Diller Teen Fellows Program Video Transcript

Transcript

Noa: Diller Teen Fellows is about impact.

Arieh: Diller Teen Fellows is about Jewish connection.

Sophie: Diller Teen Fellows is adventure.

Tal: Diller Teen Fellows is about global connections.

Adan: Diller Teen Fellows is diversity.

Noa: Diller Teen Fellows is family.

Noa: I know that at first, I had no idea what I was getting into. I was told about this program and I was immediately interested in it, but I didn’t know exactly what was going to happen. So when I showed up, I felt an immediate connection with everything that was happening. The exploration of my identity, the people, the skills that I’ll develop.

Arieh: There’s nothing like Diller. I was able to meet hundreds of people from all over the world, and it’s provided me the opportunity to expand upon myself and evolve.

Oscar: Diller has been an absolutely magical experience to me. Can’t imagine how I was before I started the program.

Martine: As a coordinator for Diller Teen Fellows, I have the privilege of witnessing teens grow in front of my eyes. Fellows go on a journey in every sphere of the educational curriculum. From Jewish identity to leadership to tikkun olam. They start at point A, and they really do end somewhere else.

Noa: The last year has been life-changing. Diller really opened a journey of self-exploration.

Martine: We start on the community level, so whether it’s Cape Town, Johannesburg, Los Angeles… Fellows are given a safe space to explore and discover what types of Judaism and what methods are most meaningful for them.

Shoshana: I was really able to find myself as a Jew.

Noa: The diversity of people in here is incredible. I get to hear people’s opinions that are so different from my own.

Oscar: Diller has given me a way to connect with other people who may have different opinions from me and different ways of practicing Judaism, and that’s really helping me develop my Jewish identity and grow as a person.

Zoe: Because I have been able to push my boundaries, and other people have helped me grow, I have become a new person and a better leader.

Martine: There really is no one way to be a leader, and every team needs to discover that for themselves, and Diller provides them that opportunity through educational workshops, guest speakers, and learning on a global scale.

Sophie: Diller really helps us to grow as leaders by teaching us about different leadership styles and different attributes that come with a leader.

Noa: I’ve been pushed out of my comfort zone this year and that is an incredible thing. I’ve gotten the opportunity to develop my skills as a leader. It’s also given me an incredible amount of confidence in myself.

Tal: I feel like this is a place for me to be myself. I feel like I’m a better person in the program.

Zach: With each step of the year, we’re able to really empower our teens and grow their confidence, and that translates right into having them go make an impact in the world and take part in tikkun olam.

Ryan: A huge pillar of my dealer experience has been tikkun olam. Especially the opportunity to work with Ukrainian refugees in Israel.

Sophie: Diller taught us a lot about tzedakah, charity, and giving back to the world.

Shoshana: It’s not every day where you can just say that you have a connection with someone across the world that has similar beliefs and similar ideologies towards making the world a better place.

Oscar: The impact projects have really been absolutely wonderful and truly a great exercise in leadership.

Martine: There are so many different ways to connect and find meaning within the Diller Teen Fellows program, and then every single Diller community comes together in Israel. When they all meet for the first time, it’s absolutely pure magic.

[singing] Let us rejoice. We share our voice. No matter where…

Martine: We’re seeing different languages, cultures, and family backgrounds coming together over the fact that we’re all Jewish.

Adan: I met so many people. I got engaged in so many conversations, so many hot topics, so many new experiences, new cultures.

Arieh: Going from my cohort to this more global perspective, I’m able to take these conversations we’ve had and go deeper, and now I can say that I have friends in Melbourne or Johannesburg or Toronto.

Hadas: The moment they meet each other and they sit together, they realize that part of something very, very big.

Danielle: I got to meet people from all around the world and I got to learn what Judaism is from each one of them.

[singing] Let us rejoice. We share our voice. No matter where we’re from…

Martine: Diller is one year of a teen’s life, but the skills and the lessons that they learn throughout that time prepare them for the rest of their lives.

Noa: It has been such a meaningful process. Every day I know that something is going to happen that will change the way I look at my Judaism, and I look at the world as a whole from now on.

Noa: I found this incredible thing that is Diller, and words really cannot describe how deeply I feel for it. Truly, each of us is gonna take something home from this entire experience, and I’m sure that we have all grown as people. I am a Diller Teen Fellow.

Oscar: I’m a Diller Teen Fellow.

Sophie: I’m a Diller Teen Fellow.

Zoe: I’m a Diller Teen Fellow.

Tal: I am a Diller Teen Fellow.

Noa: We are Diller Teen Fellows.