Meet Our First Cohort

First Cohort of Anita Zucker Jewish Early Childhood Scholars

Stern College for Women, Yeshiva University is excited to welcome its first cohort of Anita Zucker Jewish Early Childhood Educators to campus this Fall 2023. The Anita Zucker Scholarship for Jewish Early Childhood Education is the brainchild of noted early childhood philanthropist and advocate, Anita Zucker. Zucker, a former classroom teacher herself and CEO of The InterTech Group Inc., a North Charleston-based global manufacturing conglomerate, recently gifted $5MM to YU to establish the Anita Zucker Program for Jewish Early Childhood Education. Her dedication to the field of education has resulted in initiatives across the country to professionalize and incentivize the field of early childhood education. The Anita Zucker Scholarship for Jewish Early Childhood Education makes it possible for undergraduate students who are interested in early childhood education to become professionals without financial hardship, and it will lead the way in transforming the status of Jewish early childhood education. 

We are thrilled to greet five exceptional young future Jewish early childhood educators to Stern College for Women this Fall 2023. Through the SCW educator preparation program’s rigorous course work, high quality clinical experiences, and personalized mentoring, the Zucker scholars are poised to impact the field of Jewish early childhood education. Read below to learn a little more about their backgrounds and commitment to Jewish early childhood education.  

Aviv Amar 

Aviv Amar graduated as Co-Salutatorian of Yeshiva University High School for Girls and then continued her studies at Beit Midrash for Women - Migdal Oz in Israel. Aviv spent three years tutoring underserved youth, volunteering her time to teach general education to early childhood aged children. She has also worked in early childcare for over six years at a nursery summer camp and Sunday groups at a local shul for a few years. Aviv hopes to use this opportunity as a member of the first cohort of Anita Zucker Scholars to gain the tools to teach, inspire, and motivate the next generation of Yeshiva students in their Yiddishkeit early on, and to guide young children in the process of creating a meaningful, long lasting, and unwavering connection with Hashem that will carry them through as they grow and develop.  

Eshrat Botach    

Born and raised in Los Angeles, as the youngest of seven children, Eshrat Botach grew up in a religious Jewish household, attending an Orthodox school. She moved to Las Vegas with her family at the age of thirteen, integrating into a more secular Jewish day school. Having always been interested in early childhood education, Eshrat realized the importance of instilling Jewish values at a young age. Working at the Friendship Circle of Las Vegas only furthered her passion. Eshrat is excited to study Early Childhood Jewish Education at Yeshiva University, Stern College for Women in Manhattan, with the intention of pursuing a career in teaching. She looks forward to the next three years of study and beginning her journey into furthering her own passion for educating the next generation.  

Anina Brody 

Anina Jasper-Brody grew up in Riverdale,NY. She attended SAR Academy and SAR High School and was the leader and founder of the Chai Lifeline club. Following high school, Anina attended Midreshet Harova, in the Old City of Jerusalem, where she learned Torah and fostered close relationships with her teachers and Rabbis. From a young age, Anina admired her teachers and the personal care and devotion that each of them showed her. She took this appreciation and began to channel it into the desire to provide similar service and become a teacher herself. During summers, Anina works as a counselor at Camp Moshava Indian Orchard. In her free time, Anina loves learning Torah specifically and reading Mussar sefarim. Anina lives in Riverdale, NY with her mother and twin brother.  

Elianna Goldman 

Elianna Goldman grew up in Houston, Texas. After graduating from Torah Girls Academy, she spent the year in Israel at Midreshet Tehilla. Elianna's work with children began at a young age when she started working as a counselor for her shul's youth group. Since then, she has worked with children in various capacities such as Hebrew school teacher, nanny, and camp counselor. She has also volunteered for many years with a local kiruv Shul. These experiences have fueled Elianna's desire to go into education in the hopes that she can one day have a positive impact on every child that walks into her classroom. Elianna is grateful to have the opportunity that the Anita Zucker Early Childhood Scholarship has provided.   

Sivan Kahlon 

Sivan Kahlon is a sophomore who grew up in Philadelphia, PA. She attended a wide range of Jewish day schools from a Beis Yaakov elementary school, to a pluralistic high school called Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy in 2018. Sivan has worked at a Chabad summer day camp named Camp Gan Izzy for the past six summers. She is also a volunteer program coordinator for children at her synagogue and a substitute teacher at the Sephardic Academy of Manhattan. After attending four different schools growing up, Sivan has learned the value of having a good teacher and what it can do for a student trying to assimilate into a new school environment. After having multiple teachers spark her confidence in an academic setting that she lacked for many years, Sivan realized that she wanted to leave children with that same confidence that she felt. A teacher's impact on a child lasts a lifetime, and Sivan wants to foster a positive setting in her  classroom that celebrates a child's strengths rather than focusing only on where they struggle. 

Rebecca Max

Rebecca (Becca) Max grew up in Teaneck, NJ, and graduated from SAR High School in 2022. Following high school, she attended seminary at Tiferet. Becca has worked with children at Camp HASC, SAR Academy’s Early Learning Center and The Manhattan Children's Center. She really appreciated the mentoring she received from the cooperating teachers who took the time to explain their pedagogical techniques and insights. An accomplished gymnast and gymnastics coach, Becca was able to recognize that not every child masters skills in the same way, and it is this subtlety that characterizes effective teaching and learning across all fields. She aspires to a career in Early Childhood Education, particularly to pursue ways to enable children with different needs to benefit from a more inclusive Jewish education.  

Carly Sorscher 

Carly Sorscher is from Chicago, Illinois. She attended Ida Crown Jewish Academy for high school and is currently studying in Israel in Tiferet. Throughout high school, she led the youth groups at her shul and spent the summers working at a local Jewish day camp. She served as the president of Yachad for Yachad Chicago during her senior year of high school. Carly was also highly involved in planning ICJA Takes The Stage and Ida Crown Girls Club, both of which were started by the school to encourage women’s self-growth and leadership skills. All of these experiences helped pave the way for her decision to major in Jewish Early Childhood Education and she is looking forward to beginning her journey of becoming an Early Childhood Jewish educator through the Anita Zucker Early Childhood Scholarship.