This October, Michigan Region held its first Regional Shabbaton in downtown Ann Arbor on the University of Michigan Campus. For Friday night Shabbat, we attended services at Hillel and were joined by some of the alumni who attend the University. I sat down with some members of the BBYO graduating class of 2019 to get the scoop on Jewish life on campus and learn about how BBYO continues to influence their life, even outside of High School.

Freshman Ben Moss, majoring in Sport Management at the School of Kinesiology, is enjoying staying active in Judaism in a few ways.“I go to Hillel for Shabbat dinner most Fridays and am part of Michigan's Hillel Jewish Learning Fellowship for freshman and sophomores. We meet on Monday nights for dinner and to read and discuss Jewish texts. I am also getting involved in leadership positions at Hillel such as leading and planning services for Friday nights.” 

Jack Perlmuter, who studies at the Ross School of Business, is using his experience in BBYO to guide him through the process of joining a fraternity. “The fraternity and sorority open house process is very similar to BBYO rush events where you are having lots of conversations with members. Since I have run rush programs for my chapter, I felt confident talking with the older members and being able to keep conversations from getting awkward. BBYO helped me realize I had the ability to talk and connect with other people and be confident in myself.”

When talking to Lizzie Kagan, an engineering student, I asked her for advice she would give to any student starting college in the fall. “My biggest piece of advice would be to keep an open mind about meeting new people and trying new things. Getting the opportunity to start fresh like this is very rare in life, so I would tell any incoming freshman to truly take this time to discover something new about themselves and do something each day (or week) that pushes them a little outside of their comfort zone. BBYO helped me realize that I had the ability to step out of my comfort zone and fully be myself.”