Summer Update with Hillel Director, Josh Levine

As fall quarter begins at UCSB it's common to greet returning friends with a simple “how was your summer” or “what did you do over summer” and catch up with loved ones you haven’t seen for a few months. They will likely regale you with fun trips and concerts and events they might have done and then the conversation will quickly move on to midterms and what's happening this coming weekend in Isla Vista. However, I’ve always wondered what the staff of Santa Barbara Hillel get up to during the summer, specifically the heart behind the entire operation, Josh (Messiah) Levine.

Josh and I go way back, in fact in small Jewish world fashion he was the director of the Jewish summer camp I grew up going to, Alonim, in Brandeis (Simi Valley), California. We kibitzed for a while catching up as I asked him about what he did during the summer. Little did I know it was his birthday the same day I conducted the interview. (Happy belated birthday Josh!).

Hillel’s and Josh’s summer started out strong in that we gained a new Ezra fellow, Elana Goldberg at the beginning of July. Additionally in July Josh and the team went to a conference at the Northwestern Hillel with 700 other Hillel’s where he says “we were halfway through a 2 year process on rethinking our organization. How best can we serve students?” A recurring theme throughout Josh and Hillel’s summer was reflection on the processes and programs Hillel provides and I hear some exciting things are in the works to streamline and help these programs suit students' needs.

Going from a packed July of onboarding and helping set Elana up for success at Hillel as well as a national conference, Shay Probstein was added to the team at the beginning of August, funnily on her birthday (Happy really belated birthday Shay!). The team got to work on program planning for the prospectives trip which would happen at the beginning of September and additionally began scheduling workshops and learning experiences which would happen throughout the school year. In August the team took the treacherous journey to Simi Valley and experienced the magic of Alonim with other West Coast Hillels. Naturally with all that Jewishness Mayim Bialik appeared and was a part of the conference.

In early September Josh and Shay led the prospectives trip in Israel. The rest of the month before students arrived was a period of adjustment for the new staff members and time spent bonding amongst the quiet rustle of the empty streets of Isla Vista. Josh mentions how each staff member at Hillel has “that kind of innovative, critical eye, hard-working, lets make it great kind of attitude that Hillel needs” which is so apparent in every program Hillel puts on. You can feel the love and care the Hillel staff has for every student that uses their facility and every interaction with them. He and I both share our excitement for what is to come this coming year and how summer was used thoughtfully to set up an intentional and meaningful year for the students of UCSB and the greater Goleta area.

I hope everyone had a wonderful and relaxing summer and an amazing start to your fall quarter.