By Sara Aliza Judasin

...And to think that I only initially came for the headphones.

On February 7, 2016, the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest's annual Talk Israel Retreat started with the college students going around to different booths in the hotel lobby where we were staying for the weekend. The headphones at the Onward Negev table caught my eye and it only cost my name and email on a sign-in sheet, a few minutes of my time to hear about the program, and taking a flyer.

After months of trying to get an internship in my home town, I had just about given up the hope of using my summer between semesters to work in a law office. That’s when I re-heard about Onward Israel from the shlicha at my university. I decided to apply and am now working in Israel in a job that Americans considered me to be unqualified for. I am here in Israel on an internship at Shamoon College of Engineering’s (SCE) Research and Development department – an opportunity I never would’ve gotten in the states. Thank you, Israel, for believing in me.

So far, during my internship at SCE, I’ve been working on multiple assignments that have taught me much about Israel’s education system which lends itself to understanding the Israeli mentality.  Listening to Israelis’ opinions and stories has changed the way I think about Israel as a whole and those who come to live here.  In order to work in Israel, one has to think like an Israeli in order to solve their problems. During my time here, I hope to keep expanding my understanding so that I can help where I’m needed.

There are many misconceptions about Be’er Sheva, some that, at first, I bought into, but thankfully have now been able to disregard. In my position, I am one layer on a cake, a thin layer of frosting that will help the department to grow more layers upon the many they have already frosted over the past 20 years since the college was created.  The goal is for SCE to provide even more opportunities for researchers and better labs for engineers. This falls into the ideology that Be’er Sheva can become the next Tel Aviv – the next recognized technologically advanced city in Israel. It’s a humbling notion and one that I am proud to be a part of and am excited to see come to fruition. Best of all, I work with wonderful people who treat me like an equal and appreciate my efforts.

Israel is not a desert but a green forest filled with ideas and innovations that have changed the way people work, play, and live life to its fullest potential. I know that when I get back to America, a piece of my heart will always belong to Israel. The fraying thread that connected me to Israel before has now become a constellation, a glimmering set of stars that will always show me which way is home.

Sara Aliza Judasin, a Passaic resident, will be a junior at Montclair State University this fall.