David Harris
How You Help: From Internship to Aliyah: How Rachel Was Able to Live Her Dreams
“I wanted to learn more about myself, gain some valuable professional experience, and push myself out of my comfort zone,” remembered Rachel.
Rachel, who grew up in London, was studying law after finishing her undergraduate degree. But she found herself wanting to do something else. That’s when she discovered Masa summer internships in Tel Aviv. “Having an internship where I would be living and working in Israel seemed like the perfect solution to my law school blues,” recalled Rachel.
Masa places Jewish college students and graduates in a large variety of highly-coveted, exclusive internships with leading Israeli companies and government organizations. Masa interns live in Israel for up to six months and gain valuable interning experience that’s directly relevant to their industry. The program is funded by The Jewish Agency for Israel and your gifts to the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati. The Jewish Agency creates links globally—bringing Jews to Israel and Israel to Jews around the world. This includes Cincinnati’s own Friends from Israel (or Chaverim M’Israel) and our Emissary from Israel (or Shaliach).
Over the course of the summer, Rachel realized she wanted to make Aliyah and work for the company at which she was interning, an English law firm headquartered in Tel Aviv. With that in mind, she approached her internship at the firm as a six-month-long interview process to prove she could be a valuable contributing member of the team. And it worked.
When she graduated law school two years later, she moved to Israel and was hired as a full-time employee by the company that she interned for through Masa. “I realized that I did not have to choose between living in Israel and having a stimulating career as an English lawyer, doing highly interesting work for world-class clients,” said Rachel. “For me, the timing was right and I knew that if I didn’t seize the opportunity to experience living and working abroad now, before entering the working world, I probably wouldn’t have the chance to again.”
And her advice to those who may consider doing internships through Masa in the future or moving to Israel and changing careers?
“We so often view our career path as being linear. My advice is to be flexible and willing to follow various twists and turns—in this way you will be able to spot new opportunities, gain new skills, discover new interests, form new habits, and test your limits,” shared Rachel. “Give yourself time to try something new and different. You never know, you may end up moving your life thousands of kilometers away!”
The Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) is one of more than fifty programs and agencies funded in part by the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati.
The Jewish Federation of Cincinnati: We look at the whole picture, taking into account the diverse needs of the entire community. Together we can do almost anything.
Thanks to you and the help of our partner agencies, Rachel was able to make Aliyah and live her dreams.
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