After graduating from the University of South Carolina, Jenna Rosen was unsure of her exact career direction. She thought she might want to work with children, or to become involved with a Jewish nonprofit organization. She was passionate about diversity. And in the short run, she was certain that she wanted to spend a meaningful amount of time in Israel.
Jenna, 22, found the ideal fit both personally and professionally in Masa Israel Teaching Fellows (MITF), one of the programs offered by Masa Israel Journey. Through the 10-month MITF experience, she currently works in Bat Yam at the Gordon School, where she teaches English.
The Gordon school is located in a low-income neighborhood south of Tel Aviv. For many of the kids who attend the school, English is their third language, after Russian and Hebrew, which at times makes Jenna’s work even more challenging.
“I think for people like me who are considering teaching as a career, the program gives us great experience in classrooms, while helping us see a different side of teaching that might be different than education in the U.S.—but certainly, we can take back lessons we learn from the Israeli educational environment to America,” Jenna says.
Masa Israel Journey is the global leader in long-term experiences in Israel for young Jewish adults from around the world. Since its co-founding in 2004 by The Jewish Agency and the government of Israel, more than 130,000 alumni from over 60 countries (including nearly 12,000 in 2017) have spent 2-12 months “living like a local” through Masa programs, experiencing an authentic, unmediated and challenging journey into Israeli society, its people, culture, politics, economy, land and history. Masa offers top gap-year, study-abroad, volunteer and professional development opportunities to young adults aged 18-30. It provides funding; offers cutting-edge leadership training; and inspires a new generation of connected, committed young Jewish people who walk the world with Israel inside.
The Jewish Agency founded, funds or currently operates various Israel experience programs in cooperation with Masa, including Onward Israel, Israel Tech Challenge, Bac Bleu Blanc for French Jews, and more.. “Given my career interest in potentially pursuing Jewish communal work, it means a lot to me that Masa is linked with The Jewish Agency, one of the world’s best-known and most influential Jewish nonprofits.”
With the goal of advancing Israeli students’ English skills in schools throughout Israel, mainly in underprivileged areas, MITF places dedicated and passionate college graduates like Jenna in those communities.
Growing up in Charlotte, N.C., Jenna was highly active in local Jewish life and continued that community involvement at the University of South Carolina, where she served as president of the school’s Hillel branch for two years and collaborated closely with the Columbia Jewish Federation.
“The Jewish community on campus was small, but vibrant,” Jenna says. “Everyone involved was really eager to contribute however they could.”
Once she graduated, Jenna was eager to expand her cultural horizons, and she found that with Masa in Bat Yam—Israel’s 12th-largest city, located on the Mediterranean Sea just 15 minutes south of Tel Aviv. She has especially enjoyed the Gordon School’s diverse mix of Russian, Arab, and Jewish students.
“Diversity has always been important for me—to think outside my bubble, and to be exposed to new people and new perspectives,” she says.
Beyond the classroom, Jenna has had the opportunity to take part in unique experiences in the broader community like recently touring South Tel Aviv and meeting with a Sudanese refugee who survived the Darfur genocide.
“Meeting this refugee was a really eye opening experience for me,” says Jenna. “It showed me how diverse of a place Israel is and how everybody has their own story. It was really impactful for me to hear this inspiring story of someone who overcame such adversity and is now working on getting his master’s degree.
Jenna lives in Bat Yam with five other roommates from the MITF program; overall, there are about 35 teaching fellows in Bat Yam and 250 across Israel who experience the personal and professional benefits of the program’s vast network. The fellows also have access to monthly leadership seminars; Jenna’s next seminar, to be held in Jerusalem, will cover the landscape of the Jewish Federation system and resume-building skills.
Prior to her Masa program, Jenna had only visited Israel, on a Taglit-Birthright trip. Now, about halfway through her Masa experience, she says, “I feel lucky to be where I’m at, teaching in such a diverse school and being part of such a well-rounded, immersive program in Israel.”
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