By Diana Brement,
JTNews Columnist
Recent Oberlin College graduate Laura Kanter has received the Oberlin Hillel Award for Leadership in the Oberlin Jewish community, presented by the Cleveland Hillel Foundation, for the work she has done over the past four years.
Among the jobs she held there, Laura was co-chair for one year (Oberlin doesn’t have “presidents” of organizations, just chair people). The position involved running freshman orientation, planning and facilitating weekly meetings, and hosting events.
“Of course there are parties and Shabbat every weekend,” she says.
The neuroscience major is most proud of an African-American/Jewish discussion she planned and ran, inspired by Cornell West’s book Blacks and Jews. About 40 students had “a dialogue about similar experiences and the overlap and the lack of overlap” in their lives.
“I learned a lot,” she says.
Laura graduated Phi Beta Kappa and was active in other areas of campus life as well, serving on the student life and student finance committees, among other things. She played varsity basketball (“I’m 5’5”, but they always put me on the program as 5’7” because I play big,” she says) and was one of four students to receive a neuroscience award from her department.
After taking a year off to work, study for, and take the Graduate Record Exam, Laura hopes to attend graduate school, possibly in veterinary science. She is an avid seamstress and this past year worked in Oberlin’s theater department costume shop. She enjoys hiking, skiing and photography, but admits that “basketball took up a lot of time in my youth,” often limiting her time for hobbies.
She is the daughter of Linda and Robert Kanter, members of Congregation Beth Shalom in Seattle. Laura is a graduate of the Jewish Day School and also attended Hebrew High School.
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BBYO, Inc. (formerly B’nai B’rith Youth Organization, when it was part of B’nai B’rith International) dedicates itself to changing the lives of teens, but a new program is now changing the lives of its professional staff.
The Professional Development Institute provides fully funded graduate education in business for qualified staff, and Robin Nider of Seattle will be among the first 14 to participate.
Robin is the Seattle city BBYO director and Evergreen region program associate, managing local and convention events, programs and meetings.
A new employee, Robin told me that she applied for the graduate program at the same time she applied for her job. It was “a definite incentive,” she says. “It’s great to be part of an [organization] that values continuous education.”
Robin grew up in Portland, Ore. (her parents are Doreen and Stanley Zemble), in Conservative congregation Neveh Shalom.
“I was very active in USY (United Synagogue Youth) and even met my husband” through it, she says. Husband Kevin is originally from Vancouver, B.C., and after spending a year in Washington, D.C. while Robin worked for Hillel, the couple was delighted to return to the Northwest.
“D.C. wasn’t for us,” Robin says. “We’re really “˜Northwesty’ people.”
While most of her coursework will be online, Robin is already on her way to the first of many in-person classes that will be held over the next three years.
The MBA portion of the program is provided by Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. Robin will also earn a certificate in Informal Jewish Education from Hebrew College in Boston (that’s where she’s headed now).
PDI is funded by a $2.5 million grant from the Jim Joseph Foundation in San Francisco. For more information about BBYO, call 206-232-7115, extension 241.
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Jewish Day School kindergarten teacher Pam Grossman was awarded the school’s 2008 Maria Erlitz Award for Excellence in Education. At JDS for just two years, Grossman was chosen for her leadership and enthusiasm. According to elementary school director Elizabeth Saul, Grossman “took it upon herself to revamp and streamline all of the written Hebrew in kindergarten” by applying the Handwriting Without Tears method used in English writing instruction. This made it easier for her students to learn to write in Hebrew.
Pam is active in faculty affairs and is known for her creativity and knitting. She has a BS from Northwestern University and an MA in Education from Columbia University Teachers College. She lives in Seattle with her husband and two children.
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Steve Sarkowsky’s Highway 99 Blues Club was recognized by the Washington Blues Society as the best blues club in Washington State for the fourth year running, during the annual Best of the Blues event. Steve says that while he and his staff “are honored, excited and appreciative of this award, we also want to recognize the other nominees who all are working hard to keep the blues alive.” Highway 99 features local and national acts every week, including Steve on the drums “almost” every other Thursday with Brian Nova’s Felonius Funk Orchestra. There’s detailed info at highway99blues.com.