College Sample Essays: Rite of Passage

"Sarah, we need your help in the Ukraine thissummer. Can I count on you?" This question changed my life profoundly. Iwas asked to be a counselor on JOLT, Jewish Overseas Leadership Program, anopportunity to interact with young campers in an impoverished country andpositively influence their lives. Little did I realize that this experiencewould impact mine so greatly.

JOLT, an outreach program, runs anannual overnight summer camp in the Ukrainewith counselors from the United Statesand Israel.These counselors are carully selected because of the rigorous programming andthe many physical hardships of living in the Ukraine. Over one hundred localchildren come to Charkov to learn about their Jewish background. As one of thecounselors, I had the privilege and extraordinary task of exposing them to thebeauty of our religion and heritage.

I remember the anxiety and excitementthat I felt as I exited the plane with twenty other high school students,embarking on my summer teaching experience, wondering if I was fully prepared.The moment the busloads of children arrived, I attached myself to a group ofkids and started singing and dancing with them. Despite my initial fears, webegan to form a bond. My role changed from that of a teenager to that of aresponsible counselor. Not only was I here to teach them about Judaism throughclasses and activities, but more importantly I was acting as a role model. Forthe majority of Ukrainian children, we were the first Americans they had evermet and, therore, were watched vigilantly and constantly emulated. Thishumbling realization made me feel rather self-conscious at first. However,their desire to imitate also heightened the impact of that which we taughtthem. They wanted to learn. Although an immense language barrier lay betweenthe campers and me, we managed to communicate through translators, handsignals, songs, and broken English and Russian.

With the help of a book that containedboth the Hebrew and Russian, I taught Hebrew to a group of ten children who hadnever bore been exposed to Judaism. Glieb, a ten-year old boy rapidly rose tothe top of the class. In addition to the mandatory hours of daily learning, hewas motivated to extend these sessions. So often at night after the fun andentertainment, he and I would practice reading Hebrew and we discussed, insimple terms, aspects of Jewish ritual that fascinated him. It was with Gliebthat I formed the deepest bond, one that relied not only on talking, for he spokeonly a minimal amount of English, but rather on demonstrating our fondnessthrough actions.

A few days bore the end of camp, inbroken English, Glieb explained that he had been working endlessly on a presentfor me. Similarly I had been trying to decide on something that I could givehim. After hours of pondering, I decided to give Glieb what was most dear tome, my siddur (prayer book), which I had received upon entering sixthgrade. I felt it appropriate to present him with his very first prayer book.For hours I decorated and transliterated the main prayers and on the last dayof camp, bore the kids lt, we exchanged presents. He gave me his favoritekey-chain of the "Sylvester" cartoon with an attached lanyard that hehad made. Never had a gift had such a startling fect on me; I burst intotears.I handed him my siddur, and he stood there for a moment staringat his gift, and I at mine. Tears welled in his eyes as he continued to look atthe siddur. I knew that he truly understood the significance of ourexchange. We hugged goodbye, and I will never forget the feeling of his armsentwined around me with the siddur pressed against my back.

Who would have thought that I would goto the Ukraine,make such a strong impression on the lives of a group of children and impact myown? The campers&apos&apos na?ve yet deep questioning took me on a journey ofself-discovery as I reexamined my own belis and practices in a foreignenvironment, spiritually void and materially deprived. This dining experiencealso taught me that I can make a difference. By continuing to work with peoplein my professional life as a nurse, I will be extending the passions Idiscovered during my summer experience. Just as I answered the call for help inthe Ukraine,I intend to respond to future calls for help — with action, kindness, andcaring.

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