Chapel Hill, NC
URJ Camp Harlam
Miami University of Ohio

Annie Joseph is a junior at Miami University double majoring in Religion and Psychology. Annie serves on the executive board of her improv team Sketched Out Comedy and participates in Jewish organizations on campus such as Hillel, Chabad, and Olami. Annie is an alum of URJ Heller High and URJ Kutz Camp, and has been on staff at URJ Camp Harlam since 2021. She is excited to serve as a Unit Head there this summer.  Annie is excited for her passion for Judaism and Jewish learning to grow thanks to the Nachshon Project this semester, and plans to continue her Jewish education postgrad.

Oak Park, MI
Camp Stone
University of Michigan

Atara is a junior at the University of Michigan, pursuing a degree in Art and Design and Business Entrepreneurship. With a passion for creativity and entrepreneurship, she has been able to combine her interests through her small business, Atarascustomdesigns. Atara sees her artwork as a way to connect with others, create meaning, and educate people about the beauty and richness of Jewish tradition.

Atara spent 9 summers at Camp Stone, where she gained valuable leadership skills and formed lifelong friendships. She also spent a gap year in Israel at Torah V’Avodah where she studied Jewish text and philosophy. Atara is a committed member of the Jewish community at the University of Michigan, where she is heavily involved with Hillel and the Jewish Resource Center. She has also been elected as the National Board Co-President of Yavneh on Campus.

Columbus, OH
Beber Camp
Ohio State University

Coming from Beachwood, Ohio, Elizabeth Metz is studying Business and Art at the Ohio State University, with a minor in Jewish Studies. At school, Elizabeth works as a media intern for the Ohio State Football team and oversees the Black and Jewish Fellowship at Hillel. Elizabeth spends her summers at Beber Camp.

Sacramento, CA
URJ Camp Newman
Franklin University

Ezra Hammel spent two summers on staff at URJ Camp Newman, where he found a love for being a leader in his Jewish community. He is particularly active in work that builds connections between the Jewish community and other minority communities in the US. For example, he is part of the Jewish-Muslim men’s group SalaamShalom, and took part in a potluck series between the Jewish and Black Christian community. Ezra is currently studying International Relations at Franklin University Switzerland. He joined the Nachshon Project out of an interest in exploring Jewish career paths that build bridges between the Jewish communities of North America and Israel.

Birmingham, AL
Ramah Darom
JTS/Columbia University

Julia is a junior in the joint program at Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary. She studies Hebrew Bible and its Interpretation at JTS and she studies Linguistics and Classics at Columbia. She enjoys serving as a gabbai on the board of KOACH, the traditional-egalitarian, conservative-style minyan at the Columbia/Barnard Hillel. She helped start and serves as a co-president of GLOT, the Columbia language and linguistics club and is a member of the Columbia debate team. Julia is currently working on her undergraduate thesis on the use of the pronoun in historical comparative Semitics. She has been a camper and then staff member at Ramah Darom since 2016 and was active in USY in high school. She teaches Hebrew and Tefillah at Temple Beth Israel in Port Washington. Julia is passionate about creating a bright Jewish future and is excited to explore how she can best make that a reality during her semester on Nachshon.

New York, NY
Ramah in the Rockies
Colby College

Martha is a junior at Colby College in Maine studying Middle Eastern Studies and Jewish Studies. On campus she has been heavily involved with Hillel leadership and served as a leadership fellow for the Center for Small Town Jewish Life. In addition to being active in Jewish leadership around Maine, she is also involved with Colby’s outdoor orientation program and leads peers on outdoor excursions on a regular basis. Martha has spent 13 summers at Ramah, most of them at Camp Ramah in the Rockies. During her two years on staff, she has worked with young campers and is passionate about making Jewish and Israel education engaging. Martha is passionate about Jewish learning and community and is excited to be spending a semester in Jerusalem exploring what it means to Jewish.

Woodmere, NY
Camp Stone
Queens College

Nava Yastrab is a junior at CUNY Queens college and is studying Psychology and Philosophy. On campus, Nava has served as president in her college’s OU-JLIC, Gabbaite for her university’s student run Jewish community Nachalah, and as a volunteer with her school's Hillel. Additionally, Nava partook in her Hillel’s Jewish Learning Fellowship where she engaged in intellectual discussion and thought provoking analysis with her peers to better understand major Jewish questions. Furthermore, Nava was an advisor for Midwest NCSY where she planned educational Judaic content to learn with teens over the course of multiple Shabbatonim and encouraged teens to develop their relationships to Judaism. Nava attended Camp Stone for three years and served as Rosh in its experiential education center, the Village, where she immersed campers in hands-on learning and creativity development.

Decatur, GA
Florida State University

Noah studies philosophy and religion at Florida State University, with a focus on Modern Jewish philosophy and post-Shoah thought. Noah is an active member in Congregation Shomrei Torah, Tallahassee’s lay-led traditional egalitarian community. He has also helped lead classes on Jewish thought and practice, is co-chair of J Street U at FSU, and is active at his university’s Hillel. He is passionate about making Jewish life accessible to everyone, and helping to make young Jews feel closer to their texts and tradition.

Plano, TX
Camp Young Judaea-Texas
University of Florida

Rebecca is a Junior at the University of Florida majoring in Criminology and Minoring in Spanish and History. On campus, Rebecca has participated in Israel education and leadership courses provided by Hillel and is currently on the student board for her campus Chabad. Rebecca spends her summer at Camp Young Judaea in Texas. Rebecca’s love for Israel and devotion to strengthening her Jewish identity have made her experience in Nachshon thus far extremely impactful.

Toronto, ON
Camp Stone
York University

Rivka is a third-year Neuroscience major at York University. After graduating from Ulpanat Orot in Toronto, Rivka studied in the Shana ba’Aretz program at Nishmat in Jerusalem. Rivka’s deep love for Judaism and Jewish text study inspired her to dedicate the last 7 summers to various Jewish learning programs and projects, including Beit Midrash Programs run by Drisha, Camp Shoshanim, Moshava IO, and Stone. On campus, Rivka serves on the JLIC and Hillel student executive boards. She is also a President’s Ambassador, representing the voices of York’s students in meetings with top-level university administrators. Rivka is happy to be part of the Nachshon Project and looks forward to building bridges between people.