Ramah Nyack Day Camp
University of Maryland
Lincolnshire, IL

Pamela is from Lincolnshire, Illinois. She is a student at the University of Maryland, majoring in Psychology and minoring in Jewish Studies. On campus, Pamela is involved as a tour guide, volunteers at a peer counseling hotline, and works as a teaching assistant in her leadership program. She has also participated in many roles at Maryland Hillel, including leading the Conservative student group. Pamela spends her summers at Camp Ramah in Nyack New York, where she served last summer as S’ganit (assistant unit head) of the middle school unit. Pamela loves being involved in her community and traveling, so she looks forward to an amazing semester in Israel!

Camp Tizmoret Shoshana
Stern College for Women
Monsey, New York

Born in Rochester, Racheli grew up in Monsey, NY, and now attends Stern College of Yeshiva University, where she is double majoring in Music and Psychology. At YU she is a Campus Fellow for Hisoriri, a student-run initiative to service growing synagogues. She plays piano and recorder in the Chamber Ensemble, and is co-president of the Agunah Advocacy Club. After graduating from Ateres Bais Yaakov High School, she had the opportunity to return as an administrative assistant for a year, where in addition to training teachers in new educational technology, she planned and ran student activities, trips and served as the school's musical director and student advisor. Racheli loves teaching music to children of all ages and this past summer she was the head counselor at Tizmoret Shoshana, a small expressive arts camp for girls. What inspires Racheli about Judaism is the way it empowers people. She has watched so many people dedicated to community work give to others, and it has inspired her to want to be a part of that cycle of giving. She hopes The Nachshon Project will provide her with tools and guidance to combine her passions for both formal and informal education, music, and Judaism, and allow her to give back to her community.

Ramah Darom
Columbia University
Cary, NC

Sami is an Urban Studies major at Columbia University. She is the Education Chair of Koach, the Conservative Community branch of Hillel, for whom she organizes lectures and other educational programs. She is also a trip leader in the Columbia Outdoor Orientation Program. Last year she created and ran an alternative spring break trip in Israel for non-Jews. Sami volunteers as a literacy tutor for America Reads. She is also a health educator for the Peer Health Exchange, a peer-health-education group on campus. Sami has gone to Ramah Darom for over 10 years and now serves as the Programming Counselor for the oldest campers.

Ramah Darom
University of Missouri
Burlington, NC

Sarah works on the camping staff and as a bunk counselor at Ramah Darom. She grew up in Burlington, NC and attended the American Hebrew Academy for High School. She also participated in the Alexander Muss Program in Israel. Sarah is double-majoring in Human Development and Religious Studies at University of Missouri. She is Vice President of Religion and Culture at Hillel; she is also active in Chabad, her sorority, and Students Supporting Israel. She teaches at a local Hebrew School.

Beber Camp
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Northbrook, IL

Sari is a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is majoring in Political Science, Reporting and Strategic Communications. Sari is a reporter for WSUM, the Madison student radio station, and she organizes some PR for Cardiac on Campus, an organization that was founded to draw attention to the importance of heart health, especially on college campuses. Last year, she was the president of Badgers for Israel and the AIPAC liaison on campus. She was also was the outreach coordinator for the Madison Israeli Film Festival.

List College/ Columbia University
Camp Ramah in California
Los Angeles, CA

Shachar studies at List College and Columbia. She is majoring in Bible and Human Rights. Shachar is passionate about Jewish social activism. She is an active member of the Columbia/Barnard Hillel, where she founded and leads the Jewish Activist Collective, a progressive activist group combining social justice and Judaism with a focus on domestic policy. Through Hillel she is working on creating a seminar about the history of Jewish communities and their relationship to social activism. Shachar also serves as a teaching assistant for the semester-long Freshman orientation class. In this role she plans and teaches sessions for List College first-years to orient them to college life in their first semester. Last year she was a Resident Advisor.  She was awarded a competitive annual college scholarship from Jewish Federation of Los Angeles and now participates in bi-annual programs to enrich leadership and professional development as a Brawerman Fellow. Shachar spends her summers at Camp Ramah in California, where she has worked on staff for four summers and attended as a campers as well.  

Camp Ramah in the Poconos
List College/ Columbia University
Orefield, PA

Shira is a student at both List College of JTS and Columbia University, double-majoring in Political Science and Talmud and Rabbinics. Shira is the co-president of the Lalakhet Partnership minyan; she serves as the Scholars Chair on the Beit Midrash Committee of Hillel; She is on the Hillel Interfaith Committee; and is active in J Street. She is also in the Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies Fellowship at Columbia. In addition, she is in the Shalhevet Israeli Dance Group. Shira spent this past summer learning at Yeshivat Hadar as a summer Fellow. Growing up, Shira attended Camp Ramah in the Poconos.

Camp Ramah in Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Deerfield, IL

Shira is from Chicago and is currently studying Rehabilitation Psychology at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, where she is also doing a certificate in Jewish Studies. She is on the leadership board of Chabad on campus. Shira loves her job as an enrichment/remediation teacher for first graders at the Beth Israel Center Hebrew School. This past summer Shira was a counselor in the Ruach Ramah program, a counselor for six grade campers, and a Rosh Eidah for family camp at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin. What inspires Shira about Judaism is how open it is for interpretation, and how it allows for people to choose how they want to relate to their religious experience. In the future, Shira would like to have a career working with individuals with disabilities.

Camp Stone
Stern College for Women
Lincolnwood, IL

Sophie is a student at Stern College for Women where she is studying Political Science with a minor in Studio Art. She enjoys spending her summers at Camp Stone; this past summer she served as the Art Director. Sophie is an Ambassador in the Religious Zionists of America Aryeh Fellowship. She is active in Yeshiva University AIPAC and the Student Holocaust Education Group. Integrating both her love of art and politics, Sophie is interested in political cartooning and courtroom sketching. Additionally, she aspires to receive a Masters in Non-Profit Management, as she would like to incorporate this into her professional work.

Ramah in Canada
Emory University
Long Island, NY

Sylvie is from Merrick, New York, and is double majoring in Religion and Media Studies at Emory University. At Emory, Sylvie is the Ima/President of the Emory Bayit; the Vice President of Tap That (a tap dancing club); Publicity Chair of Emory Students for Israel; and part of the Alpha Phi Omega national service fraternity. Sylvie works at Jewish Kids Groups of Atlanta as an assistant teacher during the year, and at Camp Ramah in Canada as a counselor during the summer. Sylvie loves Judaism for the community, the culture, and the traditions that come with it; she especially loves the idea of lifelong learning that pervades Jewish life. She hopes to be a leader in the Jewish community in the future, whether it is through camping, education, social work, or something else.