Lily Rosencrantz graduated with a double degree in Jewish Studies and human centered design and engineering. Highlights of her time at the UW included studying abroad at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and University College London, and participating in Hillel UW. Lily looks forward to traveling more, and perhaps pursuing a master’s in interaction design at University College London.

• “What I learned from majoring in Jewish Studies and studying abroad in Israel and London” (2020)

Jeremy Voss majored in Jewish studies, computer science and Near Eastern language and civilization. In his time at the UW, Jeremy was involved with J Street and the Anti-Semitism Student Working Group. In addition to working as a software engineer at Amazon, Jeremy’s next steps include involvement with political organizing.

Grace Elizabeth C. Dy majored in biology and comparative religion and minored in education, learning, and societies as well as Jewish studies. Grace had the opportunity to travel a lot during their time at the UW, from studying immigration issues at the US-Mexico border to exploring Israel-Palestine to learn about the conflict. This summer Grace will study Hebrew through Middlebury College with the support of a Stroum Center opportunity grant. After that, Grace hope to work in the intersection of scientific and religious literacy or education, and/or counseling and advising work. Grace was the recipient of the Stroum Center’s inaugural Outstanding Student in Jewish Studies award.

• Senior Grace Dy wins the Stroum Center’s first-ever Outstanding Student Award (2020)

Gabriel Epstein majored in political science with a focus in international security and minored in Jewish studies. During his time at the UW, he participated in the University of Washington and Washington State’s Model UN. His next steps include attending Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies for an M.A., with a concentration in Middle East Studies, for which his Hebrew studies will definitely come in handy.

Jacqueline Goodrich graduated with a history degree and minored in both Jewish studies and diversity. Jacqueline is a member of the Phi Sigma Pi National Honor Fraternity. During her time at the UW, she studied abroad in Germany, where she took a number of courses in Jewish Studies. Jacqui received the Excellence in Scholarship Holocaust Paper Prize in 2019. She is currently searching for a clinical research position and plans to apply to medical school.

• “Jacqueline Goodrich wins 2019 Excellence in Scholarship Holocaust Paper Prize award” (2017)

Ellen Perleberg majored in linguistics and Near Eastern languages and civilization, and minored in Spanish and Jewish Studies. During her time at the UW, Ellen took both intensive Hebrew and Intensive Arabic, and participated in the Meza de Ladino (Ladino Study Table). Notably, Ellen received the Excellence in Scholarship Holocaust Paper Prize in her first year at the UW. Her next steps include earning a library science master’s and working in public libraries. More immediately, Ellen will be taking Ladino this summer at the University of Washington.

• “Feministing language, feministing learning: Rethinking language and gender by learning Hebrew” (2017)
• “Ellen Perleberg wins 2018 Excellence in Scholarship Holocaust Paper Prize” (2017)

Nicole Pinkus majored in education, communities and organizations, and minored in Jewish studies and diversity. Nicole served as a leader at Hillel and was a First-year Interest Group leader at the UW. Next fall, Nicole will attend STEP, the Stanford Teacher Education Program.

Luna Puig majored in anthropology and history, and minored in Jewish studies. Her highlight of being at the UW has been developing connections with faculty and staff members, many in Jewish Studies, who have helped her grow both as an individual and as a scholar.

Kendra Berry majored in Germanics and has a strong interest in Yiddish studies. With funding from the Stroum Center, she attended the International Summer Seminar in Yiddish Language and Culture in Warsaw. She will be studying Yiddish again online this summer through the Workers Circle, with support from a Stroum Center opportunity grant.

• “Using Yiddish to fight the “othering” of Jews in Poland” (2017)
• VIDEO: Kendra reflects on her experiences with the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies (2017)

Marissa Gaston majored in political science and minored in classical studies. She studied abroad at Ben Gurion University for an year, supported in part by opportunity grants. Marissa, who served as a Political Economy and Public Affairs intern at the US Embassy to the Holy See in Rome last winter, was recently selected by the John Jay Institute in Pennsylvania as one of their eight incoming fellows.

• “Finding the courage to begin: Reflecting on challenges and growth in Israel” (2017)
• “What a year in Israel taught me about community” (2017)

Regan Miedma majored in political science. After taking a course on the Economics of Religion for her major, she decided to take Jewish Studies courses, which really lit a fire in her. After moving to Austin and finding a campaign to throw herself into, she hopes to go back to school to study religion at the graduate level.

Alexander Peterson majored in economics and minored in statistics. While taking ulpan language study courses at Tel Aviv University, supported by an opportunity grant, Alex researched the intersection of Hebrew and political identity in Israel, supervised by Professor Naomi Sokoloff. Alex served as a member of the ASUW Senate and in that capacity helped organize the Anti-Semitism student working group. His next steps most likely include obtaining an M.A. in Security and Diplomacy at Tel Aviv University before applying to law school.

• “Six weeks in Israel taught me why it’s so important to learn another language” (2017)
• “Celebrating Hebrew at the University of Washington” (2017)
• “Alex’s award-winning video about “Hebrew is like…”” (2017)

Megan K. Scott majored in history and took many courses related to the Holocaust during her time at the UW. Among her highlights were Christopher Browning’s course on Nazi Germany and the Holocaust, and participating in the Stroum Center’s student visit to the Holocaust Center for Humanity. This coming fall, Megan will attend the Royal Holloway University of London to pursue a Masters Program in Holocaust studies.

Sarah Rose Shuer majored in international studies with a focus on European studies, and minored in education, learning and society. Sarah Rose received a Stroum Center opportunity grant to study at Tel Aviv University. She is eager to travel again so she can continue to push herself outside of her comfort zone as she was able to during her time as an undergrad at the UW.

Haley Talyor-Manning majored in Finnish, Scandinavian studies, and Russian language and literature. She participated in many Jewish Studies events and courses, most notably those featuring Russian-Jewish literature. Haley is considering graduate studies in Russian.

Bret Windhauser graduated with an M.A. degree from the Department of Near Eastern Cultures and Civilization this spring. Bret held the Mickey Sreebny Memorial Fellowship in Jewish Studies and was a recipient of the Israel Studies graduate grant as well as an opportunity grant for his research on black market trade between Israel and the Palestinian Territories.

• “The good goods: Smuggling between Israel and the Palestinian Territories” (2019)

Derek Wiebke graduated with an M.A. degree in Germanics this spring, and has been accepted to the Ph.D. program in Germanics at Yale University. Derek held the Max Sarason Fellowship in 2020-2021.

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⇒ Learn more about the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Washington, our Sephardic Studies Program, or our Israel Studies Program.