Check out the video from our Alumni event held in NYC!
Old Alumni mixing with the new Alumni.
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While Jacob
Kieval , 25, of Sharon, Massachusetts, is only one
of many graduates of the WUJS Israel program to return home to great
professional opportunities, he may be the first one to immediately find a job
with a popular reality show.
After graduating from Washington University in 2009, Jacob
decided to go to Israel to help figure out what professional path to take. Having spent a summer in Israel with USY
Pilgrimage and three months during his senior year of high school, it was a
logical choice. He researched various
Masa programs and based on the internship component, WUJS turned out to be
exactly what he was looking for, placing Jacob in Tel Aviv for his Israel
experience.
One of Jacob's two internships was working at Meirav
Productions in Ramat Gan, a company which produces commercials and promotional
videos. His work included capturing
footage and transferring media from one format to another, exposing him to a
side of the business in which he had limited experience. While many stories have been told about
people falling in love with their internships, propelling them to further pursue
a career choice, often ignored are the stories where people have valuable
experiences figuring out what they don't want
to do. Through this experience, Jacob
benefitted from realizing that this side of the industry was not a good fit for
him. Though he thought he may have ended up in the wrong production house, his
later experiences in Los Angeles only confirmed what he thought on the WUJS
program.
In his second internship, Jacob worked for WUJS itself, creating
and producing videos of the program participants which were sent out to their
parents on a weekly basis, giving him more hands-on experience of video and
film editing which is his real passion.
While not working, Jacob enjoyed his free time exploring Tel
Aviv from the beaches and restaurants to the bars. Shabbat provided a valuable opportunity to
take a break from traveling and spending money when Jacob would relax and enjoy
time with friends. He said that his time
in Israel allowed him to learn much more about the country on a practical level. More than seeing the sites, he got a real sense
of what it's like to live in Israel day in and day out, using transportation
and becoming familiar with city life.
As luck would have it, the director of WUJS at the time had
a connection to Mark Burnett Productions, the production company responsible
for such successful TV shows as "Survivor" and "The Apprentice". A few phone calls later, Jacob had landed a
position in the music department of "The Voice" as an associate music producer
in Los Angeles. Jacob works with the
house band which backs the performers to make sure they know what music to
play, helps them to acquire the lyrics and sheet music to prepare, and helps
contestants prepare for their performances.
Jacob plans to stay in LA
to see what this job leads to next and hopes to visit Israel every few
years.
And to anyone considering a Masa program? Jacob says that WUJS is a great program for
people looking for a great opportunity.
Earlier this year, Jenna Gang, 23, of Silver Spring, MD
returned from the WUJS Israel program.
Only months later, it is clear that her time abroad enhanced her career
development. WUJS Israel, a program
under the Young Judaea umbrella, has brought thousands of young Jewish leaders
to Israel over the past decades to volunteer, learn, and help make the Jewish
state a better place.
Jenna first went on Taglit-Birthright Israel in 2010 and
fell in love with the country immediately.
Every night, she said, she would fall asleep dreaming of the Israeli
beaches. Upon her return to the United
States, she met with a professional at Birthright Next who helped her find the
right program to return for a longer period of time. Because of its arts component, the WUJS
program was a perfect fit for Jenna, who graduated from New York's FIT (Fashion
Institute of Technology) with a degree in photography and digital media.
One of the best parts about the Arts track is the amount of
time that artists are given to develop their portfolio and craft a body of
work. Based in Jerusalem, Jenna took an
Israeli film class which enabled her to see another country's perspective on
the art form, nothing to sneeze at considering Israel's numerous Best Foreign
Film nominees over the past few years.
She also visited many museums and galleries, allowing her to see what
local artists were creating. Taking note
of how photography in Israel is different (much more political than in the US),
Jenna made a concerted effort to feature Israel as a beautiful place, taking
pictures without people which an innocent observer might not even realize were
from here.
Upon completing her work, Jenna's images were featured in an
exhibit in the Beit Ribek museum in Bat Yam, just another accomplishment of a
woman whose work has been showcased in many galleries in the United States.
As for the program's highlights, Jenna said that she was
thrilled to be truly immersed in the culture as opposed to during her
Birthright trip or a vacation. During
her free time and on many Shabbats, she enjoyed traveling, spending time with
other artists, and exploring the beautiful neighborhoods of Jerusalem taking
pictures. Her time in Israel helped her
realize that there are more important things than money and that while life in
US is often about needing bigger and better things, in Israel, life was more
about spending time with family and friends.
Now back in New York City, Jenna is still in touch with many
of her fellow participants who she knows she will be friends with for life,
even recently hosting several of them for a Shabbat dinner in her Chinatown
apartment. As she has done every summer
since her sophomore year of college, she is currently working for Macy's, using
her artistic talents to help create their famous catalog which is both mailed
out and distributed in newspapers. Jenna
has helped in the past to build sets and paint and is now working for them as a
photographer.
As for her future?
Jenna has already begun to save money to return to Israel and is working
with an initiative called Artists 4 Israel to promote Israel through the
arts. While she is thinking about moving
to Israel, in the meantime, she hopes to visit at least once a year.
for Jenna's site and work: www.jennagang.com
Artsy Forager | Your series of photographs from Israel have such a different, more quiet focus than most imagery coming from that country. What was your catalyst for the series? Did it evolve over time or did you begin with your concept already in mind?
Jenna Gang | The catalyst for this series was my grandfather. As a holocaust survivor, he expressed throughout my childhood how important it was for me to visit the holy land. After he passed away, his 35mm camera was given to me by my grandmother. By merging his camera with his aspirations for me, I thought it only fitting to honor his memory by shooting this series.
Throughout my development as a photographer, I have always been drawn to images that were minimalistic and left interpretation to the viewer. Through photographs, the world sees Israel as a conflict. I wanted to show that Israel is so much more than that. I simplified my subject to lines and shapes to reflect the natural beauty of the country.
JG | In hopes of not sounding too generic, most of my fellow FIT alumni are my heroes. This is because although our foundation was built in the same way our results vary so widely. Erin Kennedy, Christian Thorman and Nadirah Zakariya were each given the same tools that I was and yet we all emerged with distinct individual styles. I wait in anticipation to see what they create next.
AF | What do you think you would be doing if you weren't a photographer?
JG | If I weren't a photographer, I'd be a food critic. Since I love to eat, this would be a worthy profession. I understand that I would have to eat some bad food along the way, but it would all be worth it for that one good dish.
AF | What is your dream photography project?
JG | During my free time, I enjoy travelling the world via Google Earth, planning how I would capture each of the different landscapes. I am fascinated with Japan and would enjoy a trip to the countrysides of Tokyo, Samurai sword in tow.
End Speech- Fall 2011
Wow! I can't believe we've reached this week of the program! I remember your first day and week of the program- your very beginning of wujs...
You guys all came from different backgrounds- different backgrounds of Jewishness and connections to Israel, you guys are also from various different countries and there's a big range of ages too with-in the group... I think all these differences made our wujs family so special... and you know what I loved so much about our wujs family- it's that no matter what differences that you come with- differences of backgrounds, or, above all that- differences of opinions, views, thoughts, and emotions- we all excepted each other as part of the group, with big warmth and love, just as any members of family do.
It's amazing to see in each one of you your speciality and uniqueness. Underneath the surface lies allot of depth in each one of you, and holding that depth there's allot of modesty. Seeing all of that uniqueness, depth, speciality, and modesty really touched my heart and I feel that before giving you as a counselor, I received from each one of you too... Whether it's something from your personality, from your inner- world, or from a friendship that I feel that I've developed with you... and this is where I want to thank each one of you for also being my friends... I feel that there was a point in the program that a switch was made and from being only your madricha I became your friends and madricha, and I think that it was special that at times that I had to be strict but half an hour later I was back to being your friend again...
And now I want to get to the most important thing that I want to say to all of you- I think that most important and what touched me that most is seeing in each one of you that spark of yours- that Jewish or Israel spark in you that drawed you to come and spend this time in Israel, on our wujs program...
I know that there are many different reasons and goals for a wujs participant to come and spend time in Israel and be on the program- some know they want to make alliyah and being on the program is a good first step to living here in Israel,, some want to check it out here- if it's a place for them or not, some have been having Israel in the back of their minds for some years and now found the opportunity to come, and there some more reasons to it... but I think that the biggest reason and goal out of all and I think this one is a common one to you all and it's the source for you all coming here- is wanting to take the opportunity to come here- and learn, discover, grow, connect, and develop yourself in- terms of your Jewish and Israel identity- it's giving that small Jewish and Israel spark of yours an opportunity to grow and allow it to go in the direction that it's longing and desires so much... that spark is deep deep inside of you and I think that it's what drawed you to come here and spend these five months in Israel. Each one of you has enriched that spark of yours by searching your own identity in your own special and unique way- you've gone on trips through- out the land- felt and trod on it, you've learnt the language of the land, participated in seminars, ulpan, had discussions on hot topics- you've basically fed your soul with food that's it's been longing for. I saw that spark in each one of you.
I really hope that the time that you've spent here has warmed that spark of yours up and I want to wish each one of you to continue sanning that spark of yours , feed with it with food that it needs and wants so much, everyone in their own unique and special way, everyone to where the heart leads it to go to...
Lastly, I hope that each one of you, in your own way, and with the help of sanning that spark of yours- come back to Israel- whether it's to visit, stay, have a trip, or live here... what-ever suits you...
I know that some of you are already staying and I want to tell all of you- those of you who are staying and those of you who are going home and might be coming another time to Israel- that me, the rest of the staff, and many more Israelis' and Olim who live here, welcome you and always want you to know that you have a home here- I personally invite you to my home and I'm sure that others too.
Soon that you're leaving the program I'll be waiting for you to come back and visit and see how much that spark of yours grew and developed to your own unique Jewish and Israel oriented personality.
Good luck to all of you and I hope to keep in- touch!
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