On January 25th of this year, 2,000 high school students from all over the world traveled to Philadelphia for the Ivy League Model United Nations Conference. The conference was 4 days filled with debates, collaboration, and social events. Although I arrived knowing 30 people, I left knowing at least 100; and this wouldn’t have been possible without the immediate connections I made with fellow Jewish.

During the first night’s social event, I saw a girl wearing an HSI (High School in Israel) sweatshirt. Although I’m not normally one to introduce myself to strangers, knowing that she was most likely Jewish gave me the confidence to approach her and introduce myself. We quickly discovered our imminent bond and were able to find many people whom we knew in common. The pure joy we both felt at seeing another Jewish girl was an unmatched feeling.

The rest of the night, we walked around together and ended up meeting other Jews from many different places, playing Jewish geography along the way. Although we were all in different Model UN committees and our places of origin ranged from New Jersey to Brazil, we effortlessly became friends through our shared culture and similar background experiences, such as Jewish summer camp, youth group, and visits to Israel. We hung out for hours upon hours during the following days, sharing memories and stories, and I’m so honored to now call these people my close friends.

I didn’t go into the conference thinking I would meet many Jews; in fact, the thought hadn’t even crossed my mind. The spontaneity of it all taught me that Jewish connections can happen in new and unexpected ways, and it truly cemented my love for the unique connection I’ll always have with other Jews, and the comfort this connection provides me.