Sarah Smith Benjamin, 22, DC
Hi, I'm Sarah Smith-Benjamin. I just graduated from Loyola University in Baltimore, Maryland with a degree in Biochemistry. I'm originally from Arlington, Virginia, right next to Washington, D.C. My father is in the military and was a diplomat when I was younger, so I was born in London and lived in Israel for three years in Hertzylia Petuach. I wanted to come back to Israel with RLI so I could enrich and develop my Jewish identity as well as my personal identity before I started the long process of medical school. I wanted to re-immerse myself in different cultures and surround myself with people who have different views and beliefs. My internship here is amazing. I am working in the immunology research department of Hadassah Hospital, dealing with inflammatory responses. We are working to discover the biological mechanisms behind diseases like Crohn's and Graft versus Host disease in people who receive transplants.
David Loving, 27, Dallas
My name is David Loving, and I’m a 27 year old Texan (yes- I own a pair of cowboy boots). After finishing a business degree at SMU in Dallas, I went on a Birthright trip. As soon as I got back home, I knew I needed to find a way to spend more time in Israel. I decided to go on Real Life Israel because it is run by the same people that organized my Birthright trip and I already knew that I could trust them to put together an amazing Israel experience. And they did! I have an amazing internship at the Jerusalem Development Authority where I am working for City Hall to create a new program to encourage the growth of affordable housing. In one month, I have already met the mayor of Jerusalem and other important figures in the city government, the president of Hadassah college, and am scheduled for a meeting at the Prime Minister's office! Now that's a resume-builder!
Coming to Israel is scary for most people, but everyone at Real Life Israel has been really amazing and made all of us feel like family. It's definitely one of the best ways you can spend 5 months in Israel. My time here has been so wonderful that I know I'll be staying much longer, so come join me in Israel!
Jenna Kruger, 27, Boston
My name is Jenna Kruger. I grew up in Framingham, MA with my parents, older sister, and several pet birds! My first passion in life is dance. I have competed nationally and performed internationally with my high school and college dance teams. My second passion is traveling, and I have visited 22 states and 16 countries and counting. I attended The University of New Hampshire and graduated in 2007 with a degree in Kinesiology: Exercise Science. I have been working in cardiology for the past four years doing stress testing, pacemaker clinics, and for the past three years I have been working at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital/ Harvard Vanguard Cardiac Amyloidosis program as clinical research coordinator. I have collaborated on five abstracts published about the disease. In Israel I am interning at Hadassah Medical Center in the Cardiology Department. I am spending time within each of the sub-specialties within cardiology, and I am creating a national database for all of Hadassah’s amyloidosis patients. I visited Israel with Birthright for the first time this past May and realized I needed to spend more time here. I applied to the Real Life Israel program to gain a better understanding of the country and what is actually going on in the Middle East. My main goal is to be able to return to the States and be an informed advocate for Israel.
Nicole Nagler, 22, New York
My name is Nicole, I am 22 and graduated from college in May of 2011. After deciding late in my senior year I no longer wanted to go to law school and wanted to teach I also realized that I wanted more then anything to get back to Israel for more then just my 10 day birthright experience. It was perfect timing when the information about Real Life Israel came along. It offered me the opportunity to spend 5 months in a city I love and gain more experience in the education field all while meeting amazing people and getting to go on great Tiyuls. I am working in Beit Hatzel a special needs high school and have met great people who are eager to learn English from me while I teach them Hebrew. It has been a great two months so far and I am looking forward to enjoying the next 3…maybe more.
Staci Shub, 23, California
Shalom! My name is Staci Shub and I am from Oakland California. I live with my parents, my younger sister, and my two dogs. After finishing my Bachelor of Science in Geology with a focus in Volcanology at Oregon State University I decided to come on Real Life Israel. It sounded like an amazing opportunity, especially after having a great experience on my birthright trip last march.
After completing the acceptance process I was told that I would be interning at the Israeli Geological Survey. This was an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity which I couldn’t miss out on. So far it is great. The survey is a quick walk from our apartments and I was given my own office as well as access to any labs I might need on the premises. I am working on two separate research projects, one of which is studying ancient volcanoes in the Golan Heights and the second is doing research of volcanic events in the Jordan Valley. Everyone working there is incredibly nice and has not given up on trying to teach me scientific terms in Hebrew.
Our Ulpan was something I really enjoyed. Our teacher was very kind, knowledgeable, and knew how to teach to all learning styles. I knew how to read before coming to Israel but I feel I learned a significant amount.
I love being in Israel. I have great roommates and have met a bunch of new friends. Between singing, dancing, day trips in the surrounding areas, overnight trips up north and to the Negev, cooking, and touring, there isn’t much left out. We also saw Idan Raichel in concert and got to hook up with some programs like ours where we met people from all over the world. I enjoy every moment of being here. This program has already changed my life; I might be getting a grant to complete one of my projects which means the IGS would help me get a Masters Degree.
So far so good, and it only gets better!
Come on Real Life Israel. You will never regret it!
Jenna Mendlowitz, 25, Pittzburgh
I’m Jenna Mendlowitz, a current participant of Real Life Israel. As of now I am in the midst of a public relations/marketing internship for NU Campaign, in Jerusalem. I came to Israel in search of my Jewish identity, as well as enriching my future endeavors in the professional world. I’d have to say far so good in both aspects. I don’t feel like I am across the world from everything I left, I feel home here.
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