Alumni News • Issue 8 • Fall 2019 It is an exciting time for the Brandeis alumni community. On the heels of our 40th anniversary we are continuing our commitment to grow and reconnect with our alumni community. We have many events planned this coming year designed to support the continued growth of Brandeis in Marin and connect with our extensive alumni network.
Becky Genet Fenster ('93)
It's a typical Thursday at Brandeis Marin. I walked into my 6th grade English class, where Mrs. Fenster had prepared our weekly journal prompt. It was these journal activities that helped me find my voice and taught me how to use it. But this journal prompt was a little different, it was based on the song "For Good" from the musical Wicked. Mrs. Fenster chose this song to prepare us for our school's upcoming Grandparents Day just a few days before Thanksgiving. We were to pay special attention to the lyrics of the chorus "because I knew you I have been changed for good." And when we had finished soaking up the lyrics, Mrs. Fenster asked us to complete the sentence "because I knew you…." as it related to our grandparents. I still remember exactly what I wrote and will forever stay with me….
Every day in 3rd grade, Rebecca Neiman and I would test a new version of the same routine. One of us would "get hurt" while the other would rush over to tend to her "wounds." Timing was everything. We needed a teacher to see it happen; we wanted to get "Caught Caring." Caught Carings, a recognition given to students who were "caught" in an act of kindness, were one of the countless ways in which Brandeis Marin fostered compassion and community. From Mensch of the Month to the 7th grade Tzedakah Project, Brandeis gives an actionable form to the Jewish spirit of lovingkindness. Marrying message and method in these varied community initiatives, Brandeis taught me to care for people unconditionally; to stand with others; to fight for justice. Kindness. Solidarity. Tikkun Olam.
Fast forward to 2016. I'm a rising junior at Barnard College obsessed with all things medicine: the science, the culture, the history. I spend my waking hours volunteering in the emergency department at Bellevue Hospital, which is North America's oldest public hospital, Manhattan's only acute trauma center, and the catch-all safety net for New York's most vulnerable populations. Doctors at Bellevue teach me that patients' words are sacrosanct, their stories the primary data for holistic care. Sitting at patients' bedsides, listening to their life histories unfurl before me, I realize too that experiences of sickness comprise more than the biology of sickness itself. At this nexus of stories and symptoms emerges a vision of medicine grounded in practicing compassion and redressing inequity — a model for the kind of doctor I want to be. Throughout my life, from Brandeis to JCHS and beyond, I've been told that I could do anything I set my mind to, and that I must do so with loving kindness and an eye towards justice. READ THE FULL STORY HERE
On Friday, September 20th, there was a worldwide march against climate change. Millions of people around the world left school and work to protest climate change throughout their city. A few of us 8th graders really wanted to go, so we arranged for it to happen. Our parents agreed to let us skip school in order to speak up as youth and demand action in the "climate strike" in San Francisco. The group of approximately 20 of us took the ferry and BART to the starting location. About 40,000 people gathered holding signs with catchy phrases and marched together for a good 3 hours. It was an amazing, moving experience for all. READ THE FULL STORY HERE
Why do Alums Give Back?
It turned out to be a pivotal life moment, but it was otherwise a regular 7th grade day. I was sitting in Susan Goldsborough's English class when she came over to my desk to offer sound literary advice (I think I was complaining that Shakespeare wasn't my thing):
"You like spies and politics," she said. "You should read Tom Clancy."
I went home, pulled Patriot Games off my parents' shelf, read it through, then read everything else Tom Clancy had written, and then became a senior congressional staffer to a member of Congress in Washington, DC. Sure, some things happened in between, but I'd like to think there was a direct line from Mrs. Goldsborough's instincts to working in the Capitol Building years later. Spies and politics? Yes, she had my number down even at the age of 13. READ THE FULL STORY HERE
Our family's experience with Brandeis Marin (nee Brandeis Hillel Day School) began in 2003 when I became friendly with Brandeis mom, Cathy Capper. Cathy and Dave's children were the most poised, confident, kind and smart individuals. Thus, when I asked Cathy what her secret was, she responded that it was her children's school, Brandeis Hillel Day School! So at that very moment I started planning our daughter's school trajectory. Funny enough, Isabel was only two years old at the time. Thankfully, Isabel was a good fit for Brandeis and Brandeis was a great fit for our family, when she entered Kindergarten a few years later. READ THE FULL STORY HERE
180 North San Pedro Road • San Rafael, CA • 94903 415-472-1833 • www.brandeismarin.org |