By Talia Subar
When accepted into The Nachshon Project, and after receiving the different opening conference Va’dot, I knew I wanted to be involved in one with programming, and with the opportunity to allow the cohort to bond. To me, the “boats” activity seemed like a perfect fit. After getting my Va’ad assignment, the Va’ad skyped for around an hour and came up with the idea of a “Story Slam,” to have as an ice breaker for the opening conference. A “Story Slam” is when a prompt is given and the group tells stories about that prompt, allowing people to learn about them in a way they may not have had the opportunity to initially. The Va’ad chose our prompt to be “jumping in.” We thought this was fitting because we were all jumping into the Nachshon Project, and Nachshon jumped into the Red Sea during the story of the Exodus. People could tell any stories about them jumping in, both physically and mentally.
As we got closer to the opening conference we learned that due to the weather in Herzliya, we would not be going on the boats, but instead, we would be having the story slam in our hotel. Despite our excitement for the boats, we were eager to have this activity run smoothly, and still be as fun as it would be if it were on the boats.
We presented the activity to the group and fellows began to volunteer, and one by one introduced themselves and their story of them “jumping in” to the group. Stories were shared ranging from fellows going on a trapeze, following their favorite band around, going on a ropes course, and taking on a new leadership position. The fellows were all engaged, and eager to hear about the time their cohort jumped into different activities. I took this time to not only share a story of how I jumped in but also reflect on how I wanted to jump into my semester on the Nachshon Project. This activity allowed me to listen, reflect, and get to know my fellows in a deeper way, from the stories they shared.
The “Story Slam” was an amazing start to the opening conference, and the participation and engagement from the fellows allowed for such a successful activity. I loved being able to be both introspective, and get to know my fellows on a deeper level while doing this activity.
