I am a very lucky sophomore. I have a job that most students would love to have.
I am a Peer Network Engagement Intern (PNEI) for the Hillel Foundation at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. My job is to connect Jewish students who are not involved in Hillel or other Jewish life and help them become more active and connected.
PNEI is a pilot-program this academic year, initiated by Hillel International, and is the beginning of Hillel’s push for peer-to-peer engagement.
I, along with two other UW students, traveled to Camp Ramah Darom in Clayton, Georgia, for a five-day program, Hillel’s Engagement Institute, to learn and connect with fellow interns.
In large and small groups, through team-building exercises, outdoor projects and classroom learning, we worked to develop our relationship-building skills and establish goals for the coming year. I will continue to have lasting relationships with the friends I met in Georgia and will maintain these relationships as a resource for this internship.
The goal of this program is to encourage Jewish students to increase their Jewish interactions. The PNEI program is different from Hillel’s other programs promoting student engagement in that its primary goal is to attract students who would otherwise not associate or get involved with organized Jewish life on campus. It seeks to reach students who lie outside the traditional reach of Hillel.
I want Jewish students to feel comfortable expressing their Judaism on campus and to be proud of their Jewish identity. I am excited to broaden my Jewish knowledge by meeting new friends and connecting them to a Jewish experience.
This year I hope to continue to reach other students on campus and make them feel part of the Jewish community here in Madison.
As part of Hillel’s strategic plan to double the number the number of Jewish students having meaningful Jewish experiences on campus, Peer Network interns are now active on more than 30 campuses across the United States.
On this campus, we’re working to involve students in current initiatives like Taglit-Birthright Israel and Alternative Breaks, as well as creating new student-driven involvement opportunities.
For more information on Hillel programming and initiatives at UW-Madison, including Taglit-Birthright Israel, visit us online at www.uwhillel.org.
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