The Jewish Primary Day School

Sarah Stern (JPDS-NC Class of 2003) is currently a Freshman at Bard College. She recently completed an internship with Moment Magazine where she is now blogging about her upcoming summer project leading a summer camp for Palestinian women. To read Sarah's blog go to: momentmagazine.wordpress.com

Oren Hirsch (JPDS-NC Class of 1997) graduated May 2009 from Cornell University with a degree in Urban & Regional Studies. Since his graduation, he has been living in Jerusalem, studying at the Conservative Yeshiva, and doing an internship with the Jerusalem Municipality through the WUJS program.

In his spare time, he created an interactive bus map for the city that works in Google Earth and Google Maps. The map, which can be found online at jlembusmap.com, was written about in the Jerusalem Post. Read the article about Oren to learn more about his work here or visit his Facebook page. Enjoying the outdoor life in Israel, Oren participated in the Hazon Israel Ride, a 300 mile bike ride from Tzfat to Eilat to raise money for environmental awareness and sustainability research in Israel and throughout the world. His ride raised nearly $3,900 for the Arava Institute and Hazon.

Jillian Berman (JPDS-NC Class of 2001) is a junior at the University of Michigan. She has just started as Managing News Editor of The Michigan Daily. Jillian carries the tradition of JPDS-NC leadership in the news following in the footsteps of Gabe Nelson (JPDS-NC Class of 1999) who also served as managing editor of The Michigan Daily.

Send your updates on achievements and milestones to joshua.suchoff@jpds.org and we will include them on our website or on Facebook!

Rachel Brandenburg (JPDS-NC Class of 1992) was part of JPDS-NC's first class of kindergartners. Her journey in education, and in life, has been one of expanding boundaries and seeking knowledge around the globe.

After graduating from JPDS-NC, Rachel attended the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School. She ran competitively with the CESJDS cross-country and track teams, served as Vice President of her class, and worked as an editor of school newspaper, The Lion's Tale.

Rachel attended Tufts University, where she majored in International Relations and Middle Eastern Studies. She continued to run track for Tufts and was active in campus politics, facilitating a weekly Arab-Jewish dialogue group and co-founding a new student organization called the New Initiative for Middle East Peace. This group allowed students to pursue research and travel related to the region. Through her involvement with the Tufts Institute for Global Leadership, Rachel traveled to Israel, the West Bank, Turkey, Cyprus, Iran and the UAE for field research and study.

After college, Rachel worked as an AJC Goldman Fellow at the Transatlantic Institute in Brussels, Belgium, as well as at policy-institutes in DC. She spent a year in Israel on a Fulbright Scholarship during which she studied Arabic and pursued research related to Israeli-Palestinian conflict-resolution initiatives. She lived in Jerusalem and traveled to Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon.

While earning her Masters of Science in Foreign Service at Georgetown University, Rachel complemented her studies with several more experiences abroad. She received a fellowship to study Arabic in Jordan, and traveled to a women's leadership conference in the United Arab Emirates. She worked at the Department of State and as a Teaching Assistant for former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

Currently, Rachel is working as a Middle East Program Specialist at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, DC. In her spare time she serves as co-captain of a recreation-league ultimate Frisbee team that plays rain, shine, or snow!

Rachel was one of only 7 students in her class from Kindergarten through 3rd grade (at that time the school ended after 3rd grade). She enjoyed the small community and close friendships. She credits JPDS-NC with giving her a firm foundation for her education. In particular, she credits her Hebrew teacher, Lea Shiloach, for her continued ability to speak Hebrew in the years after she graduated from JPDS-NC. Rachel’s strongest memories from JPDS-NC include her Kindergarten Newspaper Club with Susan Koss, founding head of school, and time spent helping to set up for the first-ever Purim Ball, which her mom started and chaired for many years.