Tikvah High School Summer Institute – Participant Bios

Hello! My name is Kurt Vonnegut), writing, football, and Jesse Arm and I'll be music (anything from classic rock to rap). starting at the Always up for a conversation about University of politics, football, books, or Game of Michigan this fall. I Thrones theories. I have no idea what graduated from the profession I want to go into, and people Frankel Jewish keep telling me that's alright, so I believe Academy in West them. I'll be going to this year Bloomfield, (Aardvark gap year program), and I hate Michigan. I am a hard-working, driven writing bios. I think I'm a Virgo. Does that individual from a traditional and strongly matter? I hope not. Zionist family. My high school extracurricular activities included basketball, tennis, model United Nations, Hi everyone! My political interning, and leading my name is Pammy school's student government. As far as Brenner and I goals and ambitions go, I merely hope to recently leave this world a better place than it completed my was when I arrived on it. junior year at Ma'ayanot High I'm Cole Aronson. School in Teaneck, Here are lists. . I'm a Favorite villains: true city girl - I've Hannibal Lecter, lived in Manhattan my entire life. I General attended Camp Morasha for six Woundwort, summers, took a course at Barnard this Keyser Soze. past summer and also toured Israel on Things that don't Sulam. For the past year I have been the taste good on president of the Ma'ayanot Political pizza that I wish Advocacy Committee. As enlightening as did: avocado, seaweed, lamb (pizza these bios are, I'm looking forward to otherwise pareve). Favorite Billy Joel actually meeting and getting to know all songs: Blonde over Blue, Zanzibar, of you this summer! Rosalinda's Eyes. Excited for Tikvah, round 2. Yishai Chamudot is a senior at SAR My name is High School in Aaron Riverdale, NY, Bondar. I like and is planning reading (The on attending Road, Yeshivat Har anything by Etzion next year, Tikvah High School Summer Institute – Participant Bios followed by the army. Things he can do: Hello, my Model UN; Ultimate Frisbee; sing in the name is shower. Things he can't do: Write in Aaron cursive; play/watch/talk about baseball; Eckstein subtract when carrying numbers is and I required. Things he loves: Slam poetry; recently Christopher Nolan movies; British TV completed competitions. Things he doesn’t love: my junior Autotune; board games that take a year at whole Shabbat afternoon to finish; wet Torah socks. He’s excited to get to know Academy everyone this summer. of Bergen County, hailing from Passaic, New Jersey. I take part in wrestling and look forward to a Eli Cohn college career possibly involving ROTC and recently service in the armed forces. After Tikvah, I graduated from will be interning at my local assemblyman's Maimonides office and will attend a wrestling camp for a School in week over the summer. I have two sisters, Boston, where but have always lacked a brother to help he lives with his bring the house down. parents and 15- year-old sister. Next year, he Hello Tikvahniks! will be studying I'm Dore (Feith), at and, following like the fish. I'm that, at Brandeis. He is an avid reader returning for my (Tom Clancy is among his favorite second Tikvah authors) and advocate for Israel. Eli will summer, and am be interning at CAMERA (Committee for eager to meet and Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in reunite with all of America) for his second summer. Eli you. I am from hopes to work for the Mossad at some Bethesda, MD, a point in the future. suburb of D.C., and I come from a large family -- two older brothers, an older sister, and two younger step-brothers. I'm writing this in my last weeks of a three-month school trip to Israel, and I will begin college at Columbia University this fall. I enjoy studying, discussing, and debating history and current events, and I'm looking forward to doing so with you this summer!

Tikvah High School Summer Institute – Participant Bios

born in Riverdale, spent a few years in My name is Montreal, a year in Manhattan, and Margo Feuer finally, the past ten years in Houston. I am and I am a the daughter of a and a teacher and rising senior have four brothers. My main interests are at Shalhevet art, biology, and Gemara. Hope to get to High School, know ya’ll better this summer! a modern Orthodox day school in sunny Los Angeles. I love graphic design, finding a new song My name is Jake Gerber, I recently to listen to on loop, and working on layout finished 11th grade and I live in for my school paper. I always enjoy Manhattan with my six sisters. I enjoy learning about Israel and someday hope to playing and watching sports, especially make a positive impact with the delicate basketball and football. I also like to hang yet solvable conflict in the Middle East. out with friends and family and learn new things. Having 6 sisters makes me more sensitive to gender equality, but Rachel Fried fortunately I'm the oldest! recently completed her junior year at My name is Benjamin High School for Glass. I Girls. She lives in attended The Woodmere, NY Frisch School and has five older in Paramus, siblings; she also has a pet bunny rabbit NJ, where I named Timothy. Rachel's hobbies include participated hiking, bike riding, photography, and just in extra- hanging out with friends. She also enjoys curricular activities ranging from the her volunteer time as a medical clown. In school newspaper to the track team. My school, Rachel is a member of the Torah interests lie in the humanities, and I often Bowl team, photographer for the school focus my study on different areas of newspaper, and assistant editor of literary Jewish history. For example, last summer I journal and the weekly parsha publication. studied European Jewry, focusing on contemporary Jewish life in Europe and dabbling in a study of Yiddish. A growing Hello. My name interest of mine has been the is Lilly Gelman development of American Jewry and for and I am from this area of study, the Tikvah Institute Houston, Texas. summer program seemed the perfect I have moved choice. around a lot in my life. I was Tikvah High School Summer Institute – Participant Bios

My name is Yoni Hadar. I am very V'Aretz Institute, where she'll be working interested in pursuing a civil engineering this summer after Tikvah, and she serves career as well as opening my own firm as a Davar Fellow in Teaneck. When she eventually. I play soccer and basketball for grows up, she wants to be a student, but if Magen David Yeshiva High School, I am also that's not an option, she'll settle for on the Mock Trial team and the SGO philosopher (read: unemployed). Fun Fact: president. I have 1 older brother and 2 She lived on four continents before her younger brothers who are 15 years younger fourth birthday. than I am. For the rest of the summer I will be interning for Abeco Management. Hannah Hess is excited to be Hi all! My name is Avigayil Halpern. I'm a attending the Tikvah halakhic egalitarian feminist and recently Program for her completed my senior year at the Hebrew second year in a row High School of New England in West this summer. She Hartford, Connecticut. I blog about Jewish chairs the "Crimsons feminism (mostly women and tefillin, for the Crimson" and these days) and my current project is "Gingers Drinking V'Tzivanu, a submissions-based blog Ginger" clubs at dedicated to sharing women's experiences Kohelet Yeshiva, and entertains of tefillin and tzitzit. Next year I'll be aspirations to climb Mt. McKinley and play learning at Midreshet Ein Hanatziv, and the oboe in her spare time. Next year, she then attending Yale. I can probably beat will take a gap year at the Stella K. you in a Harry Potter trivia contest, and Abraham Beit Midrash for Women in my favorite punctuation mark is the Migdal Oz. After her year in Israel Hannah semicolon. will attend Harvard University.

An expert at Aliza talking in the Hornblass is a third person, rising senior at Ricki Heicklen the Ramaz is a senior at School, who SAR High was born and School and still lives on soon-to-be the Upper East student at Side of Kibbutz Ein Manhattan. HaNatziv. She Aliza has a likes entirely impractical conversations particular love of reading and history. about ethics, reading and writing Last summer, she was a Szarvas Fellow in webcomics, and long walks on the beach. Hungary and has traveled extensively in She currently interns for The Shamayim Israel and Europe, including to such Tikvah High School Summer Institute – Participant Bios countries as Slovenia and Austria. She has been on the Ramaz girls hockey team Hello all! My since she was in Middle School, and is name is also a fencer - sabre is her weapon. She Tennessee May is also a participant in the Write On for Lieberman and I Israel Fellowship. love a variety of things. I love music, to start - Hi everyone! My - mainly indie name is Yardena and classical. I Katz. I am a Chai also love Lifeline Big Sister, European and partake in Bnei history. Nietzsche is my everything. Akiva and Model UN. Vogue is my not quite everything, but I am profoundly still very important to me. The same inspired by biology goes for ballet, though I do not dance. I and very interested tend to dislike any activities involving in the implications of strenuous movement, and I dislike these global health policy. Skydiving is at the activities because I tend not to excel in top of my bucket list. This summer, I will them. I also have an aversion to activities be volunteering at Camp Simcha as a involving numbers. Math is not a strong lifeguard and studying mammalian suit of mine. To conclude this riveting placentology at York University. Ferris bio, I'll mention that I love astrology very Bueller is my hero. much. And there you have it -- a comprehensive description of my interests.

My name is Leah Klahr My name and I have is Marni completed Loffman - my junior “To each year at SKA. his own” I am an was the active mantra of member of my my school's debate and Torah bowl childhoo teams and am the editor-in-chief of the d. The school newspaper. I love learning Torah, mantra reading, writing, and poetry. In my free was my time I enjoy playing piano, hiking, and mom’s spending time with my family and way of friends. saying that answers are not uniform, dismissing Tikvah High School Summer Institute – Participant Bios any hopes of my building a fixed Aaron Miller, foundation of what the world should be. from New Cultures, religions, weltanschauungs are Rochelle, New vast and varying, and I was raised on that York, is a recent notion. Be it the black hats and long graduate of the skirts that my Dad’s family wore, the Solomon Christmas tree in our friends’ living room Schechter of or the fact that I lived in Switzerland for Westchester and four years while being raised in a a rising freshman at Harvard College. community that told me Israel was my Aaron's main intellectual interests are homeland, truth for me was always fluid. politics and economics, and he hopes to Supposedly straight-forward questions pursue a career in public service. This like “who am I?” “where am I from?” and summer, he is working at a political “who are my people?” always puzzled consulting firm in . Fun me. I was raised as a traveler -- fact: Aaron and his brother, David, hold physically, ideologically and spiritually. the Guinness World Record for the largest gift card collection.

When not planning reunions My name is for the summer of Chase Nathan. I 2013 Tikvah enjoy playing Program, Celeste music as well as Marcus, graduate playing sports. I of Kohelet Yeshiva won my school- High School '14, wide talent can generally be show last year found either beneath a pile of violently and later played in front of over 2,000 highlighted copies of Kol Dodi Dofek, people. I run varsity track and play Lonely Man of Faith and Halakhik Man; varsity golf, but also enjoy spending time performing spoken word poetry; or with my family. I am very well-dressed binge watching Game of Thrones. Her and always put others before myself. least favorite character of all time is Vernon Dursley, and if she had a wand that could perform only one spell of her My name is Leah choosing that spell would undoubtedly Nouriyelian. be "accio". Celeste looks forward to After over a spending her gap year at Midreshet decade as a Migdal Oz and then returning to her religiously proud home state to attend University of and passionate Pennsylvania before making aliyah. public school student, I decided to switch to Yeshiva in 11th grade in order to aspire to reach both my academic and spiritual Tikvah High School Summer Institute – Participant Bios potential, while gaining a sense of older brother. On Shabbat I lead my local belonging in an environment that , and I look forward to being a cultivates my growth. Following my madrich (counselor) for the first time at deeper desire to seize opportunities, I camp this summer. In my spare time I immerse myself in an array of like to run and also train with my local extracurricular activities with a particular football (i.e. soccer) team. I love learning interest in law, writing, and speaking. As about and embracing different cultures, a Persian Jew living in America, I feel and I hope to study theology at connected to the issue of Iran's nuclear university. capabilities on several fronts, and visiting family in Iran this past summer has transformed classroom discussions and My name is interactive experiences. Through Natan exposure to different school systems, I Rabinowitz. I am have developed a dream to establish a interested in school, BeEzrat Hashem bli neder. military analysis and theory and consequently My name is design and test Tali Pelts. (read: play) I'm wargames as a Ukrainian. I hobby. During the school year I attend have a thing YUNMUN (Yeshiva University National for vibrio Model United Nations) and participate in fischeri math competitions. During the summer I bacteria and work as a counselor at an outdoor studying adventure camp which specializes in languages. staying off of trails. Maybe one day I'll be a doctor, but in the meantime, my time is consumed by Israel advocacy work, lit I’m Nachman mag, and checking out indie bands. Most Reich, a Liberal of all, I thrive on having meaningful Arts student from conversations with interesting people. Montreal. Some activities I enjoy are writing political pieces and debating. Hi, I am Ian Sports, clubbing, and watching cat videos Piczenik. I on YouTube help me relax. I hope to come from become a politician or (less sleazily) 'serve Manchester, the public'. England, and I live with my parents and Tikvah High School Summer Institute – Participant Bios

Hi! I'm Liorah favorite god is Shlomo Artzi, and his life Rubinstein from goal is to win the Nobel Prize in Medicine Boston and I and the Nobel Prize in Literature with a graduated from single biotechnology patent. He wishes he Maimo this June. I knew everything about nothing, but sadly, love acting, soccer he knows nothing about everything. and piano and plan on pursuing a career in Hi! I'm Ben psychology. This summer I hope to visit Strachman. I'm my grandparents in Mexico before I begin going to Gush my year in Israel at . I’m looking next year for forward to meeting all of you! yeshiva and YU after that, and I'm super excited for My friends usually call me Mikah (Semon) both. I'm – actually, everyone calls me Mikah. I'd interested in really like it if everyone here called me by political science, psychology, and that name or at least some other name in philosophy, and I plan on studying those in order so that I should not be confused for college. Oh, and I have grey hair. I like someone else on the program. Along with reading high-class books so I can quote long walks on the beach and soul music, I them and (attempt to) appear educated, love going barefoot for an hour to get a and if I make references you don't get, little bit of a different perspective, I love they're probably from either The Office or writing poetry about G-d and zebras, and Bob Dylan. If you like Dylan, I apologize in most of all I love talking to other people. advance for pestering you 24/7 about him. On that note, get psyched for Tikvah!

Isaac Soltz is quite illiterate, Aryel Tucker is a but he reads a rising senior at lot. His favorite the Northwest book is a tie Yeshiva High between The School in Mercer Great Gatsby Island, a suburb and Canadian Property Rights for of Seattle, WA. Dummies; his favorite historical figure is He is an active Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub (street name member of the Saladin), and his least favorite is Reynald student d’Chatillon. His lucky number is 85, population, because he trusts old Cuban fishermen— currently serving as the Finance Chairman but even though he loves history and Elect. After visiting Washington, D.C. in literature, he can't imagine studying his sophomore year Aryel developed an anything other than engineering. His interest in politics, specifically regarding Tikvah High School Summer Institute – Participant Bios modern political polarization. When not playing and watching sports. I am, involved with student council or his unfortunately, an avid Mets fan. community service group, Music Vs., Aryel enjoys playing basketball as well as throwing discus. Hi guys! My name is Alyssa Wruble and I’m a born and Hi everyone! My raised Southerner. name is Sarah I recently finished Wapner. I am a my junior year at Friendship Circle the Margolin volunteer, I am Hebrew Academy active in Bnei in Memphis, Akiva, and I am Tennessee and I’m the chairman of a huge Memphis the CJPAC Tigers fan. For Generation some of the past Student few summers, I have gone to Camp program in Toronto. As an aspiring Morasha, (Stone) Machal, and toured educator, I deeply believe in the power of Israel on Yad b’Yad. I love to write and education and its ability to strengthen and am finishing my second year as editor-in- enrich society. I am also very interested in chief of the weekly newsletter at my the exploration of religious school. Even though these bios are fundamentalism and the subsequent wonderful and I already feel like I know consequences of radicalized faith. Next all of you, I’m looking forward to actually year I will be attending the SKA Migdal Oz getting to know more about you guys in Beit Midrash in . I have an June. Until then, folks. innate fear of mayonnaise.

My name is Ilan Wolff and I am a rising senior at SAR High School. Academically, I am particularly interested in Jewish studies, math, economics, politics, history, and literature. My hobbies include bridge, chess, writing poetry, reading, and