For YU Students, UJC General Assembly Was Opportunity for Inspiration and Education Wearing bright blue sweatshirts emblazoned with the words “Ask Me About YU,” Yeshiva University students were a significant presence at the UJC General Assembly in November as the largest delegation in attendance. But the annual conference of the Jewish Federation of North America was also a teaching ground for the 43 students who made the trip to Washington, D.C. The GA represents an interdenominational cross-section of Jewish community life across North America. The exposure was highly educational for the two YU groups who went: 27 students, mostly undergraduates, who made up the Center for the Jewish Future’s delegation, and 16 graduate students in Wurzweiler School of Social Work’s Certificate in Jewish Communal Service Program. “Being involved in the GA was an incredible learning experience,” said Melissa Hooper, a Wurzweiler student in her first year. “Attending a conference with so many volunteers, lay leaders and professionals was inspiring.” The students heard from prominent U.S. and Israeli political figures as well as community leaders of major Jewish organizations addressing issues such as creative fundraising techniques, effective management of nonprofit agencies in a period of economic crisis and advocacy strategies for Israel and human rights. Eitan Nidam, a senior at Sy Syms School of Business, was thrilled to meet Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, and hear from Israel’s President Benjamin Netanyahu, Congressman Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Natan Sharansky, chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel. “As an observer, it was amazing to see such passionate people all working toward the common goal of helping the Jewish community,” said Nidam. “I am majoring in business management but I want to work in government or nonprofit so this was perfect exposure for me.” Ayelet Mael, a student at Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies, found the experience galvanizing. “Whether it was engaging in a discussion about how to best grapple with the issue of Ethiopian immigrants who fail to integrate properly into Israeli society, a forum on how to inspire Jewish youth to care about their Jewish roots, or hearing from a women who spent a year with the JDC in impoverished countries trying to build up the community, the idealism of others that I encountered at the GA was inspiring,” Mael said. “I emerged with a certain motivation and vigor to work with others and ‘think big,’ figuring out how we can enhance the Jewish community at large.” For the Wurzweiler students, the GA was an opportunity to attend private networking sessions with both younger and more seasoned Jewish Federation professionals, many of whom were Wurzweiler alumni, and sit in on the Jewish Federations’ Board of Delegates governance session to observe first-hand how decisions are made on a national level. Second-year Wurzweiler students also met with a senior fundraiser from the South Palm Beach County Jewish Federation to learn about that community’s new strategic approach to financial resource development. Furthermore, the second-year MSW students incorporated their experiences at the GA into their classroom study through a collaborative program with the Greater Washington D.C. Jewish Federation’s Leadership Development Department. They met with several groups of professional and lay leaders from the Federation to learn about the demographic profile, interests and needs of young Jewish adults, a large cohort of this local Jewish community. The students will analyze the information they gathered, along with data from the community’s most recent population study and other planning documents, to create a questionnaire that will be administered to young Jewish adults in the greater Washington, D.C. area to learn how to best engage them and meet their needs. “The GA presented invaluable experiential learning opportunities for our students,” said Dr. Saul Andron, director of the Certificate in Jewish Communal Service Program who led Wurzweiler’s student delegation. “They got to see the creative energies at work with Jewish communal organizations. The challenges are great and sobering but the opportunities to make an important impact are real.”