“When I moved into my dorm freshman year, I came straight to Hillel. At first, college was very strange and new and unsettling, but participating in Havdallah that evening made me feel like I was at camp. I was in a new environment where most of the things I did and saw didn’t remind me of the past, so to experience something that conjured up 8 years of camp memories was greatly appreciated, and from then on I always felt comfortable in Hillel. As a result, Hillel played an outsized role in my social life my freshman year. My sophomore year I co-founded Hillel-o-l [Hillel’s comedy group], and later I ended up on E-board. As Executive Vice President, I felt like there was an imperative for me to do what I could to help the Hillel community grow. Since I was very busy during that time, I learned how to put 100% into many commitments at once. I also had to think a lot more about different communities within Hillel that I wasn't directly involved with, and to consider where they're coming from in terms of their goals and organizational needs. I also learned to balance needs of groups with competing interests, which is something I’d never had to do before on such a large scale. Hillel has been a place where I’ve always felt comfortable, and has been a constant in my life at Brown. Freshman year, I knew my friends from my dorm, my classes and my extracurriculars might all change, but that the Hillel friends I made early on would be the same people I’d be spending time with on Fridays nights for the next four years. Looking back, that's definitely the case. And it’s nice to look in the other direction as well and see that these friendships will continue beyond Brown, which is really special. Hillel has served many religious functions for me as well, and has provided for nearly all of my Jewish needs throughout my time at Brown. I also appreciated the Providence Jewish community members who have had me over to eat or learn, as they have been big parts of my Jewish experience at Brown as well. Hillel is special to me because it’s the one thing that has always been there for me on campus. I get the same exact feeling inside the building now as I did the first week of freshman year, and I appreciate that to this day. I’ll be sad to say goodbye.”
Next year Alex will be working at Delphix in San Francisco.
Next year Alex will be working at Delphix in San Francisco.