Student Affairs
Throughout my life, I’ve had the fortune of feeling at home in many different communities. I was active at my synagogue and my summer camp, and at both of these places I met some of my best friends in the whole world. I always felt at home at synagogue and at camp because I was …
I am from Helenville, Wisconsin, a small town one hour west of Milwaukee. This has not always been my hometown as I have moved four times throughout my life. I was born in Belleville, Illinois and then six weeks later moved to Stoughton, Wisconsin. Our family lived five minutes away from my grandparents. We lived …
The start of a new school year always comes with challenges, but for me, the Fall Semester can be a nightmare. The Jewish month of Tishrei, which generally overlaps with September/October, has 7 days and four preceding evenings of holidays spread across four weeks. During Tishrei, I am expected to keep up with the work …
As someone who hasn’t attended a weekly mass since early childhood, it seemed for a long time as though the only time religion affected my life was during the long Catholic wedding ceremonies my very large family frequently held. It’s hard to look around and see the ways in which religion dictates many aspects of …
What does it mean to be the representative of a community that neither elected you nor gave you leave to represent them? This is the question that runs through my mind most days in Madison. With the start of the semester and this interfaith fellowship, I’ve been contemplating this regularly. When I announced my decision …
I recently returned from a short term study abroad program in Copenhagen, Denmark. While there, I attended worship services held at a branch of Hillsong, effectively a megachurch with 80 affiliated locations around the world. It was amazing to fellowship with individuals who, like me, grew up in church, in addition to those who found …
When I was younger my parents sent me to a small Catholic school. This was a decision I questioned every day. It was on the exact opposite side of town from my house, it was in a bad neighborhood, and it didn’t have all that great academic scores. They always replied with the phrase that …
This summer, I had the opportunity to live in Amman, Jordan and study Arabic through the Council on International Educational Exchange. I have been working toward a Middle East studies certificate throughout my time at UW, and I always knew that I wanted to experience the culture of the Middle East and travel to the …
My high school parking lot has snowmobile trails leading to it from the farmlands outside of my hometown, so the farm kids can still make it to school if the roads don’t get plowed in time after a blizzard. We have more churches than secular public spaces, and all religious texts aside from the Bible …
My first year of college, I had unlimited opportunities to explore my interests and hobbies. In a diverse residence hall, I was able to meet people with different experiences than myself, and I joined student organizations that made the University of Wisconsin feel like home. Something I lacked, though, was the opportunity to engage in …