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July 2012 Students

July 1st, 2012

On May 18, the Sam & Helen Stahl Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee celebrated the achievements of students in Jewish and Hebrew studies at UWM.

Prof. Rachel Baum, who coordinates the Jewish Studies major for the Center, said the students give life to the Jewish Studies program, so it was fitting that as of May 18, UWM had 18 students enrolled as Jewish Studies majors and 18 as minors — the number represented by Hebrew letters that spell the word “chai” (life).

April Slabosheski, who graduated this spring, received the Chava Frankfort-Nachmias Award for excellence in Jewish Studies. She will be going to the University of Michigan this fall to pursue a M.A. in Judaic Studies (with full funding). She won the award for best essay last year.

Rebecca Pollak received the Award for Excellence in Jewish Studies. She was graduated from the Honors College with a double major in Jewish Studies and Comparative Literature.

Tad Bollman won the Marden Award for Hebrew Studies. The Jewish Studies faculty chose him for this annual award for his achievement in Hebrew-language courses.

Ira Tick won the Award for Best Essay from the Milwaukee Jewish Community Fund. He is a Jewish Studies major who graduated in December.

The graduating majors also include Jared Thompson and Sarah Nash. At the ceremony, each of the graduating seniors was presented with a book selected for them by the Jewish Studies faculty.

Ari S. Lakritz of Mequon, a pre-medical student at Yeshiva University in New York City, is one of four YU students chosen to participate in the Yeshiva University/Houston Pre-Med Internship Program.

The program consists of four YU pre-med students who will intern at the prestigious University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston for one month, under the direction of Dr. David Fogelman, a faculty member and oncologist.

During the evenings, Shabbats, and weekends, the students will learn Torah and teach adult and youth classes in various Torah and Jewish learning topics within the Houston Jewish community.

Former Milwaukeean Perel Skier received a Master of Fine Arts degree in fiction writing from Sarah Lawrence College on May 18.

She is a 2009 graduate of Yeshiva University. Her thesis project was “a collection of short stories about religion, hard choices, and self-knowledge” titled “Forgive,” according to a release from the college.

The release further states that Skier plans to build a career in writing, publishing, or public relations.