By Max Hirsch
My first activity with the Nachshon Project (I arrived in Israel late) was a visit to the Waze office in Tel Aviv. I honestly did not know what to expect. My understanding of Nachshon was totally surface level and I was really just overwhelmed with all the new people I was meeting.
At Waze I was immediately enthralled by the presentation. As a resident of the New York City area I use Waze all the time to “outsmart traffic;” little did I know how much more the company does. We learned about the Waze Connected Citizens initiative in which Waze works to help cities. When it was presented to us it seemed like such a natural partnership; Waze shares their traffic data with the cities so that city planners can identify particularly bad traffic areas and in return the cities tell Waze when they close roads for construction. Additionally, Waze helps first responders find the fastest routes they can take to help people in need.
I loved learning about the creative ways (no pun intended) the company uses to improve its product and truly help people. After the session I immeadiatley started to understand a little bit more about Nachshon. The program first and foremost is trying to teach us important life lessons. The lesson I took away from Waze was that it’s important to be innovative and that sometimes you can further your goals by helping others.
