By EMILY SAKOWSKI
Junior psychology major Gillian Zenna is about to make one huge career move this summer. For two entire months, she will be living and working in Tel Aviv, one of Israel’s greatest cities.
Starting in mid-June, Zenna will be completing the ultimate internship experience in one of the most beautiful, progressive, and controversial places in the Middle East. While working there, she will be under the supervision and guidance of an international program.
PHOTO/Gillian Zenna
“The program I am going with this summer is Onward Israel,” she said. “I received an email from them offering me to apply. The program is offered to students who previously went to Israel, but only for a short period of time. Last summer, I only went for 10 days. They give you an opportunity to get an internship in Israel and you get to stay there for two months.”
Zenna traveled to the Middle Eastern nation last summer on Birthright Israel, a 10-day expense paid trip to Israel for students of Jewish heritage. It was that trip that sparked her desire to return to the country one day for a longer period of time, and to potentially complete an internship. Luckily, Onward Israel gave her that opportunity.
What is Onward Israel?
PHOTO/Gillian Zenna
Onward Israel is an immersive internship program established by CEO Ilian Wagner, designed to give participants a thorough and prolonged experience in the country. It is targeted towards individuals ages 19 to 27. He said they wanted to provide an incentive for individuals to come back to Israel after going on Birthright.
“The idea was to determine what it would take to have people sign up for a second program,” Wagner said. “We came up with a two-month program at a price point people can afford. A central theme [for this program] in Israel is to have an internship and true immersion into the culture.”
Zenna said that the cost for the program is only 500 dollars, and participants are responsible for purchasing their own airfare to and from the country. She says she will also receive a stipend to help cover costs of transportation, food, and leisure.
“We’ve had to raise a lot of money to keep the program affordable, so that students can have that experience during college,” Wagner said.
The Application Process
Zenna explained how the application process for Onward Israel was more intensive than applying to Birthright last summer. “Last year, the application was asking a lot about my Jewish background, and it didn’t really matter about academics. You just had to have Jewish roots. This one is more academic,” she said.
To get accepted, Zenna had to provide an thorough description of her prior experience in the country, submit a resume, and participate in multiple Skype interviews.
“That was a more intense interview [than the Birthright interview] because they were asking about my previous experience in Israel, my job experience, and my internship experience. They also asked me what I would bring back to my community from Onward Israel.”
PHOTO/Gillian Zenna
Ilian Wagner, the CEO and Founder of Onward Israel, spoke about the essential social component of the application process, as well. “The local community will also interview people to see if applicants have the social skills needed to thrive while living in a different country for two months, whether they do well in the group, and if they have any special circumstances that will prevent them from having a great experience.”
An International Internship
Once accepted to go abroad, participants must coordinate with an internship director to find a job placement for the length of the program. Zenna explained that they place you in accordance with your field of study back home.
“It’s based on your interests. I’m a psychology major and like working with kids, and was interested in doing something with special needs.”
CEO Wagner explained how Onward Israel offers over 60 programs to participants, depending of their skill sets and areas of study.
Zenna was paired with an organization in Tel Aviv called Alut One, an early intervention program for autistic children ages 18 months to three years. Zenna said she has worked with autistic children before and looks forward to attaining the work experience. She may even consider it as a career.
“Early intervention seems very fulfilling. I just like working with kids and I have experience with kids, and I feel like I will like it. When I spoke with a contact who worked [at Alut One], we both thought it would be a good fit for me,” she said.
According to the Times of Israel, “In 2010, 1 out of 208 children under the age of 12 were recorded as having some form of autism.” Zenna will be doing work that will both better the Israeli community and her resume throughout her time in the country.
Culture Immersion & Traveling
Like she did during Birthright, Zenna intends to travel around Israel extensively. She will live adjacent to Tel Aviv, one of the most exciting and lively coastal cities in the country. She explained that because the country is relatively small, day trips are made easy. She noted however that for safety reasons, she must stay within the parameters of the country during her program.
PHOTO/Gillian Zenna
Culture immersion is a huge component of the program that Zenna is looking forward to. “I’ll learn about a lot of other cultures,” she said.
Culture immersion is one of CEO Wagner’s largest goals in running the program. “Having young people spend extended period of time in Israel allows them to establish a real connection with the people, the culture, and the state as a whole,” Wagner said. “Onward Israel exists to get them to another level of engagement.”
Wagner said that through intense culture immersion, participants in Onward Israel return home with heightened appreciations of Israel and more educated opinions of the country.
“It’s a complicated country and there are a lot of controversial views on it. After being there, people know more, understand more, and are more comfortable engaging with Israel when they come back,” Wagner said.
Wagner said that for many participants, this means having a greater voice when Israel comes up in conversation. Former participants are often more comfortable in speaking up and defending what is happening in Israel. “After Onward Israel, they have a much greater understanding. They organize, they speak up, they write letters, they do a lot more to stand up for the country,” he said.
Danger in the Middle East?
Planted right in the middle of Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, Israel’s neighbors may make it a questionable place to visit as an American at this time. With tensions by the Gaza Strip and the Israel/Palestine conflict, the U.S. Department of State urges travelers to Israel to remain alert and cautious. It also discourages any travel to the Gaza Strip, as it has been deemed too dangerous.
Despite this unrest, Zenna is confident in Onward Israel to keep her safe, and insists that she is not permitted to leave Israel for the duration of her program. She traveled to Israel last year and did not run into any problems. She will also be living this summer with other program participants who are in the same boat.
Ramapo College still offers two study abroad programs in Israel, to the cities of Jerusalem and Haifa, which insists the country is safe enough for students to travel to. Still, all tourists to the country must always travel with caution.
Benefits of the Program
Zenna is excited for her upcoming summer experience in Israel, and cannot wait to reap the benefits that it will bring her both personally and professionally.
“It’s definitely going to give me that work experience. I haven’t had the opportunity to have an internship yet, so this experience will let me get my feet in the water and see if that’s something I possibly want to do in the future,” she said.
She also intends on going to graduate school after Ramapo to further her studies in psychology, and feels this internship will give her a competitive edge. “The fact that I’m doing an internship in another country looks good for applying to grad schools,” Zenna said.
Wagner feels that the best take away from Onward Israel is perhaps the personal growth component of the program.
“At the end of the day, you have to be able to connect people via engagement, connection, and immersion. This is an authentic experience,” Wagner said. “They live in the culture. Many of them don’t really feel they’re on a program in some ways. It’s an individual immersive experience,” he said.
Zenna would also like to spread the word about this program to other students looking for a similar experience. She stumbled across Onward Israel when they contacted her after Birthright, and now she wants others to be aware. “I want to talk to our study abroad office and see if others can learn about the program, too. I’m sure there are so many other people on campus who would love this opportunity.”
PHOTO/Gillian Zenna
Watch Gillian Zenna talk about her upcoming internship:
I found it interesting that Gillian is going away for two months of the summer for such a rewarding experience that will definitely benefit her in the long run prior to her graduation. What I would love to know is her experience in the summer, and maybe even a profile piece continuing her experience. As someone interested in world travel, I think that having the before and after the experience will help the story unfold even more. I loved your multimedia, it was clear and relevant to the story and Gillian’s journey.