Alumni Spotlights

Looking back on her time at Yavneh, Rotem remembers one of her best Yavneh memories was a philanthropy project in seventh grade.“I collected a significant amount of money for the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) – Lone Soldier Program,” she says. “Following the project, I was invited by FIDF’s West Coast Director to attend and participate in their San Francisco gala event.” The experience has had a long-lasting impact and has inspired Rotem to join the IDF next year.

Rotem credits Yavneh with helping to prepare her in various ways. “One of the main things that helped me was the constant work in chavruta, this is a learning technique that is often used at Kehillah as well,” says Rotem.

Most recently, Rotem says she chose to come back to Yavneh and volunteer in Gan as part of her senior internship project. “I have great memories here and wanted to help form those memories for the next generation of learners,” she says. Doing so, Rotem adds, allowed her to spend some more time being a part of the wonderful Yavneh community before heading off to begin her own journey and maybe even a chance to hear her favorite Yavneh song, “One Day” one more time.

She then went on to work as a legislative assistant with the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism prior to completing her law degree at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law. Deeply committed to a life of social action, Emily was thoroughly invested and took on many new endeavors, including launching the Southern Arizona Election Protection project and the law school’s Students for Reproductive Justice chapter.

A cornerstone in her life that shaped who she is both Jewishly and professionally, Emily says, attending Yavneh provided powerful building blocks for her academic and spiritual life.

“I am an ‘On the one hand … on the other hand …’ kind of person because of Yavneh Day School,” she says.
Yavneh helped provide a Jewish lens through which Emily became passionate about learning and Rabbinic debate. “Yavneh taught us the power of critical thinking and the joy of banter,” Emily says. A theme that she certainly carries into her professional life.

Among her best Yavneh memories is her receiving her first siddur. A first-grade milestone, Emily recalls how hard her mother worked to make a beautiful cover.
“I can close my eyes and still see the felt, puff paint, and love, and remember the weight of it in my young hands,” she says. “The sense of responsibility and bondedness to our people I felt when I received my Siddur still comes through me every time I hold one.”

While Emily acknowledges how her family taught her the importance of being a mensch, she says Yavneh made a difference in her life by showing her it was possible to surround oneself with a community of like-minded people.

“Yavneh created a deep sense of menschlichkeit in all of us,” she fondly recalls. “I have always been so proud of and inspired by my fellow Yavneh alums, the work they do and the way we live in the world.”

We were lucky to have Elliana visit Yavneh last school year where she spoke to the students and staff about her time at Yavneh and her experience as a Team USA Ice dancer. She shares, “I am very thankful to my Yavneh family and was so happy that when I came to visit, there were still teachers that remembered me and it felt like I was home. Yavneh helped me get the most well-rounded education, more so than I would have gotten anywhere else.” She remembers being ahead of her class in math when she moved to Washington D.C.

Looking back on Yavneh, Elliana shares that some of her favorite memories were of celebrating Jewish holidays outside with everyone and how one of her teachers would make homemade fudge and share with to the students. When asked what difference Yavneh has made in her life, Elliana says, “The Hebrew that I learned at Yavneh still stays with me and I immensely appreciate the ability of being able to read Hebrew particularly during the holidays.”

Elliana studied Kinesiology at the University of San Francisco and just this week graduated with Honors. She is also the creator of www.womeninathletics.com, where she hopes to make a change in the women in athletics community to instill more incentives for coaches, sports health and mental professionals, officials, and parents to become educated in the fields of strength and conditioning, nutrition, sport psychology, anatomy and physiology.

Currently, she’s applying for Doctor of Physical Therapy program and hopes to work with athletes with an emphasis on concussion prevention and rehabilitation.

“I have had the exciting opportunity to perform for various audiences all over the country,” Sarah says. “My most recent credit for acting is touring the Pacific Northwest with the Traveling Lantern Theatre company.” Earlier this year, Sarah performed on ice in Great America’s WinterFest show. Soon, Sarah will be working at Capital Stage, a professional theater company in Sacramento. Following her time at Yavneh, Sarah went on to Notre Dame High School before attending Marymount Manhattan College, where she earned a BFA in acting.

Beyond Yavneh, Sarah continued learning about social justice and its connection to Judaism. “Yavneh helped me establish my Jewish identity at a young age and encouraged me to engage as well as explore Judaism throughout my crucial years of development.” Sarah says it was these strengths that empowered her throughout her high school and college career, where she once again craved Jewish bonds like those formed at Yavneh.

When it comes to cherished Yavneh memories, Sarah will not soon forget an essay Rabbi Hahn Tapper had assigned her in 8th grade: Who is God to you? Looking back, Sarah admits this assignment challenged her to look at a concept that she had not previously considered on her own. “It was excellent to have an assignment that was never truly a finished product, but something we could continue exploring beyond graduation.” Sarah says this experience has continued to serve as a reminder that we should always explore and question our own beliefs—a lesson that remains among her favorite aspects of Judaism.

Wonderful memories like these have drawn Sarah back to Yavneh to work with students doing distance learning as one of its new Chavurah teachers where she uses her skills in the performing arts to enhance her work with students. “It’s incredibly thrilling to be on the other side of the table helping to engage students.” says Sarah. Asked what difference Yavneh has made in her life, Sarah says Yavneh helped foster great pride in her Jewish identity. “Because of Yavneh, I have been able to root my life in Jewish values such as Tikkun Olam, which I think is particularly necessary in our contemporary society,” she says. “I know with my Yavneh education I am equipped to be persistent in my fight for equality of all persons.”

Shaina’s best Yavneh memories were the yearly trips to places like Yosemite, Washington D.C., and the Marin Headlands. “These trips provided an opportunity to learn outside of the classroom and adopt a new first-hand perspective on the world,” she says. “I enjoyed the active and fun nature the school embraced while intentionally fostering Jewish values. Particularly, Lag B’Omer created a lot of excitement and competition amongst the grade levels.”

After Yavneh, Shaina went on to attend Lincoln High School where she was active in dance, theatre, and varsity cheer. Shaina graduated from Arizona State University with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and most recently graduated cum laude from the University of Western States with a Master of Science in Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine.

Today, Shaina is a Functional Medicine Nutritionist in North Lake Tahoe. Shaina is also putting in hours interning with a nutrition supervision program while working toward her goal to become a Certified Nutrition Specialist (CNS).

Shaina says the curriculum at Yavneh was constantly challenging, exciting and expansive. “Each and every teacher was dedicated to ensuring that the students succeeded,” she adds. “This made the most difference for me, as my learning style, at that point in time, required a more hands-on approach.”

At Yavneh Shaina says it was teachers like Ms. Wadia who encouraged her to think creatively, enabling her to adopt an out-of-the-box style of thinking, which she in-turn she says she uses to help change the lives of her clients. “Most importantly, Yavneh instilled a distinct sense of self-teaching me how to fully embrace who I was and establish important values and morals,” Shaina says. “Compassion was a leading principle I took away from the community at Yavneh, as every staff member guided me from a place of love.”

Shaina is an active member and volunteer of the Slow Food movement. “Yavneh showed me what true community was,” Shaina shares. “This has changed how I participate in my community and show up. Volunteering, giving Tzedakah, being a friend, and speaking up for those who cannot, are values I hold dear because of my experience at Yavneh. In times of need, there is not one person in the Yavneh community who is not willing to help, and that is truly the most special part.”

In the near future, Shaina hopes to write a children’s book on the topic of nutrition.

Back in the US and attending Kehillah Jewish High School, Tamar was reunited with many of her childhood friends from Yavneh. Tamar says her best Yavneh memory is making “stone soup” on Fridays with Morah Shula and the other kindergarten class. Tamar also looks back fondly on the ritual aspect of her education at Yavneh. “I loved helping to lead prayers and volunteering to sing them during Tefillah,” she says. “Yavneh is where I realized that I wanted to be a cantor. Yes, when I was like, 6 years old!” A recent graduate from University of Washington with a BA with honors in English Literature, Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa, Tamar plans on going to cantorial school within the next few years after working at Koret Foundation. “Having the solid foundation of Jewish education that Yavneh gave me has really influenced everything that I’ve chosen to do as an adult,” says Tamar.

“From being the Jewish Life and Learning Chair at my university’s Hillel, to working in Jewish Philanthropy, to wanting to become a Jewish faith and song leader.” Jewish education Tamar discovered at Yavneh and the education that followed made clear the direction she was headed and the lifelong bonds she would build. “The friends that I made at Yavneh when I was five years old are my best friends to this day, and our friendships have made it through different continents,” adds Tamar.

Nora’s has many great memories at Yavneh, but one she holds dearest took place during field day. “I thought [it] was awesome because I got to lead a group of kids from the younger grades through the day’s activities,” Nora says of a nurturing behavior that continues to be modeled by older Yavneh students.

“The school was so small back then everyone knew each other very well,” she adds. “I’m still friends with people who were in all sorts of different grades.”

Like the many students who follow in Nora’s footsteps, she has warm memories of music and now she’s had the gift of sharing some of those memories with her son.
“It just came back to me.” says Nora about a song her son is just now learning in Hebrew School. “We’ve been singing it in the car Im ein a-ni li mi li.”

Nora was fortunate to have her dad with her on campus, too. “My dad (William “Bill” Menkin) taught music and most of the other grades at one point or another at Yavneh.”

Nora says the tight relationships she formed with students and teachers at Yavneh helped her go out into the world with confidence. “It made me very comfortable in middle school and high school treating teachers like people and even developed friendships with some that have lasted till today,” she says. “While it was a bit of a cultural shock to go into a larger middle school, I had a solid foundation at served me well through the rest of my school years.”

A recent opportunity to return to the campus filled Nora with joy, “I’m so proud of Yavneh’s growth and position in the Bay Area community.”

While attending Yavneh, Shira fondly recalls listening to Mrs. Pensler’s stories at recess, and singing along with Morah Angela to One Day, her favorite Yavneh song.

Describing her Yavneh experience, Shira notes that “Yavneh not only prepared me academically for high school, but it also allowed me to go into high school feeling confident that I could succeed, no matter what life threw at me.”

Indeed, Yavneh science teacher David Oliver got upper grader Shira interested in science as a field of study, and ultimately, a career. “Because of Mr. Oliver,” says Shira, “I competed in the county and state science fairs and discovered my passion for psychology.”

As for the future? Shira’s goal after completing her undergraduate studies is to earn her Ph.D. in developmental psychology. Go Shira!

Warm educational memories like these inspired her to help others in the community, too. While at Kehillah Jewish High School, Michelle started a club where student volunteers worked at an East Palo Alto charter school, helping students with math or reading. “I also volunteered for Friendship Circle for a few years and became a board member to help develop the events,” Michelle adds. While in college, Michelle continued her work as a volunteer with Troy Camp, an organization serving school districts in Los Angeles. Active in Jewish life at USC, Michelle did a lot of Israel advocacy work including participating in Birthright, a summer internship in Israel, and helping guide the creation of the Jewish leadership board at Hillel as part of the Greek community life on campus.

Because her Yavneh experience was an integral part of her development, Michelle sought out events and activities that created the same feeling of community. “Yavneh is a true community and one that I have always looked to find over and over again in my life; a place where I can truly feel at home.”

Having created fond lifelong memories and friendships, Carmel attributes much of her success to those early years. Since attending Yavneh, Carmel is glad to have been able to work at great Bay Area companies including Tesla and Palantir. She also worked at the APJCC camp for a few summers, and then for two years at Yavneh’s Hamoadon program. Carmel is proud to say she can still read, write, and speak Hebrew and looks back with nostalgia on many Yavneh experiences. “I loved our Shabbat services in the old wood amphitheater with friends (before it was remodeled) and playing with our Tamagotchis,” she says.

Yavneh helped Carmel in ways she didn’t realize at the time. Educationally and emotionally, her Yavneh experiences were pivotal to her success. This includes the top-tier education as well as the interpersonal relationships she experienced. “Allowing myself to just be me and be accepted for it, having great friends that have supported me, a great Jewish community that always has my back,” she says. “I feel like I’m a part of something.” Carmel says Yavneh made a big difference in her life. “I had the most incredible teachers.”

Last year, during her junior year at Purdue, Hannah was fortunate to land a one-year transfer program at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. “Through this program, I earned an associate’s in Fashion Business Management while also interning at Derek Lam International—a luxury designer,” Hannah says.

As a young adult, Hannah looks back fondly on her experiences at Yavneh. “ I loved all of the field trips we took, especially the Gold Rush field trip Mrs. Fine took us on in fourth grade,” Hannah says. In addition to the great field trips, Hannah says the advanced academics and small class sizes at Yavneh permitted her to focus on both academics and interpersonal relationships. “Yavneh was very academically advanced while also flexible with my academic needs,” says Hannah. “My class was small, so I got to know each of my teachers very well. This allowed me to feel more comfortable with every teacher I have had since then.”

One of the most impressionable memories Hannah has of the Yavneh is its sense of community. While Hannah was a student at Yavneh, she says her family went through a very traumatic experience and it was the Yavneh family that got her through.“We were very lucky to be a part of the Yavneh community, which embraced us with open arms,” she says. “Countless families helped take care of us, and we never felt alone.” Yavneh fostered meaningful social and cultural experiences for Hannah too. “Yavneh gave me a great insight into my Jewish heritage, and what it means to be a part of a community,” she says. “I am forever grateful that I spent most of my childhood there.”