Life & Legacy notes: Friedel Jewish Academy

Administrator

The Life and Legacy program has given Friedel Jewish Academy – and all of the partner organizations – the opportunity to have conversations with people you wouldn’t think would be working on estate planning just yet: families with young children. Life and Legacy is about providing support to organizations that have been important to your family, in all stages of life. Young families who have made their Life & Legacy commitment understand they can both ensure their children’s future and make a financial commitment in order to make a big impact to the organizations in Jewish Omaha that are near and dear to their family.

My name is Ashton Kay, and I am the summer intern at the Jewish Press. I’m a journalism student at UNO, and I have been writing for a long time. My mother is a writer and an English teacher at Metropolitan Community College. Her father, my grandfather, used to be a high school English teacher. I’ve been surrounded by writers my whole life, so I hope that I’m at least decent at it by now.

I was born in Omaha and

I’ve lived here my whole life. I have a lot of family in Utah around the Salt Lake area, so I’ve always had a second home there. I try to visit them every summer and Thanksgiving, but ever since COVID, Thanksgiving has been here in Omaha. In my free time, I like to spend time with my friends, cook new recipes (and eat them) and I have been teaching myself guitar. I enjoy movies, television, music, video games, or any kind of modern media in between. Don’t ask me what my favorites are because I have a hard enough time deciding, and it’s always changing. Recently I’ve enjoyed the new movie Across the Spider Verse and I’m in the middle of watching the show Shameless. Strangely, despite my love of music and good stories, I don’t like musicals (except for La La Land). I want to share some writing with you, as well as work on improving my skills as a journalist. I hope that I can help you all learn something, and at the same time, I hope that I can learn something from you too. I want to learn more about this community, and I’d like to figure out what it means to work as part of a team in an environment like this. I’m new to the JCC, but it is such a large and intriguing place to get to know. Hopefully during my time here I can familiarize myself with this building, as well as all that goes on inside. I’d also like to meet some new faces, so if you see me around, please say hello.

When I go back to school in the fall it would be great to have some insightful experiences. As a journalism student, learning about news writing and photography is more meaningful when you’ve published a story or a photo. Even further into the future, I’d like to know what I’m getting myself into. What does it mean to be a journalist, and how do you improve? In my time here, I want to bring some creativity you will enjoy, and that will help me become a more seasoned writer. The Jewish Press Internship is made possible through the generosity of the Murray H. and Sharee C. Newman Supporting Foundation.

Above, right and below: Second week of Beth Israel Summer Camp included learning, playing, dancing, hiking, baking and much more!