18 | MAY 16 • 2024

classes at Berkley High School. She is a
member of the National Honor Society,
the president of the Science Honor
Society and is an active participant in
the Jewish Student Union at BHS.
Shira is a wonderful musician who
plays the violin, receiving honors for
her musicianship from the MSBOA.
Her athletic abilities include sailing
and volleyball. She is also involved in
theater as a pit musician and auditorium
technical staff.
Shira is passionate about helping
others. As a participant in AJC’s Leaders
for Tomorrow program in 2022-2023,
taking trips to see family in Israel and
recently traveling with her mom to help
farms in Israel (picking clementines)
are ways she demonstrates her passion
for Israel. She has worked at Aish Camp
Daycare and is a madrichah for the
Yachad Religious School, where she has
planned lessons and activities for the
students.
Shira has and will continue to touch
and help the world around her through
her passion, dedication and abilities.

ARIEL SER

Ariel Ser, 18, lives
in West
Bloomfield and is
soon to graduate
from North
Farmington High
School. He is a
rising star at Adat
Shalom
Synagogue in
Farmington Hills.
Since he was in
eighth grade, Ariel has been a madrich at
the Adat Shalom-Beth Achim Learning
Community. He did an amazing job
working with teachers, students and
madrichim. Plus, his students loved him.
Ariel is also passionate about
volunteering — in general and at Adat
Shalom. He participated in the first two
years of the Better to Serve program in
partnership with JARC and represented
the community at the Youth United

Interfaith teen community service
summer program.
After attending Young Judea camp,
this summer he is a returning counselor
at Camp Young Judea Midwest. Camp is
definitely one of his happy places.
Ariel is an amazing artist. He
continues to excel in his art classes
at school and earned his academic
letter and pin. He worked with Ofri, a
community Shinshinit from Israel, to
design and paint a colorful mural in
Adat Shalom’s new Israelscape room. He
is a blue belt in Jui Jitsu and enjoys
coaching kids’ classes.
Next year, he plans to move back to
Israel where he was born to serve in the
Israel Defense Forces. Ariel Ser is truly a
rising star.

ARI SKLAR

Ari Sklar, 16,
lives in
Huntington
Woods, where he
is a junior at
Berkley High
School and a
rising star at
Temple Beth El in
Bloomfield
Township.
Ari is full of
energy, and he uses a lot of that energy
to work toward making the world a
cleaner, greener and happier place.
He has a passion for the environment
and puts that passion to work at
Berkley High School where is a
founding member and president of
the Environmental Club. This year
the club achieved the highest level of
Green Schools as created by the State
of Michigan, the Evergreen Tier, by
completing 20 environmental programs
at the school. In addition to his activity
at school, he is also a member of
the Green Team at Temple Beth El,
working with an active committee to
make the temple community more
environmentally conscious.
In addition to his environmental

activism, Ari is a member of the
National Honor Society, Detroit
Metropolitan Youth Symphony, and he
is concert master for his high school
orchestra and a member of the varsity
tennis team.
He is also active at Temple Beth
El serving as a madrich in a third-
grade classroom on Sunday mornings,
continuing his own Jewish education in
the temple’s Masa Teens program and
participating in the Senior Youth Group.

CALEB STARR

Caleb Star, 16,
lives in Southfield
and is a junior at
Frankel Jewish
Academy. He is a
rising star at
Congregation
Shaarey Zedek in
Southfield.
Caleb Starr
is a one-of-a-
kind young
person. As a madrich at Congregation
Shaarey Zedek’s Religious School, he
is a standout young leader. What truly
sets Caleb apart is his infectious passion
and love for Judaism and Israel, which
permeates everything he does.
Always in good spirits, Caleb is ready
to lend a hand both inside and outside
the classroom, embodying a spirit of
service and community involvement.
He exemplifies the values of patience,
inclusivity and passion, making a
significant and positive difference within
our community. Caleb is a role model
and a beacon of inspiration for the
students who look up to him.
Caleb spent a semester of his
10th-grade year in Israel through the
TRY program, and his love of Israel,
command of the Hebrew language,
and deep knowledge of Jewish customs
and ritual makes him a unique and
wonderful addition to the community
and a role model for the students in the
Religious School. He is a bright young
leader at Congregation Shaarey Zedek.


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