WELCOME TO THE TOOLBOX
UW Hillel is unique in that we don’t have a student governing board, which both adds and detracts from our program at times. One of the positive effects of not having a student board, is that we have less of a problem with the often clique-y effects of recognized power in student leadership. Most of our student organizations do not have officers either; rather there are between 2-3 students who would fall under the traditional Hillel definition of “empowered”. It is these students who are responsible for pushing themselves through the year, dreaming up ideas, and making them happen. In theory, it is a great model. In practice, it often gets blurry. Our empowered students may be empowered within the framework of their involvement; through their participation in an organization such as Jewish Theater Project, or Kavannah. However, this does not always translate to a traditional sense of empowerment in the greater Hillel circle; at Shabbat dinners, etc. To that end, I think that almost all of our students can be considered ‘engagement’ students at one time or another throughout the year. It is a solid, but small group of students who transition easily and comfortably within all of our programming and events.
One of the strengths of our Hillel model of leadership, is that it makes it easy for me as a Fellow to move students along the “engagement-empowerment spectrum” more subtly. After meeting a student for coffee, and having a chance to chat, I can get a sense of their interests and motivation, and easily help them into a program or organization that fits their needs and interests.
I think that by partnering the ideas behind engagement and empowerment, I best serve our students when I help them find a way to fit in; that’s what is empowering, which is the best way to be engaged. To be engaged at UW Hillel means to feel comfortable walking through the door, or simply feeling comfortable in the greater UW Jewish community. As an undergraduate, I did not participate in Hillel at all; I didn’t feel a need to because my Jewish community was all around me; in my apartment, at my job as a Religious School teacher. I remind myself of this when I feel like I haven’t met any new students; the best work we do is in creating a positive feeling within the Jewish community on campus. I know from personal experience that feeling empowered as a young Jewish adult goes beyond participation in Hillel; as a JCSC Fellow, I have worked to create positive and meaningful environments so that people will choose to be a part of our community.