficult and exhausting to think about 
the future. As a student leader, I find myself 
wondering what will happen if classes are 
online in the fall. What if we are not able 
to have gatherings of more than 50 people? 
How will we have Shabbat or plan big events 
that students look forward to every year? 
I think about these questions daily because 
serving my community might look different 
than I had previously imagined. But all we 
can do is take everything one step at a time. 
I am continuously trying to come up with 
ways to help my community, whether that’
s 
trying to come up with online programs 
and events or working on a game plan for 
all scenarios in the fall. Knowing I have a 
great support system around me and people 
who are willing to help, like the rest of our 
executive board and MSU Hillel staff, makes 
this process so much easier and less stressful. 
I am hoping for the best outcome for the fall, 
but whatever happens, I know we will get 
through this together. @

Julia Levy is president of Michigan State University’
s 
Jewish Student Union.

Leadership in the
Time of COVID-19

Uncertain future leaves students planning
for the fall one step at a time.

Julia Levy } jewish@edu writer

Participating in Good Deeds Day is a highlight of the 
academic year for Jewish students. Pictured here are 
Julia Levy, 20, Marlboro, N.J.; Danielle Contorer, 20, and 
Sammi Elkus, 20, both from Huntington Woods, Mich.

MSU HILLEL

