​Blessed (and welcome) is the new year, 
with its fragile hope, it invites us
(with compassion and bravery)
into the whole world around us. 

Blessed is the whole world around us,
(plagued by breath,
boiled winds,
our desire to be “better than” )
the mountains who hold us,
the breeze (blessed are you)
who calls us by our Hebrew names.

Blessed are our Hebrew names,
given for ancestors,
who bore us into this tradition, 
into hope
the size of their sacrifice. 


Blessed is the wind in our chests,
(despite last year,
because of it).
Blessed is being alive.
Blessed is knowing
(the other, the gray)
the Hebrew name of this moment.

Blessed are we,
to breathe that familiar,
ancestral hope
the whole world 
(Blessed are you)
holds for us. 

​Shana tova.

I wrote this poem as I became interested in how blessings are structured. This poem, modeled on the traditional long blessing (matbe'a arokh, or "long formula") tries to work through a ladder of gratitude, moving from what's in front of you, to what surrounds you, to tradition, and ends in awe and appreciation of the divine. I also tried to invoke other traditions in Jewish blessings like making meaning from the everyday, the phrase "Blessed are you," and using a blessing to cultivate awareness. 
Throughout this poem you'll also see many references to breath and wind. One of my favorite concepts in Judaism is the word "ruach" which means wind, breath, and spirit (of God). From extreme weather to a pandemic that attacks the lungs to a racial justice awakening (I can't breathe) - I thought this was an interesting concept to explore this year.
​
Thanks for reading! 
​
- Danielle Buynak Horner, Development Director 

What led you to apply for the Data Development Internship?
"I was a data intern this past year for the BJC and I’m a CS major. Computer science is a really big field right now, so I wanted to use computer science skills and build them up in an organization that I really care about."

What are you working on this summer?
"I’m taking information and data from our engagement system "Heart" and importing it into the donor database system- LGL. I’m looking for trends in data to improve our fundraising efforts. I get to see the BJC outreach and think critically about how it can change based on the data we’re seeing."

Does this internship connect to your academic/professional goals?
"Like I mentioned, I'm a CS major, and it gives me some good hard skills to develop in that field. This [internship] isn’t a whole lot of data science but it definitely is making me think more about data trends in general. All of the COVID maps and graphs and data right now are so cool to me and eventually I want to be able to extract trends and understand it all. It would be even cooler to know how to find accurate and inaccurate trends in data."

What's it like having an internship during COVID?
"It’s been nice to have something productive and structured to do this summer. I’m lucky to have something to do, so many people had their internships and jobs cancelled. It’s not that I love doing everything virtually, but I’m finding a lot of upsides to it."

You've been attending Cohort Learning Sessions with staff, what's something you've learned from one of those sessions that resonates with you?
"I really liked the self-care sheet and I need to look at it more. Being an RA we spent a whole day training on self-care but being in COVID times, I’ve realized how important it really is. Talking about self care and just manifesting your goals and noticing the areas you’re lacking in is really good. It’s been good to have a list of things I can do to address self care. Some of the things on the checklist I had never even considered as self-care but it was interesting to think of them in that way."

What's something you've learned about yourself?
"I think through COVID I’m getting to understand life is short and I should do things I really want to do and advocate for myself. I didn’t have plans for the summer and I just applied for a bunch of things, and then I had a lot going on and I learned how to advocate my needs and take a step back and communicate with different people to be more successful. I'm so glad I've learned to advocate for myself."
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Rena is a rising third year Computer Science & Environmental Science major, analyzing data to help improve the BJC's student engagement and donor outreach. Since coming to UVA, Rena has taken advantage of many Hillel programs including the Jewish Learning Fellowship and the Leadership Development Program. Last year she was the data intern and social events intern for the BJC and also served as a resident advisor for UVA HRL. Rena will be a member of the programming internship cohort this year, where her focus will be on special events. 

What led you to apply for the Development Internship?
"I didn’t know what my summer plans were, and things felt really out of the ordinary because of COVID. I thought it would be a good opportunity to get experience in development and I knew I’d be working with people I like and look up to. I thought it’d be a great time to learn about working in a Jewish space too."

What are you working on this summer?
"We’re creating the digital portion of the annual report. I’ve been interviewing students about their experiences with the BJC. We’re compiling that with highlights and descriptions of events into one digital piece. I’ve been using Piktochart and mapping it all out."

Does this internship connect to your academic/professional goals?
"Yeah! I’m interested in working with a non-profit organization and I find it really fulfilling. I feel like I'm doing something that will really matter to people. I'm learning where to throw in numbers and when to use action words and sticking to a theme. Danielle has been helpful in leading me in the right direction."

What's it like having an internship during COVID?
"It’s definitely different than I expected. This internship has been really flexible and we also do professional development and I get to talk about my academic career and how to use these skills in the future. It’s nice to be in a cohort group and have a chance to our work and collaborate during our weekly meetings."

You've been attending Cohort Learning Sessions with staff, what's something you've learned from one of those sessions that resonates with you?
"I liked the self care one because it made this internship seem like a workplace environment that cared about us as interns and not just what we were producing. Paige’s perfectionist lesson plan showed how well she knows all of us and really hit home. We did an anonymous activity agreeing and disagreeing with certain statements relating to perfectionism. Even though we were all different, we connected through some parts. You know your grades don’t define you, but sometimes you get caught up in it. Paige really knew how to get us to think about our individual selves. "

What's something you've learned or something that has motivated you during this internship?"I feel like this internship has flown by. I guess I’ve been given a space to be a lot more creative in my projects, so I've learned a lot about how I interpret looking at our programs and events. I think maybe working with someone with a different background than me (an actual adult) has been so nice. I don’t just feel like I'm turning things into Danielle, it feels like we’re doing it together."
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Payton is a rising third year helping to create the 2019-2020 BJC annual report. She has a strong commitment to the Jewish community, having been involved in Jewish leadership positions throughout high school and now through Hillel at UVA. Passionate about helping others, Payton is majoring in Global Development Studies with a minor in Psychology and Public Policy & Leadership. Payton is considering applying to law school after college!

What led you to apply for the Leadership Conference Internship?
"I attended the leadership conference the last two years and I was really excited about the idea of taking some ownership over the design and what it would look like for this coming year."

What are you working on this summer?
"I’m utilizing in the BJC’s core values (growth, learning, belonging) to develop new programming at the leadership retreat that I hope will improve cohesion and professional development. I’m also working on a professional development follow-up program. Some of my day to day tasks are schedule building, talking to Paige about ideas and plans, reviewing what we’ve done in years past, working on breakout sessions for the retreat, etc."

Does this internship connect to your academic/professional goals?
"I know that I am doing Teach for America next year, so curriculum building and analyzing what leadership looks like and how it should be taught to students will be useful for sure."

What's it like having an internship during COVID?
"It’s been challenging but also exciting to reimagine the ways that we can safely build community next year. I’ve been thinking about that a lot.” 

You've been attending Cohort Learning Sessions with staff, what's something you've learned from one of those sessions that resonates with you?
"It’s been good to hear from other interns and listen to their strategies for staying involved. I liked the difficult conversations activity we did. Anything Jake does honestly I love. I never had a Rabbi growing up, Jake is like my spiritual guide. He’s MY Rabbi.”

What's something you've learned or something that has motivated you during this internship?
"I’m motivated by the idea of bettering myself and helping other people at the same time. Taking on this internship role, I knew it would be something that helped the BJC but it also helped me build so many hard skills in an area in which I was interested."
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Matt is a rising fourth year working on planning the Leadership Conference that Hillel student interns attend before the start of the year. This year he will serve as the Jewish Leadership Advisory Board Chair, helping to build strong programming and engagement among Jewish students. Matt is a student in the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Next year, he is planning to work for Teach for America!

What led you to apply for the Program Development Internship?
"As an engagement intern I went through the programming process and talked a lot about developing it last year, so when that opportunity came about this summer, it was a chance to make a change in a space that I was excited about. As financial chair for the coming year, having a hand in helping create the programming request form that i'll be reviewing felt important. Also I just wanted to stay involved and connected to Hillel over the summer!

What are you working on this summer?
"Well, it’s broken down into a couple parts. The first is redesigning the programming sheet that students will use to propose ideas for events and activities. We're designing and incorporating a grant proposal process into this form so anyone can propose an idea and request funding for it. Also, i'm hoping to create a programming bank for easy access to ideas and activities for interns to use. Finally we're working on a programming debrief/reflection form that gives interns a chance to assess the results of their events and improve for the future."

Does this internship connect to your academic/professional goals?
"I'm mostly interested professionally in business and financial consulting. But the grant proposal process connects to consulting and being able to work on budgeting and help students practice their budget design skills is huge for me. It’s a way that I can incorporate two of my interests: judaism and finance, into one internship. I also really like programming and coming up with ideas, not a professional interest, more a personal one."

What's it like having an internship during COVID?
"It’s been really grounding to do this internship. When school ended, I had nothing to do and this internship has kept me motivated and kept my brain working. I have something to look forward to, friends to see, it’s really been great."

You've been attending Cohort Learning Sessions with staff, what's something you've learned from one of those sessions that resonates with you?
"I think any professional development is really important as is personal development, you gain so many different perspectives from interacting with a group especially right now.  The cohort learning is an integral part of the internship experience, I met new students even and now we’re all motivating one another and are acting as a team. I've loved asking big questions in the cohort learning and having open conversations about things. I think that being able to incorporate jewish values in a work setting has been so motivating and enriching, it makes the work feel even more important and relatable, it adds another layer."

What's something you've learned or something that has motivated you during this internship?
"Being able to see tangible change motivates me. Each time I work on a project and complete my tasks and see a change happen, it’s huge for me. I love that moment, that feeling of knowing your making positive change."
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Miyah is a rising third year student working on building the program planning and assessment systems that interns will use for the coming year. Passionate about the Jewish community, Miyah loves being part of projects that move the BJC forward and make it a better place for students. This year, she will be the student resident in the Berman Student Center apartment!

What led you to apply for the Curriculum Development Internship?
"I thought it would be a good transition to my role as Lead Engagement Intern for next year and to prepare me for that role. I wanted to use my planning experience to make our internship curriculum for this year more structured."

What are you working on this summer?
"Generally I plan out what the curriculum for the programming and engagement internships will look like. It’s a lot of brainstorming and interviewing past interns to hear about what they liked and didn’t like to help shape our next curriculum. I've been reading a lot about curriculum development and planning. It's been cool to see the consistency among Jewish organizations and connect what I’ve experienced in past organizations to what we're doing."

Does this internship connect to your academic/professional goals?
"There's not a ton of overlap since my academic and professional goals are finance and business oriented. Part of why i’m doing this [internship] is to pursue my Jewish interests and organizational interests. I’m sure [the skills] will come into play down the line, maybe in the part of finance that involves working with clients and not just numbers. I like the analytical and the personal."

What's it like having an internship during COVID?
"I think this is what the future of the world is going to be like. Learning how to be productive in my house, setting consistent routines, holding myself accountable, it’s all going to help me a lot in the long run. 

You've been attending Cohort Learning Sessions with staff, what's something you've learned from one of those sessions that resonates with you?
"First thing that comes to mind is the self-care lesson. I do really well [with self-care] in my head but when I break it into categories [of self-care], I’m not as great. It was interesting to learn about specific areas that I didn’t even realize I needed to address in my life."

What's something you've learned or something that has motivated you during this internship?
"I get motivated when I see other people finding excitement and passion in the Jewish community.
Engaging with first years and seeing them get involved in leadership roles at the end of the year was motivating."
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​Amanda is a rising third year student working on developing the programming and engagement internship curriculums for the coming year. She is working with Assistant Director, Paige to gather data on past internships with the goal of improving the student leadership experience this year. This fall she will begin courses in the McIntire School of Commerce. 

In response to cancelled internships and study abroad programs for this summer, the Brody Jewish Center has developed the first-ever Summer Internship Program, offering students the chance to gain relevant work experience in a non-profit setting from the comfort of their own homes!

A combination of project-based assignments, professional development, and Jewish learning, the Summer Internship provides students with a not-so-typical internship experience. This summer, 7 students are working on projects ranging from data-development to prospective student outreach, all with the common goal of helping to improve and prepare the Brody Jewish Center for the upcoming year.

Over the next few weeks, we'll be posting interviews with each intern, to hear more about the work they're doing, the challenges they're facing, and what they're learning about themselves personally and professionally. 

Check back in on the blog and on our instagram to follow the Summer Internship Program!