Dear Isaac, 

Being a Fellow has been a true gift. There are so many parts of this program which has impacted my life. The opportunity to create change and put good into the world is my long-time life goal and the Fellowship has helped me do that. The speakers have been magnificent. I have notebooks filled with wisdom and advice from all of our speakers. Most of all I am surrounded by peers and facilitators who mean so much to me and taught me so much. 

This program is a gift to all its participants and to society. You have entrusted us with a vision to help the world. We will not disappoint. 

Thank you so much for this opportunity. 

Dear Isaac, 

Thank you so so much for enabling this amazing opportunity. Not only are the Fellows developing into better people, and making a huge impact on the community, but are developing deep bonds and partnerships. The Fellowship has brought together a community of young people, who would otherwise not be involved in AUJS and other institutions, who all have in common the same values and visions for greater society. 

I really feel that this is enabling younger people to make a true difference in the community. More and more people are finding out about the Fellowship, where I really feel it’s making Jewish youth think it’s ‘cool’ to make a difference. I have learned so much about myself, about the mark I want to leave on this world and also how to do this. 

I really look forward to working more on my project and seeing the other unbelievable projects flourish and make huge changes and impacts on society. 

Thank you again, the world is a little bit better from this Fellowship. 

Dear Isacc, 

My name is Maayan and this year, I was privileged enough to have gotten the opportunity to participate in the Fellowship, The Susan Wakil Fellowship. 

There are many reasons as to why the Fellowship has changed both my life and myself as a person firstly, the people, my fellow Fellows and the most inspiring facilitators. These individuals opened my eyes up to new ideas and inspired me to continue working hard and follow my heart and my passions, all whilst using the invaluable lessons they have taught me. 

Through the workshops, mind-blowing speakers and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to develop my very own social impact project, I have developed a strength in myself and my identity. 

There are many ways of giving back to the world, and to our own communities, and I feel so deeply moved that my journey to doing so started in the Jewish Community, through the Fellowship. 

Throughout this year, a very unexpectedly challenging one, I felt so positively challenged by the Fellowship. It not only provided me with a safe space to learn and grow as a student leader but gave me the motivation to keep going in other aspects of my life. 

For all of the reasons I mentioned in this letter, and for many others, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for believing in this program and in people like myself. 

Thank you.

Dear Isaac, 

It’s overwhelming to sit here and think of the impact of this program in its entirety. It will take much, much longer I think to fully realize the extent of the program on each of us. 

The Fellowship has been such an immersive, multi-dimensional learning and growing experience. 

There have been so many moments of inspiration, conversations with profound impacts, learnings, connections built, and seeds planted that will only flower fully in the fullness of time. 

That such a program exists at all is, I believe, miraculous. I am deeply humbled by the investment that you’ve made in us as a cohort of Fellows and each of us as individuals. I hope these letters serve to communicate even a fraction of our gratitude to you, I can only hope that we can live to serve the memory of Susan. 

In deepest gratitude.

Dear Isaac, 

When I first signed up for the Susan Wakil Fellowship, I did so with the intention that I would be improving my political knowledge and engaging with successful figures in that arena. Not only did the fellowship offer this experience in a way that was engaging, dynamic and inspiring, but it also provided us with so much more. Throughout our retreats and workshops, I was challenged intellectually and emotionally, both by our speakers, directors and my peers. 

One of my favourite memories from the Fellowship is walking past my peers, hearing and partaking in discussions of world events, the economy, and how to solve the plethora of issues plaguing both the Jewish and wider community today. While we don’t have the answers yet, I feel more enthused and inspired than ever to make a meaningful difference after having participated in the Fellowship. 

I am eternally grateful to you and Susan for your immense generosity in providing us with this opportunity and exposing us to our incredible directors who could not have been more thoughtful, caring and inspiring.

Throughout the making of our political podcast project, we will never forget how fortunate and privileged we are to have been a part of such an unmatched, transformative and educational program. 

Many thanks and kind regards.

 Dear Issac, 

My name is Shai and I live in Melbourne Australia. I grew up not having gone to a Jewish school and have always looked for opportunities to be involved in the Jewish community that would connect me to other people who have similar values to me. Boy, can I tell you how much I found this in the Susan Wakil Fellowship. 

Studying social work and psychology, my primary mission has always been to make the world a better place, with partners who believe in the same ideals as myself. This program has not only challenged my opinions and what I want to continue striving for but truly highlighted there are people out there I want to do it with. These incredible people exist, and now I am privileged enough to not only call them my Fellows but my friends. 

This opportunity has not just provided me with exceptional lifelong friends who are happy to have any form of conversation about anything (a rare find in 2020) but professional connections and clear role models for myself to utilize and cherish. 

This program has brought me back down to earth from my ‘intellectualized’ view of what I thought may be possible for myself. It made me realize it’s all possible. And it’s possible to do it in conjunction with others. 

Thank you so much for what you have provided me. 

Sincerely. 

Dear Isaac

Being a Fellow this year has truly been one of the most remarkable, insightful, exciting and challenging experiences of my life. The Fellowship has truly flipped my life on its head, helping me sail through the uncertainty of life and challenging me to better understand the person that I am and who I want to be. 

I feel incredibly privileged to have been a part of this program, and only wish that it wasn’t yet coming to an end.

I can firmly say that thanks to you and Susan, the person that I will be for the rest of my life has been changed for the better. This should be an incredible blessing unto you, and I hope you can appreciate the tangible benefits that you have provided to all of the Fellows. 

This Fellowship inspired me in countless, almost infinite ways. Leaving the Fellowship, I feel ready to begin a career and a life serving our Jewish community and solving challenges in pursuit of Tikkun Olam. Yet, more than that, I thank you for providing me with a community of like-minded and passionate young Jews, of friends. 

I hope that all of your endeavours are as impactful and positive as the Fellowship has been for me. 

Kind regards,