by Leah Kaplan Class of 2018
Every fall my family comes to see me for URI Family Weekend. There are incentives, other than seeing their daughter for them to make the drive down here from Massachusetts. We usually go out to dinner, see the comedy show at the Ryan Center, and say goodbye the next day. This year I decided to ask my parents if they wanted to go to the Family Weekend Brunch at Hillel.
Being a senior, you would’ve thought that my parents have visited Hillel at least once during my time at URI. Unfortunately that was not the case. I wasn’t too involved at Hillel my first few years here, and didn’t see the need to invite my parents to an event. Even with my lack of involvement in the Hillel community, my parents always suggested that I attend events and services. As a participant on URI Hillel’s Birthright Israel trip in the summer of 2016, I got a bit more familiar with Hillel. This year, I got hired to be a Public Relations Intern for Hillel. I am automatically in the building at least three days a week, and I am well-informed of the events that are going on, which pushes me to attend more.
My family was thrilled when I told them I wanted them to come with me to Hillel’s brunch. It was their first time in the building. We ate delicious food and caught up on what was going on in our lives. Hillel’s Rabbinic Intern, Stephen Slater, sat with us and we met him and his two year old daughter. He shared inspirational words to students and their families, which was very uplifting to everyone in the room.
My dad noticed that Stephen was speaking to someone who looked familiar to him. He overheard some of the conversation and went over to introduce himself. As it turns out, we met some distant cousins that day who are parents of another URI student from California. It’s crazy to think that of all the places in the world to meet family, we met right here at Hillel. Now, we are even more grateful for this organization and the things it has given us. My parents enjoyed every minute of the brunch. As I write this amidst a downpour, I am thinking back to that beautiful sunny Sunday morning and feel so grateful for the time I got to share with my family at Hillel.
Every fall my family comes to see me for URI Family Weekend. There are incentives, other than seeing their daughter for them to make the drive down here from Massachusetts. We usually go out to dinner, see the comedy show at the Ryan Center, and say goodbye the next day. This year I decided to ask my parents if they wanted to go to the Family Weekend Brunch at Hillel.
Being a senior, you would’ve thought that my parents have visited Hillel at least once during my time at URI. Unfortunately that was not the case. I wasn’t too involved at Hillel my first few years here, and didn’t see the need to invite my parents to an event. Even with my lack of involvement in the Hillel community, my parents always suggested that I attend events and services. As a participant on URI Hillel’s Birthright Israel trip in the summer of 2016, I got a bit more familiar with Hillel. This year, I got hired to be a Public Relations Intern for Hillel. I am automatically in the building at least three days a week, and I am well-informed of the events that are going on, which pushes me to attend more.
My family was thrilled when I told them I wanted them to come with me to Hillel’s brunch. It was their first time in the building. We ate delicious food and caught up on what was going on in our lives. Hillel’s Rabbinic Intern, Stephen Slater, sat with us and we met him and his two year old daughter. He shared inspirational words to students and their families, which was very uplifting to everyone in the room.
My dad noticed that Stephen was speaking to someone who looked familiar to him. He overheard some of the conversation and went over to introduce himself. As it turns out, we met some distant cousins that day who are parents of another URI student from California. It’s crazy to think that of all the places in the world to meet family, we met right here at Hillel. Now, we are even more grateful for this organization and the things it has given us. My parents enjoyed every minute of the brunch. As I write this amidst a downpour, I am thinking back to that beautiful sunny Sunday morning and feel so grateful for the time I got to share with my family at Hillel.