Reflections on the
MAJOR impact of
the Jewish Studies
MINOR
Fifty-four MSU students are currently
working to earn a minor in Jewish Studies,
which offers a rich interdisciplinary program
to explore the history, cultures, language(s),
identities, religion and civilization of the
Jewish people.
Working closely with faculty mentors who
provide guidance academically and
professionally, students choose from among
30 course offerings and take advantage of
the many cultural events offered by the
Serling Institute for Jewish Studies and
Modern Israel.
Two students and an alumnus recently
shared how the minor impacted their time
at MSU and beyond.
Ben Francis, a senior double majoring in
Finance and Political Theory, considers
Serling Institute faculty his greatest mentors.
A highlight, he says, was interning at Bar-Ilan
University’s Faculty of Law Clinic conducting
comparative legal research on the rights of
parents with disabilities.
Ben received the Serling Institute Student
Achievement Award last year. Support from
the Serling Institute’s Hersh, Levy and Slade
scholarships enabled Ben’s study abroad
and internship opportunities. The institute
also offers the Finifter Hebrew Scholarship of
$1,000 per semester for students enrolled in
Hebrew.
Ellie Baden, a sophomore in Social Relations
and Policy, is excited to study abroad in
Israel this summer through the Serling
Institute’s faculty-led program that explores
Israel’s diverse populations and
communities. She has been awarded both
the Ed Levy Jr. and Linda Dresner Levy
Endowed Scholarship, which provides
scholarships for study abroad in Israel and
for combining Hebrew with education
abroad in Israel, and the Albert and Sharie
Gladner Study in Israel Endowed Scholarship.
“I am able to participate…due to the
generous scholarship offerings of the Serling
Institute, which make the program
extremely affordable and accessible,” she
says.
Ellie, who was honored with MSU Student
Life’s Emerging Leader Award, says she has
also been able to plan events, collaborate on
an educational anti-Semitism guide and
enjoys connecting with other Jewish Studies
minors. Ellie was recently named the MSU
nominee for the national Udall Foundation
scholarship awards.
Jewish Studies students have opportunities
to engage in substantive research projects,
and many present their research at the
annual Serling Institute Undergraduate
Research Conference. This spring Ellie
presented “The Naming and Shaming of
Israel in the United Nations Human Rights
Council,” and Ben presented “Graffiti in the
Israeli Palestinian Context.”
Looking back on his MSU undergraduate
experience and the trajectory of his career
five years since, alumnus Brad Isakson
(’16) says it is easy to see the impact of his
minor in Jewish Studies.
“Whether working in Washington, D.C., for a
nonprofit organization that combats
antisemitism and anti-Israel biases in
academia or teaching English in the Japan
Exchange and Teaching Program (JET), the
skills and values I gained from my Jewish
Studies minor have been instrumental in all
of my pursuits,” he says. “Notably, the Israel
Study Abroad program marked the first time
I traveled abroad. It was there that I first fell
in love with international exchange, a love
that eventually led me to move to Japan.”
As a student, Brad double majored in
International Relations and History, and was
honored with the Jewish Studies Student
Achievement Award. In his current role as a
JET cultural ambassador, he educates
students on American culture as well as the
Holocaust and the importance of fighting all
forms of hatred, in part through his own
experience as a grandchild of a Holocaust
survivor.
“The research and public speaking skills and
academic values I honed in Jewish Studies
were easily transferable to my role as a
teacher in Japan and allowed me to
successfully educate students on my Jewish
background—something I never envisioned
myself doing five years ago,” he says.
In the fall, Brad will begin a master’s degree
program at Johns Hopkins School of
Advanced International Studies. He says he is
confident that his Jewish Studies minor has
equipped him to excel in any graduate
program and career.
LEARN MORE about the Jewish Studies
minor at jsp.msu.edu
Ben Francis
Brad Isakson
Ellie Baden