Alumnae often refer to their time at WITS/Maalot as their most formative year, a year where they gain tremendous inspiration, direction and chizuk from the strong environment. Students, surrounded by inspired, growth-oriented friends, are learning from prestigious Rabbanim and teachers, and their time in that environment fortifies them before entering the “real world”. WITS strives to educate women for life. It’s not only the tagline, but also the mission, and it always has been – educating students to be prepared for their desired career path, as well as keeping alumnae connected to their Rabbanim, teachers and friends.
This year, WITS launched an initiative to provide alumnae with opportunities to tap back into the chizuk and friendships they had during their time at WITS. Together with a new Alumnae Council*, WITS is creating a community for its alumnae to provide connective social events, shiurim, continuing education, and more.
To this end, on Motzei Shabbos, January 30th, WITS held a beautiful Alumnae Melava Malka. It was an evening of nostalgia, connection and inspiration with over 55 alumnae in attendance. Alumnae spanning 23 years of graduates were honored to hear words of inspiration from Mrs. Shifra Rabenstein, a long-time teacher at WITS, enjoy a beautiful seudah from Chef Dan, and have fun making scented candles. Blank cards were provided for alumnae to write words of hakaras hatov to faculty and to staff members who made an impact on their life. The event also included fun door prizes, a raffle to win a $50 gift card from event sponsor Adina B and a memory lane slideshow. “It was so nice reconnecting with my teachers and friends, said alumna Yakira (Green) Price, life’s busy but I miss my time at WITS.”
To connect with alumnae from all over, the WITS website now offers an alumnae page (www.wits.edu/alumnae) with access to resources, such as podcasts, an Alumnae WhatsApp group, alumnae news, job opportunities, ways to get involved and more. “We look forward to continuing to build our alumnae community and providing meaningful resources, keeping alumnae connected to the strong relationships and chizuk that they received during their time at WITS,” says Sarah Brody, Director of Marketing & Development.
Any WITS/Maalot alumnae who would like to get involved or share their ideas, reach out to Sarah Brody at stbrody@wits.edu.
*WITS extends its thanks to the Alumnae Council: Lauren (Grossman) Apt ‘06, Gabrielle Bakaev ‘20, Loni (Jacob) Goldman ‘04, Shira (Beleck) Heideman ‘11, Oriana Kelemer ‘16, Anna (Grynsztein) Mond ‘20, Yakira (Green) Price ‘20, Michal Reitberger ‘20, Shoshana (Usdan) Rosenberg ‘17, Tehila Rosenberg ‘21, Talie (Baral) Shimanovitch ‘07, Devora (Milevsky) Stern ‘05, Gitty (Roberts) Nissel ‘09, Yael Zimberg ‘19
