By Sheri Rodman

The new academic year is off to a lively start at Hillel at VCU!

While most undergraduate students were away for the summer, Hillel’s work continued with VCU’s medical and dental students. 

Our team spent the summer building relationships with graduate students and creating opportunities for them to connect, including a student-hosted Shabbat dinner earlier this month. 

We’re excited to continue finding new ways to meet these busy students where they are throughout the year.

New Springboard Fellow

We were also thrilled to welcome Daniel Valitt to our team as our new Springboard Fellow and Student Engagement Coordinator. A recent graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder, Daniel has jumped right into life at VCU and is already busy meeting students, building relationships, and helping us create a strong start to the semester.

Welcome Week

Welcome Week began with our student board leadership retreat at Byrd Park, where Daniel, Kalya Seabolt, our Director of Student Engagement, and our student leaders spent the day getting to know one another, thinking about the year ahead, and strengthening their vision for Jewish life on campus. 

From there, things only got busier! We welcomed students with cold drinks and treats during move-in and the first days of classes, followed by a packed first Bagel Break and a joyful Welcome Back Shabbat dinner.

And there is plenty more to come. This year, we’re launching Nosh & Know, a new lunch-and-learn series in partnership with Temple Beth-El and VCU’s Department of History. Each session will explore a big question through Jewish learning, conversation, and, of course, a little food. Our first question: Is God Real?

Chai Five

We are also excited to introduce Chai Five, a new cohort experience designed especially for first-year and transfer students. Through community-building, leadership development, and shared experiences, Chai Five will help students build relationships and find their place within Hillel and the broader Jewish community.

It’s already shaping up to be a full and exciting year, and we can’t wait to see what the semester brings!