Samara Chodosh Named 'Merrin Fellow' by JCCA

Samara Chodosh, director of the Jewish Experiences for Teens (JET) at the JCC, has been awarded the Merrin Teen Professional Fellowship by the JCC Association of North America. "Samara is one of 13 Jewish teen professionals nationwide who were chosen for the honor, and we are so very proud of her," said Carol Folkerth, JCC Executive Director, who nominated Chodosh for the honor. "It also marks the first time anyone from our JCC has been chosen to participate in the program."

According to the JCCA, the Merrin Teen Professional Fellows Program has a ten-year tradition of strengthening the skills and talents of JCC teen professionals across the continent and has helped to increase both the quality and quantity of Jewish teen services in JCCs. At the same time, it has helped to create a solid professional foundation for alumni of the program who continue to move up the career ladder in their professional lives. The program is offered by the Merrin Center for Teen Services, funded by Anne Heyman and Seth Merrin. The Israel component of the program is funded in part by a grant from the Blendes Fund for Professional Development in Israel.

"The ultimate goal of the program is for our JCC to have a vibrant, multi-dimensional teen program, which will engage and reach out to significant numbers of Jewish adolescents and strengthen their identities and connections to the Jewish community," said Folkerth.

As part of the selection process, Chodosh had to complete an essay on a person or event that played a part in shaping her life. Chodosh chose her BUCKUSY director at Congregation Tifereth Israel, Harriet Greenstein.

"With Twizzlers in hand, Harriet chose to do something no one in recent history had done before: Actually listen to the teens," wrote Chodosh. "Slowly, Harriet and the teens planned social and social action events. Teens were finally having a good time. By the time it was my turn to join, there were over 100 members.

"In my current role as a teen service professional, I am in a different kind of position than many of today's youth directors. My focus is not on chapter membership or winning awards. My job is to reach out to those uninvolved teens in the Columbus community and find ways to motivate them to want to get involved. Like Harriet, I, too, come with a welcoming smile and a listening ear. Through various large and small community wide events I hope to continue to attract Jewish teens and show them how much fun joining a youth group or participating in The Friendship Circle can be. My greatest motivation is knowing that I have the potential to be someone's Harriet, and that would also be my greatest reward," she wrote.

Maureen Emoff, JET's parent chair, said acceptance into the program is a well-deserved honor for Chodosh. "I am thrilled Samara has been recognized for her enthusiasm and professionalism as a teen programmer by receiving a Merrin Teen Professional Fellowship from the JCCA," she said. "Samara is a dynamic professional who constantly strives to improve the teen outreach component of the JET program. Teens are drawn to JET programs due to Samara. She is a warm and engaging leader, the teens are drawn to her, and thus are very eager to participate in JET programs. Samara works hard to provide diverse programming which includes, educational, Judaic and social components. Her programs attract Jewish teens from all facets of the Columbus Jewish Community. She is successful is attracting the unengaged Jewish teens in the area and then connecting them with a Jewish teen program in which they may be interested.

"One of her larger commitments as the JET director is as the facilitator of the Jewish Culture Clubs at local high schools. She works to provide a Jewish Cultural experience at area high schools where the Jewish teen population is under-served," said Emoff. "My own teens have enjoyed the Culture Club at Gahanna High. That club is traveling with Samara to The Maltz Museum in Cleveland later this month. Samara is in the process of establishing Jewish Culture Clubs in the North West region, looking at possible sites at Worthington, and/or at Olentangy high schools."

JET is funded in part by support from the Columbus Jewish Federation and the Columbus Jewish Foundation.

If you would like to send a Mazel Tov to Chodosh, click here.

Gahanna Lincoln Jewish Culture Club
and JET to Travel to the Maltz Museum

On Sunday, Nov. 9, the Gahanna Lincoln Jewish Culture Club will be heading to the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage in Cleveland for a private tour of Zap! Pow! Bam! The Superhero: The Golden Age of Comics, 1938-1950.

"The culture club members are very excited to tour this special exhibit," said Samara Chodosh, JET director. "Seeing this exhibit will allow these teens to appreciate those who helped bring the superheroes to life while opening their eyes to deeper themes. On the surface, comic books are fun. However, once you a dig a little, you'll see that the stories focus on such topics as tikkun olam (repairing the world), mirroring history and reflecting political thinking. We will be discussing the trip further at our upcoming culture club meeting after school on Thursday, Nov. 6 in Mrs. Acker's room #168."

Cost for the trip is $5 per person, and includes transportation, the tour and a late lunch at the kosher Subway at the Cleveland JCC.

Mark Your Calendars Now
for the Pre-Chanukkah Event

JET will hold its Pre-Chanukah event on Sunday, Dec. 7, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at SuperGames. Details will be announced in next month's CenterScene.

To RSVP or for more information on JET events...

Visit the JET Teen Community Calendar by clicking here, or contact JET Director Samara Chodosh at (614) 559-6255.