This summer, YU undergraduates are taking on new challenges and opportunities through a wide variety of internships, volunteer activities and courses. These engagements will help them polish their résumés, build their professional networks and position them for future success. Here’s just a sampling of what they’re involved in, from scientific research to community activism to building their entrepreneurial skills.

Yeshiva University-Orthodox Union Consulting Force:

Learning to Solve Client Problems Like a Business Consultant

The YU-OU Consulting Force has enrolled 21 YU students in a unique nine-week-long deep dive into the world of business management consulting that combines experiential learning with hands-on internship projects, the latter at select Jewish nonprofits and Israeli startups. On June 7, the program kicked off with interactive Expert Sessions with consultants from top-tier firms, such as McKinsey, KPMG, Boston Consulting, Deloitte and Morgan Stanley. They laid out the skills and competencies in such areas as project management, team dynamics, data analytics, and client management that are central to excelling in consulting.  Afterwards in a one-week hackathon/case study, students joined forces in developing a turnaround plan for a struggling business in the community. In phase two of the program, students apply their newly acquired skills to actual client projects at nonprofits and startups such as Work at It, Communities Confronting Substance Abuse, Avrio Analytica and Expera Hub. By the end of seven weeks, they will produce a specific set of deliverables to complete the internship. Dr. Noam Wasserman, dean of Sy Syms School of Business and founder of the YU-OU Consulting Force, envisions the program as laying down the foundation for successful careers in the years ahead, whether in consulting or in other areas of business where such skills are valuable. The program ends on August 5, 2021.

Summer Internship Experience in Israel:

Getting Connected to Startup Culture

The Summer 2021 internship initiative at YU Israel connects 10 YU students with a group of game-changing, high-tech startups for eight weeks of on-the-job learning. Partially funded through the Shevet Glaubach Center for Career Strategy and Professional Development (SGC), the program is an outgrowth of the RENSOP Fellows Winter High-tech Trips, last held in January 2020. The process of matching students to internship opportunities was a joint effort of SGC, MassChallenge Israel, a startup accelerator and YU Israel’s Alumni Affairs. Throughout the eight-week internships, informal coaching and mentoring sessions will help students fine-tune their skills in time and project management. Internships are complemented by evening guest lecturers, Torah learning, shabbatonim and heritage-based field trips. Among the participating startups welcoming YU students are Hometalk, CauseMatch, 200apps, Tunefork, BioLineRx, MassChallenge Israel and the Kohelet Policy Forum, an Israeli nonprofit think tank. Internships run from June 14 through August 4.

Student interns exploring research labs at BioLineRX in Modi'in Israel

Counterpoint Israel:

A New Direction for Community Activism

Counterpoint Israel, a summer day camp based in Israel, combines English language immersion with recreational activities to build a sense of self-confidence in at-risk Israeli teenagers and instill a sense of civic responsibility within the program’s YU student counselors. This summer Counterpoint is taking its energy, values and idealism to a new location, the city of Lod, just southeast of Tel Aviv.  From June 27 to July 26, 18 YU student counselors are providing individualized attention to more than 400 Israeli youth through a mix of English-language instruction and skills-based workshops focused on sports and the arts. For the children of Lod, it will be a memorable gift, and for the YU students working with them, a lesson in Jewish values. Given that Lod is close to YU Israel, student counselors are living on campus and, during their off hours, participating in YU programming, including evening guest lectures, Torah learning, shabbatonim and heritage-based field trips.

YU student counselors with Counterpoint camp goers in Lod, Israel

Summer Science Research Internships at Bar-Ilan University:

Seeing What It Takes to be a Research Scientist

Since 2011, budding scientists from Yeshiva College and Stern College for Women have been selected to participate in the Bar-Ilan University Yeshiva University Summer Science Research program for North American students. This summer, 20 YU students have joined their ranks for a seven-week internship at one of the school’s following labs: Life Sciences, Brain Research, Exact Sciences and Engineering. Working under the direction of one of Bar-Ilan’s more than 180 distinguished science and engineering faculty members, the students, whose majors range from biochemistry to computer science, are assisting with ongoing research initiatives in their chosen field of study. As in past years, some student research efforts may result in publication. Although that’s not a given, what is certain is the sense of accomplishment student interns experience as they work with some of the world’s best research scientists. Research internships run from June 23 to August 5.

Archaeological Fieldwork at Tell es-Safi/Gath Israel:

Investigating the Ancient World

Leo Newmark '23 YC drawing a map of the finds unearthed at Tell es-Safi/Gath

From July 4 through July 30, YU students are joining forces with an international team of archaeologists to continue the excavation of Tell es-Safi/Gath in Israel, the reputed home of Goliath. The Tell es-Safi/Gath Archaeological Project began in 1996, and for more than 15 years, Dr. Jill Katz, clinical professor of archaeology at Stern College for Women, has brought adventurous YU students to the dig to gain hands-on experience in the recovery and analysis of the site’s remains. In addition to daily fieldwork, students participate in on-going lectures and workshops about how archaeological finds offer new insights into ancient culture and biblical history.      

Summer Session at YU

An impressive number of YU undergraduates have enrolled in eighty-four summer session classes, scheduled in two sessions—June 2 through July 1 and July 6 through August 5—with courses ranging from the Principles of Biology and General Chemistry to Intermediate Talmud and the History of Women in the U.S. The total number of registrations for undergraduate summer courses are close to 1,000, with some students opting to attend both sessions. Two courses have been developed in partnership with Camp HASC and Camp Morasha. Experiential Internships at Camp HASC Children and adults with special needs as well as intellectual and physical disabilities have been served by Camp HASC for more than 40 years. YU student interns, guided by Rabbi Yehuda Willig, are working closely with camp attendees to better understand their complex challenges and improve their daily lives. As part of their internships, students explore how the timeless wisdom of the Torah connects to the latest findings in positive psychology through experiential activities conducted by leaders in the helping professions. (Two course credits awarded.) Jewish Communal Leadership at Camp Morasha This special course, led by Rabbi Larry Rothwachs, examines the intersection between successful leadership and Jewish values. Guest lecturers explore a range of inspirational and practical topics from authenticity in leadership to the specific tools and skills needed to assume a leadership role in the Jewish community and the broader world.