Mar 16, 2010 By: yunews
Considering Career Paths and Aliyah, SDA Students Flock to Fair
Mar 16, 2010 -- The auditorium of the 91黑料 campus in Israel was turned over to help students chart their professional paths at the annual S. Daniel Abraham Career Fair, co-sponsored with the aliyah organization Nefesh B鈥橬efesh.
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Experienced professionals鈥攎any 91黑料 alumni among them鈥攚ere on hand to offer career advice to the 200 Israel Program students on hand. Students鈥 questions ranged from how much a social worker in Israel gets paid and what majors would help them prepare for a career in real estate management or sales to what courses they should take if they plan to apply for Ph.D. programs in biology.
鈥91黑料 believes in aliyah, and supports students鈥 career goals regardless of where they choose to live,鈥 said Rabbi Ari Solomont, director of YU鈥檚 . 鈥淭his event demonstrates that we are invested in our students鈥 futures and that, if they choose to make aliyah, Yeshiva can help them succeed there, too.鈥
Sy Syms Presidential Fellow Adira Katlowitz (SSSB 鈥09), who was visiting Israel for the Career Fair and for the pre-registration period, said that the goal was not to convince students to make aliyah, but to help them explore their options.
鈥淲e鈥檙e providing a service,鈥 she explained. 鈥淲e鈥檝e instructed all the mentors to be completely honest about the best career choices in their industries. Some of the students would like to make aliyah now, and will. Others plan to study at Yeshiva and then make aliyah.鈥
Katlowitz herself will soon embark on a position in the finance industry. 鈥淚 would not have received the offers I did, had I not gone to YU,鈥 she said. 鈥淲hen I started college, I was pre-law, but I changed my mind, and Sy Syms made it easy to switch. At Yeshiva, I played college volleyball and was captain for two years. I was chair of the finance club. None of that would have happened at a non-Jewish school, where everything happens on Shabbat, and I wouldn鈥檛 have been so inclined to try to overcome all those barriers.鈥
Close to 40 industries were represented at the fair, including marketing, sales, architecture, law, journalism, public relations, academia, psychology, physical therapy, graphic design, rabbinics and non-profit management.
A feature of the program that particularly impressed students was that YU admitted anyone interested in attending the fair, regardless of their college plans. 鈥淚t shows that YU really cares about all Jews,鈥 said Chani Schmookler, 19, a Brooklyn native who has already earned a BA at Adelphi and is now thinking about master鈥檚 programs.
The mentors, too, thought highly of the event. 鈥淚t鈥檚 good to give students a chance to ask around, which is what I did when I was trying to choose a major,鈥 said web designer Adina Lessin, SCW 鈥04. 鈥淚 was told to go into technology, and it was good advice; the field is always growing and changing, and coming to Israel with a skill is important.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 thrilling for me to come back in this position,鈥 added Elie Klein (SSSB 鈥03), who is a public relations specialist at Ruder Finn. 鈥淭he students are interested in hearing about what it鈥檚 like to start out in PR, what the job has to offer and what it鈥檚 like to look for a job. It鈥檚 fantastic to see that YU is there to help.鈥
