FEBRUARY 18 • 2021 | 31

I

f you know me, you 
know I’m a major media 
consumer. I spend much 
of my day on social media, 
watch YouTube videos about 
graphic design 
techniques, 
and finish each 
night watching 
Netflix. I find 
media to be fas-
cinating due to 
the wide variety 
of forms it can 
take and have found a pas-
sion for creating content. 
This is why I decided to 
apply and interview for the 
Langer Family Multimedia 
internship at Hillel at 
Michigan State University, 
where I am a current senior 
studying graphic design. 
When I was officially offered 
the position, ideas started 
formulating in my head of 
the content we could create 
to reach Jewish students in 
East Lansing and those stu-
dents who would be spend-
ing their semester at home 
due to the COVID-19 pan-
demic. I had never thought, 
though, that through this 
internship, I’d be adding a 
new kind of media to my 
tool belt. 

What better way to virtu-
ally engage students during a 
pandemic than by giving them 
something to listen to? This 
question led to the creation of 
The Weekly Kvetch, MSU Hillel’s 
inaugural podcast featuring 
interviews from awesome 
Jewish people and more con-
versations relevant to college 
students. 
Along with my supervisor 
and Hillel’s director of Jewish 
student life, Nate Strauss, we 
began to lay the groundwork 
for this project. After bringing 
on our host and fellow current 
student, Jake Rubin, we got to 
work reaching out to some of 
the internet’s best Jewish per-
sonalities. 
After our first few guests 
being fellow students and local 
Jewish leaders, our reach began 
to grow, and our ability to book 
more influential Jewish guests 
came with it. Some of my favor-
ite guests so far have been Tess 
Koman, senior editor at Delish, 
Stephanie Butnick, deputy 
editor at Tablet Magazine, and 
Adam Lehman, president and 
CEO of Hillel International. 
Guests like this have brought 
very enriching content and 
stories to our podcast, helping 
us achieve our goal of building 

Jewish community online. 
The Weekly Kvetch and MSU 
Hillel have allowed me to 
grow my skills as a design-
er and producer in ways I 
could have never imagined. 
Creating connections with our 
guests via Instagram, Twitter, 
and LinkedIn has helped me 
become a better communicator 
and problem-solver. I’ve also 
acquired new skills like podcast 
editing, promotion and produc-
ing, which I am excited to bring 

with me after I graduate in May. 
The Weekly Kvetch is avail-
able on Apple Podcasts, 
Spotify and anywhere else 
podcasts can be found. Our 
podcast has shown me that 
even during a global pandem-
ic, we can still engage with 
students in new, creative, and 
innovative ways. @

Sophie Dwoskin, 21, of West Bloomfield, 

is a senior at Michigan State University 

studying graphic design.

Sophie 
Dwoskin

MSU Hillel launches The Weekly Kvetch.
Pandemic Podcast

The Weekly Kvetch Hosts, Sophie Dwoskin, Nate Strauss and Jake Rubin, 
with podcast guest Stephanie Butnick, deputy editor at Tablet Magazine.

The Weekly Kvetch is MSU Hillel’s 

inaugural podcast featuring 

interviews from awesome Jewish 

people and more conversations 

 relevant to college students. 

for college students by college students
February 18, 2021/6 Adar 5781

