UNC-Chapel Hill & Duke University
Ramah in the Poconos
Allentown, PA

Sam Zahn is a third-year Robertson Scholar studying History and Political Science at UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University. Sam serves as the president of the Chabad Student Group at UNC-Chapel Hill and as president of the Moot Court team at Duke. Sam is also the creator of Confronting Antisemitism, UNC's first course dedicated to examining historical and contemporary manifestations of antisemitism. 

University of Kansas
URJ OSRUI
Overland Park, KS

Sarah is from Overland Park, Kansas and is currently a junior at the University of Kansas (Rock Chalk!). While there, Sarah is studying secondary education with an emphasis in English. She is also the educator and medic for the KU Rock Climbing Club. In addition to her KU based studies and activities, Sarah also currently teaches online Hebrew School for youth at Temple B'nai Israel in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Most summers Sarah can be found working at URJ Camp OSRUI, a camp she attended for many years as a camper and now enjoys even more so as a counselor. Sarah loves interacting with nature, other people, and above all else, Judaism. She is thrilled to be part of The Nachshon Project family.  

American University
Ramah in California
Los Angeles, CA

Shayna Goldstein is optimistic, outgoing, and passionate about Jewish education. Shayna is from Los Angeles, California (more specifically Valley Village), and attended Jewish day school from K-12. Shayna is currently a Junior at American University in Washington, DC where she is double majoring in Elementary Education and Jewish Studies. She has served as a counselor at Camp Ramah in California for three summers, and will be back at camp this summer for her fourth year. In 2019, she was chosen for the Maslul fellowship by National Ramah where she traveled to Argentina to volunteer at Jewish summer camps. She has also attended National Ramah’s Bert B. Weinstein Winter Leadership Training Conference three times. When she’s in DC, she works as a Hebrew School teacher at Congregation B’nai Tzedek in Potomac, Maryland. This year, Shayna is taking on an internship with Congregation B’nai Tzedek in which she will be working with all different age groups and writing Jewish studies-based curriculum. On campus, Shayna served as a Peer Facilitator for a Freshman course called “American University Experience 1 and 2.” In addition to that, she served as an Engagement and Entrepreneurship Intern with American University’s Hille. In the future, Shayna would like to work as a teacher in Jewish education either working as a Jewish Studies or general education teacher for the lower elementary grades. She’s excited to see where life will take her and is open to trying new things and taking on new challenges. Shayna can’t wait to see how much the Nachshon Project will help her grow into a Jewish professional, and is ready to take on this new experience. 

University of Maryland
Moshava Alevy
Seattle, WA

Shlomit is a junior at the University of Maryland Honors College, studying Information Science with a History minor. She grew up in Seattle, WA where she is a proud graduate of the Seattle Hebrew Academy and Northwest Yeshiva High School. Prior to beginning college, Shlomit attended Midreshet Torah V’Avodah, a seminary in Jerusalem, Israel. During her gap year, she continued to cultivate her deep love of Israel, the Jewish people, and all things Yiddishkeit! On campus, she is an active member of the Orthodox Jewish community, Kedma, and has served on the National Hillel Basketball Tournament board for three years. Shlomit is excited to hone her leadership skills and strengthen her commitment to the Jewish community during her semester on Nachshon.

Muhlenberg College
Ramah Day Camp in Nyack
Stamford, CT

Simone is from Stamford, Connecticut, and attends Muhlenberg College, where she studies Psychology and is pursuing a teaching certification in elementary education. Growing up, she attended Bi-Cultural Hebrew Academy and then Abraham Joshua Heschel School and led weekly shabbat youth groups at her Shul. Prior to beginning college, Simone took a gap year on the Nativ College Leadership Program in Israel, during which time she decided she wanted to become a teacher after spending 4 months teaching English at a local school in Haifa. On campus, she is heavily involved in Hillel, having served as a board member and as President.

Simone has been working at Ramah Day Camp in Nyack since 2015, most recently as a Sgan Rosh Edah. This past summer, she had the privilege of being a Gateway Fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute. Simone continued her work with Hartman this past fall as a Campus Programs Intern, where she helped develop prototypes for programs that can better meet the needs for college students in the age of COVID-19. In the future, Simone hopes to attain her masters in Special Education and is looking forward to all she will learn as a Nachshon Project fellow.

Barnard College & JTS
CYJ Texas/Camp Ramah in Wisconsin
Dallas, TX

Sophia is a junior at Barnard College and the Jewish Theological Seminary, studying sociology, psychology, and Talmud. On campus, she is involved in Columbia/Barnard Hillel and Camp Kesem. She has worked at both Camp Young Judaea Texas and Camp Ramah in Wisconsin. Presently, Sophia interns for the Jewish Camp @ Home project, a collaboration between the Foundation for Jewish Camp and Mosaic United. Sophia is from Dallas, Texas and is a proud product of local Jewish day schools and BBYO. She looks forward to a future as a Jewish educator. 

Yeshiva University
Camp Stone
West Bloomfield, MI

Tal was born and raised in West Bloomfield, Michigan, where he attended Farber Hebrew Day School-Yeshivat Akiva. Tal currently studies Business Intelligence & Marketing Analytics at Yeshiva University in New York. In high school, Tal became involved with Bnei Akiva where he developed his passion for religious Zionism and took on leadership roles, eventually becoming Mazkir Galil (Chapter President). Following high school, Tal spent two years at Yeshivat Har Etzion in Alon Shvut, Israel, where he found his love for Torah and learning. Tal has spent the last 12 summers at Camp Stone, where he was first a camper, and has worked on the educational staff, as a counselor, and a Rosh Eidah (Divison Head). He will be returning this summer. Tal would like to work for a Jewish non-profit, where he can contribute to the Jewish people and the State of Israel.

University of Nebraska
Omaha, NE

Tristan is a junior at the University of Nebraska majoring in History and Religious Studies, minoring in Spanish. He was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska. Originally, Tristan grew up with relatively no knowledge of Judaism or connection to the Jewish people. He is a patrilineal Jew who was raised Catholic, but decided to explore Judaism in high school. He became active in USY on both a local and regional level. In USY, he received international awards in Religious Education programming. After high school, Tristan knew he wanted to become a rabbi. Currently, he is the President of J-Connect Nebraska, an organization which he co-founded, that seeks to provide for the spiritual and communal needs of college-aged Jews. In his time at Nebraska, he has been involved in various multicultural and interfaith projects, representing the Jewish community. Recently, Tristan has presented a dissertation at the Schwalb Center for Israel and Judaic Studies titled Zionism for Generation Z: Drawing from Jewish Ethics. He is passionate about fighting for the inclusivity of patrilineal Jews and other Jews by choice. Lastly, Tristan volunteers as a staff member at Launch Leadership and the Autism Society of Nebraska.

Washington University in St. Louis
Westchester, NY

Zachary is from Westchester, NY. He attends WashU, where he is a junior majoring in Psychological & Brain Sciences with minors in Marketing and Design. He is involved in the Chabad Student Association, serving as the Holocaust Memorial Chair and Israel Chair. He also holds a seat WashU’s Holocaust Memorial Lecture Committee. He has been an Emerson Fellow for StandWithUs, a Ronald S. Lauder Fellow for the World Jewish Congress, and a Digital Ambassador for ISRAEL 21c. He has also participated in Chabad’s Sinai Scholars Program, Hillel’s Jewish Learning Fellowship, and the Jewish Federation of North America’s Changemakers Fellowship. Beyond the Jewish community, he is involved on campus as a research assistant in the Consumer Behavior & Decision Science Lab, a tour guide and interviewer for the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, and a business organization

Washington University in St. Louis
Camp Ramah in Wisconsin
St. Louis, MO

Zakai is a junior at Washington University in Saint Louis, majoring in Jewish Studies with a minor in Religion and Politics. Zakai grew up in St. Louis, attending the Solomon Schecter Jewish Day School (now the Saul Mirowitz Jewish Community Scool) through 8th grade. In high school, he was an active member in his local and regional USY chapters and served as VP of Religion/Education at both levels. Zakai has attended Camp Ramah in Wisconsin as both a camper and a counselor during the summers for the past several years. On-campus, he is involved with several Israel advocacy groups and serves as a board member of the Washington University in Saint Louis Hillel Leadership Council. After college, Zakai hopes to attend Rabbinical school.