Dear Matt,

Welcome to the Fellowship! I am sure you will have an awesome year as the Lipinsky Jewish Campus Service Corps Fellow here at San Diego State University. San Diego is a great city to live in, the Fellowship is full of good times, and the students and staff here will make your JCSC year totally worth your while!

While San Diego may sometimes feel like a tourist destination, never forget that…it is! I spent my whole first year here feeling like I lived in paradise. But, of course, there is a job to do, and you are the one to do it. I am really glad I did the fellowship, and thankful for all the knowledge and experience I have gained. I hope you will be too. I don’t think I could have done this job without the structure of the Corps itself—the training at Leaders’, and at Staff Conference, the listserv, and the team calls (which everyone, including me, complains about). And of course, Rhoda and Melanie always there to advise, listen, cheer and support. Some days are harder than others, and some programs are more successful than others. But it is great to always come back to the office with Yvonne, Jackie, and Marla to rely on, and the rest of the Corps just a phone call or e-mail away.

There is support everywhere, and ideas to be had at every turn. In the beginning, it may seem like everyone knows what they are doing, and you don’t. (Or it may seem like no one knows what they are doing and you do.) But don’t despair. You don’t need to know everything about everyone or everything…yet. At Leaders’ during my first JCSC year, someone said, “You aren’t required to be a learned Jew. You are required to be a learning Jew.” I have really remembered this phrase and expanded it to include all the things that I encounter in life as a Fellow, Jewish or otherwise. I don’t have to know something the second it comes my way, but I should be open to learning about it and exploring it, especially if it helps or related to the students.

Yes, there is a ton to learn. And a lot of fun and excitement to be had. So I put together this little book with everything I could think of to help you out on your first days of your journey. I have tried to include everything from information about Hillel and SDSU to where the best beaches are and where to get a good bite to eat. And of course some fun pictures so you can get to know some of the faces you will eventually meet around Hillel and around campus. Hopefully this will be a good start. If there is anything you can’t find, don’t be shy to ask someone. That’s what learning is all about!

Sincerely,

Sarah

Getting Started

Well, okay. You’re here. You’re sitting in the JCSC desk, and you are ready to go. But the students aren’t here, you haven’t been to Leaders’ yet, and besides, it is totally beach weather! Here are some tips on getting started. Use your first few weeks to get acclimated with the campus, the students, your job. The next couple of pages have some info on getting started. Here are some other tips:

· Take an official tour of the campus.

· Go through the drawers in your desk and organize them the way that makes sense to YOU (right now they reflect my organization process).

· Think about something you may be interested in for your Jewish Learning component and figure out how to get it in San Diego.

· Read some of the info in the desk files about commuter students.

· Learn how to use the copier, fax, printers, scanner, etc. before you need them.

· Visit the three nearby kosher eating establishments (Lang’s, Shmoozer’s, and The Place).

· Place calls to Doug Case (Greek life) and Christy Rauker (student leadership) in the Housing and Residential Life Office (HRLO) and introduce yourself.

· Check out San Diego websites such as www.signonsandiego.com and www.balboapark.com and www.sandiego.org. Think of things you could take students to do—especially freshmen who are new in town.

· Get to know other websites: www.sdsu.edu, www.rohan.sdsu.edu/~jsu, www.hillel.org.

· Read up on Israel. This year has been eventful. I am sure you are in for more of the same. Learn the resources that are available online and in San Diego to educate students.

· Spend some time on campus each day, even before the students arrive. Learn the hot spots!

Commuters

One of the first things you should be aware of is the nature of our campus. If your undergraduate institution was anything like mine, you are walking around the SDSU area thinking, “where are the coffee shops, where are the hang-outs, what is there to do around here??” Other than McDonalds and our shiny new Starbucks, there aren’t a lot of places to go right around campus. This greatly reflects the reality of most of the students here. Many of them commute from all over San Diego County. Most of them go home or to work after school, and don’t come back. I believe that part of this reality is reinforced by the University’s reluctance until recently to foster business in this area. Thus, the college area isn’t a “cool” place to be, hang out, come back to, or congregate. The campus is absolutely dead on the weekends because everything shuts down and there are no reasons to be here.

I have included some things to read about commuter students. However, I have found that the students here are different than other commuter students. At Leaders and at Professional Staff Conference (PSC) you will meet people from Hillels on campuses where 70-90% of students live at home with their parents. There are a fair share of those, and they do have their responsibilities to home and family life. But we also have a large population of people who choose to live at the beaches or at similar distances because of atmosphere or price. These people also will be reluctant to come back to campus at night or show up on the weekends. There is a very low level of emotional investment in the campus experience. On the one hand it is the job of Hillel to work around this and play into that schedule. On the other hand, it is your role and Hillel’s role to create something wonderful and welcoming to which the students will cleave and to which they will be emotionally attached.

Please don’t be intimidated! While it is true that this schedule is a little limiting to programming, it shouldn’t get in the way of great ideas. Awesome things have happened here over the years, and you will make even more incredible things continue to happen! Don’t underestimate the students. It is all about giving them the opportunity to say yes to something you invite them too, as well as actually planning the things that will be the most meaningful to them.

Go home!