Thanks to Jewish Studies Travel Grants, undergraduates are able to live abroad, experience other cultures, and learn foreign languages through immersion. This funding is provided by generous community supporters of the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies. Here are this year’s Travel Grant winners, who are all using their grants to live in Israel and study Hebrew. Check back later this year for blog posts by each student about their experiences abroad!

Megan Brumer: My name is Megan Brumer and I am from Bellevue, WA.  I will be a junior next year hoping to major in Computer Science and minor in both Judaic Studies and Marine Biology.  I will be studying abroad at Tel Aviv University in their international school in the fall, and I will use this grant to help me when I am in Israel and traveling around the country.  I am very excited to be able to live and travel in Israel and experience life as a native.

Jenna Mark: I’m a Political Science major and Middle Eastern Studies minor in my third year here from Los Angeles, California. I decided to major in Political Science because I plan on attending law school upon my graduation with an intention to practice some form of international corporate law. I’m going to be studying abroad in Jerusalem at the Hebrew University’s Rothberg International School for a semester studying Hebrew and other cultural studies. I’ve taken a year of Modern Hebrew and have the intention of cultivating and deepening my Hebrew language skills while abroad while simultaneously experiencing Israel first-hand. I’m very excited to go! I can’t even imagine how this trip is going to change me as a person as well as develop my skills and understanding of culture and language by being immersed. Read Jenna’s blog post, Overturning Expectations in Israel (Jan. 2015).

Gabrielle Natelson: My name is Gabrielle Natelson and I am a Communications Major and Jewish Studies Minor at the University of Washington, and will be starting my senior year next Fall! I grew up in Irvine, CA where I attended Tarbut V’Torah Community Day school for 13 years. It has always been my dream to study abroad and live in Israel for an extended period of time during my young adult life. This travel grant has helped me fulfill that dream and make it into a reality. I have been attending the Rothberg International School at Hebrew University in Jerusalem for the past semester, and it has been an unbelievable experience. Read Gabrielle’s blog post, Experiencing Jerusalem, Living in Israel (Oct. 2014).