The Jewish Studies Program is immensely grateful for multi-year commitments of scholarship funding from Ms. Betty Brudnick and the Ruderman Family Foundation. These generous gifts make it possible for us to award students of Jewish Studies at Northeastern $5000 merit-based scholarships.
Betty Brudnick and the Ruderman family have made these donations in appreciation of the valuable role scholarship competitions can play in expanding a program; not only do these scholarships enable us to recognize the aspirations and achievements of our most talented students, but they give important visibility to the Jewish Studies program, encourage promising students to major and minor in Jewish Studies, and provide incentives to students and faculty in the program.
Because this is the first year of this scholarship program, the faculty selection committee, which ordinarily meets in the spring to make determinations for the following year, is announcing awards for both the 2011-12 academic year and for the upcoming 2012-13 year.
This year’s Ruderman Scholar is Margolit Sands, an Environmental Science major minoring in both Jewish Studies and Environmental Studies. Sands, a student of the Jewish environmental movement, impressed the committee with her desire to demonstrate how Jewish values, texts, and traditions can be made to support efforts to sustain a healthy planet.
Jillian Hinderliter, a History major and Jewish Studies minor, is the first recipient of the Brudnick Scholarship. In her application, Hinderliter wrote eloquently of her personal, academic, and professional interests in Jewish Studies. Her dedication to the field of Jewish history is demonstrated in her two current independent research projects, one on Jewish women’s leadership roles in the women’s health movement and another on Boston Jewry in the early 20thcentury.
Next year’s Ruderman Scholarship has been awarded to Michael Silverman. Like the late Morton Ruderman, Silverman is a student of engineering with an abiding dedication to Judaism, Jewish learning, and Jewish life. Hillel Rabbi Karen Silberman described Mike as a “seeker,” and the committee was moved by Mike’s desire to integrate his work aspirations with his Jewish knowledge.
Naomi Mitchell was awarded the Brudnick Scholarship for next academic year. Naomi, a Jewish Studies and Religion dual major, brings a tremendous dedication to Jewish life and learning. “Jewish education is a lifelong process,” she writes. “I do not suggest I know everything there is to know; on the contrary, there is still so much I need to learn, which is why I am here.” The Brudnick Scholarship will support Mitchell in one step of this lifelong journey.
We are immensely proud of our accomplished, diverse, and talented students and our rapidly expanding Jewish Studies program. The program, together with our students, faculty, alumni, and supporters around the country, wish to thank Betty Brudnick and the Ruderman family for these inspiring and visionary gifts. We look forward to reading next year’s applications for these generous scholarships.
