The first Jewish Studies Career Night will give students from across campus the opportunity to explore careers in Jewish communal service.
On Tuesday, March 22, four returning alumni will share their experiences and insights with students interested in entering careers related to the Jewish faith. Beginning at 7:00 p.m. in the Handwerker Gallery, the first Jewish Studies Career Night at Ithaca College will feature a panel made up of graduates currently employed as a cantor, a community center administrator, a camp director, and a nonprofit fundraiser. Refreshments and printed material on graduate study and job possibilities will be available starting at 6:30 p.m.
Participating Panelists
Hope Horowitz '77, sociology
"When I was an undergraduate, I didn't even know the field of Jewish communal service existed," Horowitz says. "I've since discovered you can make a career of it. It's a profession." After graduating from the IC, Horowitz earned a master's degree in social work at the University of Michigan and then worked 18 years for B'nai B'rith Youth Organization. She is now the assistant director of the Jewish Community Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Amy Goldberg Holtz '86, health services administration
In the years following graduation, Holtz worked in an HMO, in hospital administration, and in Blue Cross. After earning a master's degree in health care administration at the New School in New York, she moved with her husband to Allentown. Initially involved as a parent in that city's Camp JCC, a day camp for area children, she is now the camp's director.
Deborah Benardot '75 ,'79, music education (bachelor's and masters)
Benardot taught vocal music at several colleges before receiving cantorial certification from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. She is now the cantor at the Temple, the oldest synagogue in Atlanta. An active participant in the local and national Reform community, Benardot has recorded three CDs of Jewish liturgical music. "I'm not just a singer," she says, "but also a conductor and a teacher."
Jill Goldsmith '96, speech communication
Goldsmith spent her first years after graduating working for Jewish nonprofits in New York City and the Washington, D.C., area. She was recently appointed director of development for Capital Camps and Retreat Center in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, where she is directing a capital campaign. She is also a fellow of the Wexner Heritage Foundation, a two-year program in Jewish community leadership.
Jewish Studies Career Night is sponsored by the Jewish studies program and the Office of Career Services.
For more information, contact Barbara Johnson, associate professor of anthropology and coordinator of Jewish studies, at 274-3280.
