The Bronfman Fellowships has selected its 29th cohort of high school students, among them a Celtic fiddler, a Model UN competitor whose involvement has taken him to Qatar, an award-winning sculptural artist, and a budding scientist whose microscopic images of neurons are used by science labs across the country.
The 26 Fellows, chosen from hundreds of applicants across North America, will participate in a transformative five-week program of study and travel in Israel, followed by a rigorous year of programming centered around pluralism, social responsibility and Jewish texts. The new class of Fellows will join a vibrant alumni network that includes some of today’s most inspiring Jewish writers, thinkers and leaders.
One of the fellows is Yael Marans, daughter of Amy Roth and Noam Marans of Teaneck, who is a junior at SAR High School in Riverdale. The youngest of four, Marans grew up attending Congregation Beth Sholom and spending summers at her beloved Camp Ramah in the Berkshires. Marans is a member of Teaneck USY and is involved in a variety of SAR teams and activities. She is a member of SAR’s Yeshiva University National Model United Nations team, which won first place at their annual conference two years in a row. Marans plays on the SAR High School Girls’ Varsity Soccer Team. Previously, on the JV Girls’ Soccer Team, Marans and her peers won the Metropolitan Yeshiva High School Athletic League championship twice. Marans is also an active member of her school’s slam poetry team, winning awards at several Yeshiva High School competitions and Jewish Public Media Sermon Slam events, and advancing to the 2013, 2014 and 2015 semi-final rounds of the Annual Urban Word NYC Teen Poetry Slam. She is a news editor of her school newspaper, The Buzz, and Editor-in-Chief of her school’s Judaic Studies publication, Ruach S’arah. Marans also contributes to SAR’s math magazine, literary magazine and Hebrew journal. She is a tutor for the Jewish Journey Project’s online Hebrew Home Page, which allows her to tutor younger children in Hebrew and liturgy through distance learning.
The program was founded by Edgar M. Bronfman, z”l, formerly CEO of the Seagram Company Ltd. and a visionary Jewish philanthropist. Mr. Bronfman passed away in December 2013.
Following a competitive application process, the 2015 Fellows are from 13 states across the United States and Canada. They represent diverse Jewish backgrounds, including Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist and non-denominational. The Fellows, who have already distinguished themselves as leaders in their communities, will spearhead Jewish community or social action projects upon returning home after the summer.
Visit www.bronfman.org for application information.
