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Temple Israel member Sarah Rumfelt has recently been awarded the Stuart I. Pessin grant for her dedication to Jewish leadership. We are so proud of Sarah, and of the beautiful essay she wrote when applying for this award. 

Essay question: Given that many students share common experiences, what sets you apart and is unique about your interests and passions?

Sarah's response: In the Jewish community, we all share the common difference of being a religious minority in America. This common aspect binds Jews closer together especially considering the traumatic experiences we have faced throughout history and within our own lifetime. At my temple, my peers were surrounded by other Jews in their local communities such as classmates and neighbors who provided support and a sense of belonging. Contrary to them, I live in St. Charles, a place where diversity is scarce, especially in regards to religion. I faced cruel classmates over the years who would make anti-Semitic comments, causing me to never truly feel like I belonged in my immediate society. Enrolling in Hebrew school introduced me to many other kids like myself, and I was finally able to bond with others over similar experiences that I had previously been judged for. During my years of Hebrew school, not only did I learn how to read and write Hebrew, I also gained an understanding of embracing my differences instead of feeling embarrassed about them. This evolution of confidence in myself provided me with the constant desire to help others in the same way Hebrew school helped me embrace diversity as much as I could. Considering that many of my peers share common experiences, I would say my difference of environment compared to the majority of my Jewish classmates sparked my passion for helping others and my interest in embracing and exploring change.

My true passion in life is to help others. Anything from helping a person individually to supporting nationwide campaigns advocating for social justice is just a little piece of how I want my efforts to impact society. I have always had the aspiration to help others and first acted upon my desire at the young age of 5 by enrolling in Girl Scouts. Even though I was only in kindergarten, I was able to recognize the importance of helping others, especially those who are not as fortunate as myself. This program ignited my passion by giving me the opportunity to not just recognize injustice, but advocate for justice through words and actions. During my years as a Girl Scout, my troop participated in various charitable activities including clothes drives, remodeling campsites, as well as volunteering at camps and shelters to promote and follow through on our mission of striving for a better world. This passion only grew stronger as I got older with being exposed to more societal injustices and having more opportunities to advocate for change. During my childhood, I faced my own battles within my local society through encountering antisemitism from schoolmates for celebrating Jewish holidays. My experiences as a Jewish student in a prejudiced community motivated me, even more, to promote change and embrace diversity. In fifth grade, I became a founder and member of my elementary school's Peace Pals club which advocated for welcoming one another’s differences and using compromises to solve arguments among students. My devotion to helping others continued through other clubs and activities in middle school with participating and becoming an officer of the National Junior Honor Society and Youth and Government. However, a whole new field of helping others was introduced to me when I became a tutor for Pre-Algebra. Teaching others makes my passion even more fulfilling because I get to see the personal impact I have on others. It brings me joy to see others improve, especially using methods or tools I provided them with. After my fulfilling experience tutoring Pre-Algebra students, I wanted to apply the teaching in other aspects of education, more specifically, Hebrew education. For the past three years, I've been a madricha at my synagogue and have taught students to read and write Hebrew and have worked to instill an understanding of Jewish traditions. My journey as a Madricha has been nothing but a blessing. I enjoy teaching my students the ins and outs of Hebrew but also foundational lessons they can use anywhere in life. I really take pleasure in helping those in the Jewish community because they are the ones who helped me strengthen my identity and embrace my differences. With that being said, I was delighted when I got the opportunity to partake in any volunteer work or charity event sponsored by the temple such as The March for Israel and the yearly Thanksgiving event as well as  Hugs for Hanukkah through Women’s Philanthropy of the Jewish Federation. Throughout my lifetime, I plan on continuing to pursue my passion for helping others because it truly fulfills me and brings me happiness. Everyone deserves help, but some either are afraid to ask or not willing to give. My hope is to encourage people to feel comfortable to open up and also to be the person they can count on for support.

I have a large variety of hobbies, and yet they all stem from my main interest in exploring and embracing change. I live for adventures as they are some of my favorite moments in life; always giving me the feeling of truly being alive. It is a thrilling experience to try new things and fade away from my everyday routine. Adventure brings a certain amount of risk that I tend to be drawn to. It forces people to face their fears while also providing the opportunity to overcome that fear. Such experiences help to quell my fears and make me more willing to accept challenges. Residing in the suburbs comes with a dull sense of normalcy and a lack of heterogeneity. Being in such a homogeneous community pushes me to reach even more opportunities to escape and explore. I constantly am in search of new adventures whether it's joining a new school club or traveling across the globe. I participate in practically any opportunity I am given to not only fill up my time but to be introduced to new ideas and activities. Some of my favorite memories are from places that were completely out of my comfort zone. For instance, I traveled to Truman State University and attended the Joseph Baldwin Academy. Being 200 miles away from family and friends for 3 weeks was at first a very scary thought, but I was easily able to adapt and it was a life-changing experience. I learned how to live independently and became more gregarious. College culture was something I wasn’t used to as I never had previously experienced it, yet it’s now one of my favorite summer memories as I met new people, some of who are to this day my closest friends. I was so heavily impacted by that experience that I was eager when the opportunity arose again the following summer. There’s always something new to explore even in a place that I have already visited. Traveling is another muse I use to explore new ways of life and all the beauty it contains. Exploring foreign destinations is one of my greatest privileges as I’m introduced to things I could never have the chance to experience in my local area. Such as when I went to the Bahamas, I was introduced to a whole new culture by seeing both the tourist attractions and local sites. With all that being said, I never have gotten the chance to explore an area with personal spiritual meaning. Visiting the original location where the foundation of the beliefs I use as a moral guideline every day would ultimately strengthen my spiritual connection to Judaism. Israel is the only country in the world where Jews are the majority religion, so it would definitely be a very special and even calming experience to for once be enveloped in a Jewish community. Exploring Israel will also give me an even greater opportunity to befriend others like myself and further my connections globally.