 You’re a senior at Occidental College in Los Angeles. What are you doing there? Did you arrive well-prepared?
I am majoring in Philosophy with a minor in Linguistics, and I will be graduating this May. JCHS definitely gave me the foundation necessary to be a successful college student. I owe a great deal to my teachers at JCHS who motivated me and inspired me to maximize my academic potential by going to a good college and working hard to be successful.
Why did you choose Occidental?
I was impressed by their strong academic reputation and their commitment to multiculturalism and social justice. I was also drawn to Occidental’s urban setting. I thought that being in Los Angeles would provide me the opportunity to connect with a city steeped in Jewish culture and heritage. How did you find the Jewish community when you arrived?
It is nearly impossible to travel from one part of the city to another without sitting in hours of traffic, so I was not able to travel to the Jewish parts of town as much as I had hoped. I decided to turn my attention to improving Jewish life on campus so that students would be able to have a safe place to express their Judaism without having to head across town. Where did you begin?
I was surprised to find that despite a sizeable Jewish population on campus, very few people were actively involved in Jewish life. A group of friends and I began getting together to light Shabbat candles every week – our meetings gave us a much-needed dose of Judaism, as well as an opportunity to strategize ways in which we could improve Jewish life on campus. Did you work with Hillel at Occidental?
I became involved in Hillel’s Executive Board initially as Vice President of Finance and later as President. I worked with student leaders to implement more intentional Jewish programming, and a larger campus presence. We began holding Shabbat services on a much more consistent basis, increased collaboration with other cultural organizations on campus, and designed programs for first-year college students, who unfortunately often lose touch with Judaism when they go away to college. Were there any highlights of your success?
One event that I am particularly proud of was a campus-wide Israel Day celebration that attracted hundreds of students. This was quite an accomplishment considering our campus population at the time was around 1,800 students. As you near graduation, what are your goals for the future?
I am interested in studying the relationship between ethics and public policy. I would like to attend law school, upon completing my Master’s degree in Philosophy. I truly hope that no matter what I end up doing professionally, it will somehow involve Judaism. Any parting words of wisdom for our students?
Become involved in your community, don’t forget your Jewish values and appreciate your teachers. I am extremely thankful for everything JCHS has given me. Every time I visit JCHS my former teachers check in on me and make sure I am doing well. Mr. Lee Carter (history) and Mr. Aaron Pollock (history) continue to encourage me to be the best person I can, even as I move on to life after college. Students will surely kvetch about Dr. Peg Sandel’s (Jewish studies) Jewish Thought paper, but they should know that it was the key piece of work that prepared me for the challenges of writing a college essay. From day one at Occidental, I was expected to write 20-page papers. If it wasn’t for Dr. Sandel’s Jewish Thought paper, I would have been really lost.
You made the varsity basketball team this year at Brandeis – Mazel Tov! How did you do prepare?
I value the opportunity I was given by JCHS to play basketball on the varsity level for four years. Without this I would likely have been too inexperienced to play at a high level at the start of my freshman year. At JCHS Mr. Carter, Mr. Pollock and Mr. Bruno (History/Math and Athletics) often spoke highly of their experiences playing sports for their respective colleges. Their enthusiasm encouraged me to jump at the opportunity to “walk-on” to the Brandeis basketball team. Are you up to the challenge so far?
The level of competition here is much higher than it was in high school. Everyone on this team was the best player on their high school team, if not in their high school league. I play small forward, and have thus far been winded for most of every practice. The conditioning drills and sprints are much more difficult than anything I have ever done, and I am fully enjoying the challenge. My motivation for playing comes from my desire to be a part of a “team.” And how are the Brandeis “Judges” doing so far this year?
The season hasn’t started yet, but I believe that the team is in the “preseason top 25,” meaning that Brandeis is at the moment, considered one of the best 25 division 3 basketball teams in the country. At JCHS you were an MVP. What were your most valuable lessons?
At JCHS I learned how to be a student. Upon exiting 8th grade, I lacked real study habits and was not particularly efficient at managing my time. Balancing my schoolwork and my time commitment to basketball at JCHS helped me develop the study habits that I needed. I also learned how to communicate with my teachers. The connection that I developed with my teachers at JCHS motivated me to work harder in their classes. In college, it is a useful skill to be able to approach professors and seek their advice and help. What’s your major? How are your classes?
I am a “Health Science and Social Policy” major working toward a Bachelor of Science degree. I’m spending a lot of time learning the nuances of the American health care system and its advantages, pitfalls and complexities. I’m really enjoying a class this semester called “Sociology of Health and Illness” which has an experiential learning component. I teach undereducated diabetics how to keep up with the lingo necessary to manage their conditions. What’s next for you after Brandeis?
I still haven’t decided where I want to go or what I want to do after graduation. I am on track to graduate in late May or early June of 2011. It’s too difficult to predict where I will be in 5 or 10 years, but I hope to be moving up some type of business ladder and married. Is that cliché? It seems too far away to think about it. Submitted October 22, 2009 >back to the top
 Mazal Tov on your graduation from University of Arizona! How did JCHS prepare you for your college experience?
At JCHS I was allowed to find my own true personal identity. The idea was that you were cool for the things that made you an individual. Four years in this kind of community allowed me to embrace my quirks and individual attributes. I found this to be incredibly beneficial when diving into the much larger community at UA. I joined a fraternity, went to Hillel, worked with the campus television station and joined an improv/sketch comedy troupe. I was able to meet people with similar interests and find smaller communities inside a giant one.
While at UA, you spent a summer interning at the Colbert Report. Tell us about that.
I loved every second of it! The internship allowed me to rotate through all the departments and learn everything from how the schedule allows for a brand new show every day, to how to order more Fresca for the writers' fridge. I even got the opportunity to work with the writers which resulted in me getting a joke on the show. Learning all this allowed me to return to the University of Arizona and create my own show called The Spin Zone (as well as stock my house with an overwhelming amount of Fresca.) Where are you now?
As I write this, I am sitting in my cubicle at The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien in Los Angeles. When I’m not working here in the “Clips and Clearances” department, I’m taking improv classes at The Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. I also write in my spare time. What do you write?
I have two blogs - one that I write as myself about my adventures in LA and another that I write as a "bro-ed out" character to refine the skill of writing in a voice other than my own. I’m also writing scripts. One of them I co-wrote with fellow JCHS alum Andrew Ross-Perry. Was there a teacher at JCHS who inspired you?
Dylan Russell (Chair, Visual & Performing Arts, Drama) had a great impact on me. During my senior year, she helped me construct an independent study that taught me about playwriting structure. At UA I used this knowledge to create a television-specific screenwriting course with a film professor. My work with Ms. Russell continues to influence the screenwriting that I am doing now. Have you been able to draw upon your Jewish studies education since you left JCHS?
The Jewish education I received at JCHS taught me how to think critically – in and out of the classroom. Tell us an “LA Story.”
The story that stands out the most was during my second month of interning on Conan, I was in the lobby changing out of a giant NBC Peacock costume (different story) when the costume designer pointed at me and said, "I can make him into a cop in two minutes." Next thing I knew I was playing a cop in a sketch on The Tonight Show. My family was very proud of me. My mom said, "You did great. You need a haircut.” Where do you see yourself in five years?
In five years, I would love to be working on a very funny television show for a top rated network so if you know anybody who needs a hard working, passionate, young nice Jewish boy, please let me know. This feels like a J-Date ad all of a sudden. I'm a Sagittarius.
>back to the top
 You spent four years as part of the tightly knit community at JCHS. How have you adapted to joining a larger student community at University of Chicago?
The adjustment was really hard at first because I didn’t know every single person I passed in the halls. After a few weeks I started to recognize faces and it became easier. Essentially, I found that because I knew everyone at JCHS, I get to know people here much better.
Was community size the most difficult change?
No, my biggest challenge has been the food. My dining hall is number two in the country, but compared to my mom’s cooking, it’s awful. I’m learning how to work through it. How has your coursework been so far? Do you feel that you arrived well-prepared?
While at JCHS I developed solid time management skills to handle a heavy work load, so I’m finding I can handle my courses very easily here. By my senior year at JCHS, I could produce amazing presentations with videos, handouts and interactive lessons. This year I have used these skills for constructing powerful class presentations as well as to teach a weekly Salsa class. JCHS also taught me to be proactive. If I want to make something happen, I try and never give up. Is there a particular teacher at JCHS whose guidance continues to help you?
Dr. Schneider (Math Chair) taught me how to think outside the box. Rather than just teaching us the methods of how to do calculus, she taught us the actual proofs and how they worked. This was particularly important for me because this year in calculus I am relearning everything from a proof-based side. Every homework problem now is a proof and without those initial interactions, I would have been helpless. Even now when I’m having trouble with a math problem, I email Dr. Schneider, and she comes through. Have you been able to draw upon your Judaic Studies education?
In my Tanach and Talmud classes at JCHS I learned countless stories that I tell frequently here. The stories have strengthened my beliefs and given me the resources to have discussions about religion with people from many different backgrounds. What do you do for fun? Are you still practicing martial arts?
The martial arts here are very disappointing, so instead I’m on the Latin Dance Association Board. I take Salsa classes twice a week and I’m on the ballroom team. I go watch movies sponsored by my house, have snowball fights and meander around Chicago – especially Chinatown. Where do you see yourself in ten years?
I see myself living in the Bay Area, working on the artistic side of advertising or programming (preferably at Google) while continuing to practice Karate and Salsa dancing in my spare time. Pictured: Gal Oppenheimer (second from right) with his Salsa Dance team at University of Chicago
Published in the spring 2008 JCHS Connect newsletter
>back to the top
 When you left JCHS you had enrolled at the University of Rochester with a one-year deferral to study in Spain. How and why did you end up in Israel?
I changed my decision at the last minute due to visa issues and chose to spend this last year studying in the Overseas Student Program at Ben Gurion University in Beer Sheva. On the 2006 JCHS trip to Poland, the Czech Republic and Israel, we learned about the precursors to the creation of the State of Israel – this gave me a different view that renewed my interest in studying in Israel. How did JCHS prepare you for living abroad? I give credit to Ms. Abbott (JCHS French & Spanish Teacher). From her, I not only learned Spanish, but how to learn languages, what strategies are the best for me and the importance of cultural immersion. The seminars on modern Israel’s history and politics that we completed junior and senior years were helpful in that I learned dates and historical facts. Once I got here, I learned Israel’s history directly from the people themselves, which made it even more interesting. Now that your program in Beer Sheva has ended, what are you doing? I am in a program called Mahal, for non-Israeli citizens who want to volunteer in the Israeli Army. I enrolled, completed basic training and am now stationed just outside of Arad, close to the Dead Sea in the South. I chose this job because it’s as close to combat as there is for girls. I’m hoping to become a shooting instructor. What inspired you to choose this program? While at Ben Gurion, I began meeting Israeli students and their families and really interacting with the culture. A couple of times throughout the year I considered making Aliyah (Jewish immigration to Israel) and each time thought a lot about my need to be one hundred percent certain. There was only one way, in my opinion, to know if I could spend my life here and that would be by doing something that almost every Israeli youth does - the army. I felt that in the end, if I wasn’t certain about making Aliyah, I could at least contribute to Israel. What have you learned about yourself through this experience? I can’t even begin to explain the amount of change I’ve undergone - maturation, independence, self-confidence, persistence. Each person’s attitude makes a huge difference here and I feel that I’ve contributed a lot of motivation and positive vibes. The girls in basic training nicknamed me “Alex Kavod” which translates to “Alex Respect.” It felt good to be appreciated. What’s next for you? I am considering studying at a university here in Israel – maybe something in science or languages. For now it’s shooting ranges, studying, socializing and going to the gym in the evenings. Pictured: Alex Hettena (left) and her friend Becky conquering Mount Yishay at the Dead Sea
Published in the winter 2007 JCHS Connect newsletter
>back to the top
| 
