for college students by college students ESSAY
Hillel of Metro Detroit students attend the Israeli American Council National Summit.
L’chaim: An Ode to Israel
M
y name is Mary Yousif. I am 22 and am the first generation born in the U.S. to my family. I take on many roles within my daily life and community, whether it be a daughter, student, teaching assistant, volunteer, researcher or, most of all, a proud Israel supporter and advocate. Israel. There is no place that I’ve had as strong Mary Yousif of a connection with jewish@edu than the state of Israel. writer I’m sure many of you are wondering “How did you become connected to Israel? When did it begin? How did you get involved in the community?” Let me begin by telling you about myself. Being Chaldean, I was raised among two cultures: my ethnicity and the land I reside in. Often, I felt that I didn’t fit into either community but rather roamed in-between the two cultures, striving to fulfill the roles of each side. Living in the U.S., we are exposed to a multitude of diversity around us,
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and I made it a goal to make sure that others didn’t feel left out or secluded the way I did. I become a part of the effort to bridge different communities together and take the time to learn about others — their cultures, their language, way of life, values and, most of all, their people. Hence, my decision to pursue my undergraduate studies in Spanish and medicine. I grew up in a pro-Israel family who always praised Israel and proudly advocated its right to exist. Ironically, I knew nothing about the country nor the people, and it wasn’t until my junior year at Wayne State that all that would change. Like many college students, I was involved in all sorts of organizations and held many leadership positions. At the time, I was the vice president of Wayne State’s El Club Hispano and secretary for the Honors Student Association. It was a crazy time, with school, work and extracurriculars. Who thought there would be more hidden along the way? During the fall semester, I received an
email from an organization called Hillel of Metro Detroit. I had never heard of it before, and I was shocked because the email was inviting me to apply for the Maccabee Task Force Fact Finders Trip to Israel. I didn’t know what to expect, and I remember coming home that evening and telling my parents about it. Knowing of my involvement within other minority communities, they encouraged me to apply and learn more about the State of Israel, its people and better understand the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine. Little did I know that I would get accepted and that that trip was the beginning of my journey within this community. AN EYE-OPENING TRIP Fact Finders was such an amazing and eye-opening trip for me! The speakers we had throughout our trip were so influential and furthered my interest in Israel. I wanted to learn about everything — the government, its position on a global scale, and its role in technology and medicine. My knowledge about Israel grew ten times and all the experiences that I had, I cherished. I wrote them down in my journal so I wouldn’t forget the most important time in my life. After the Fact Finders trip, I wanted to stay a part of the community and started participating in Hillel of Metro Detroit events at Wayne State. I attended Café Irvit lessons with Hillel staff, who taught me how to speak, read and write Hebrew. Every minute I had in between classes, I would go to our Hillel and immerse myself within the community I grew fond of. Everything happened so quickly; my involvement in Hillel grew and one thing turned into another. After Fact Finders, I was invited to go to Washington, D.C., to attend the AIPAC Policy Conference, and was even offered a position on the board for Students for Israel. We created so many events. One of my favorites was
