26 | FEBRUARY 2 • 2023 

A

mmi Rotberg 
never met David 
Hermelin, 
the influential Detroit 
philanthropist, entrepreneur 
and U.S. ambassador to 
Norway who died of brain 
cancer in 2000. But, on Jan. 
13 at Hillel Day School, 
Rotberg, an eighth-grader, 
was honored for embodying 
some of the same qualities 
that made Hermelin so 
beloved.
Rotberg of Bloomfield 
Hills is the 2022 recipient 
of the Annual David 
Hermelin Scholarship 
Award. Sponsored by 
Sam and Nancy Shamie 
and family and created in 
2008, the award honors a 
student at one of the six 
Jewish day schools in Metro 
Detroit who demonstrates 
academic excellence and 
shows leadership within 
their school or community. 
Recipients receive a financial 
scholarship for their final 
year of studies at a Jewish 
day school affiliated with 
the Jewish Federation of 
Metropolitan Detroit.
As part of his application, 
Rotberg, 14, wrote an essay 
describing his vision of 
leadership and how he’s 
fulfilled that vision. He 
mentioned his work with 
JARC, Yad Ezra and the 
Nature Conservancy, as well 
as his family’s plans to travel 
to Peru to help a native 
tribe build housing. He also 
highlighted the impact of 
smaller deeds, like holding 
the door open for someone. 
“Each person on this 
planet makes a ripple effect 

when living daily life,” he 
wrote. “The world needs to 
focus on making that ripple 
aimed toward kindness.” 
Rotberg’s thoughtfulness 
impressed Marcie Orley, 
Hermelin’s daughter, who 
— along with her mother, 
Doreen Hermelin — is 
on the award’s selection 
committee. 
“It can be hard for a kid 
from Hillel to stand out 
because you’re looking at a 
seventh- or eighth-grader 
who is putting up his essay 
next to seniors at the other 
schools,” Orley said. (The 
scholarship is only open 
to applicants entering the 
highest or next-to-highest 
grade their school offers; 
Rotberg applied as a seventh-
grader.) “But Ammi showed 
a great deal of empathy in his 
essay.”
Hillel administrators, 

who nominated Rotberg 
for the award, echoed that 
sentiment. “Ammi is one of 
the kindest, most gracious, 
respectful and courageous 
student leaders we have at 
Hillel,” said Head of School 
Dr. Darin S. Katz. “He 
embodies Hillel’s core values 
by acting as a mensch at all 
times.” 
 Being a mensch was one 
of David Hermelin’s defining 
qualities, too, said Marianne 
Bloomberg, the associate 
director of philanthropic 
engagement at the Jewish 
Federation of Metropolitan 
Detroit and a member of the 
selection committee. “We’re 
basically looking for David’s 
neshamah, his soul,” when 
considering the applicants, 
she said. “When Ammi said 
that even opening the door 
for someone is being a leader 
… that struck us. It made me 

think of David because he 
did these little kindnesses for 
people behind the scenes.” 
Indeed, Orley hopes that 
her father’s spirit lives on 
through Rotberg and other 
award winners. “These 
kids are learning about the 
influence my dad had on this 
community and the way he 
approached Judaism with 
such joy and inclusivity,” 
she said. “The fact that 
this brings his legacy to a 
different generation is very 
meaningful.”
Rotberg, for his part, plans 
to carry Hermelin’s values 
forward. “I care to help 
people and I try to make that 
a part of my every day,” he 
said, adding that he’s inspired 
by the courage of his great-
grandparents, some of whom 
were Holocaust survivors. “I 
hope to use that motivation 
to keep doing good things.” 

Annual David Hermelin Scholarship Award honors 
Hillel student who embodies empathy and leadership.
Making the Grade

NICOLE FREHSEE MAZUR SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

Dr. Leemor Rotberg, 
Ammi Rotberg, 
Jeffrey Rotberg, 
Steven Ingber, Darin 
Katz and Doreen 
Hermelin.

OUR COMMUNITY

