Executive Committee Application

Hillel at Penn State is looking to appoint four ambitious students to the 2024 Executive Committee. The goals of this community are to:

  • Engage diverse Jewish students
  • Create micro-community at Hillel, spaces for students to connect over being “Jewish and”
  • Ensure student voices are heard by staff and student leadership
  • Promote religious and cultural initiatives throughout the year (e.g., High Holidays)
  • Oversee leadership and coordinate professional programming for over 200 student leaders in Hillel
  • Run the Jewish Programming Allocation Committee (JewPAC) and award students microgrants for personalized Jewish experiences
  • Represent the Jewish voices to University Park and Commonwealth campus leadership, administration and student affairs, and the at-large student body at Penn State

Having a position on the Executive Committee is extremely honorable. Students should come to the committee already having strong leadership qualities, along with an openness to learning the Hillel leadership philosophy and a willingness to go beyond the prescribed responsibilities.

It is also crucial that students allocate the necessary time to being a part of the committee. Expectations and Commitments for Executive Committee Members are as follows:
– Meetings one hour weekly at the Gutterman Family Center
– Develop and attend Student Leadership Empowerment Dinners and Leadership Council sessions throughout the semester
– Attend and run the semesterly Leaders retreat
– Engage with all students by attending all Shabbat/Holiday events
– Engage with parents and donors at events
– Prospective student engagement
– Promote Hillel visibility by attending Penn State-wide events, e.g., Homecoming, Involvement Fair, Jewish Block Party
– Campus and Building Tours
– Meetings regularly scheduled on Zoom during winter and summer breaks

Five positions are up for application, including:

  • President: The president oversees the board’s functions and runs the exec meetings using an agenda that is created beforehand. Other responsibilities include handling 25 live requests, running Leadership Council, and facilitating the semesterly All Leaders retreats. The president also has a position on the Board of Directors which entails attending monthly Zoom meetings, an orientation, a retreat, and working with the VP to give the student life update at these meetings. This person also has weekly one on one meetings with the Hillel staff member that oversees the Executive Committee.
  • Vice President: The Vice President is the liaison between the Executive Committee and community leaders, and students across the organization. The VP will manage relationships with the presidents as well as be up to date on the events of their communities by either sitting in on meetings and/or reviewing their meeting agendas. The VP also has a position on the Board of Directors which entails attending monthly Zoom meetings, an orientation, a retreat, and working with the president to give the student life update at these meetings.
  • Treasurer: The treasurer oversees financial aspects with regards to board programming, allocating money to different communities within Hillel, and communicating with staff regarding these aspects. Your duties include completing purchase orders and ordering food within budget for Hillel events including bagel brunches, Student Leadership Empowerment Dinners, and finals week. In addition, you are working on the back end of the Jewish Programming Allocation Committee (JewPAC) by inserting data and issuing reimbursements.
  • Secretary: The secretary facilitates communication between students and the Executive Committee through the Penn State Hillel email. Other responsibilities include overseeing requests to the Jewish Programming Allocation Committee (JewPAC) requests, writing the weekly Hillel emails, and taking notes at Executive Committee meetings.
  • THON Chair: [Chosen through Hillel Benefitting THON Board]. The THON Chair facilitates conversations between Hillel and Hillel Benefitting THON. This position oversees the Hillel Benefitting THON community and helps run the board for this community. In addition, this position promotes THON FTK events to the Hillel Community to ensure participation and student engagement. There will be a one month transition period between the current THON Chair and the newly appointed THON Chair.

Below is the official application for the 2024 Hillel Executive Committee. It will open October 11 and will close November 3 at 11:59pm. This is the first step in our appointment process, and will be followed by an interview [in-person or via zoom] for qualified and diligent applicants. Invitation to interview will be sent shortly after the closing of the application. If invited to interview, applicants must schedule their interviews to occur prior to Thanksgiving break.

If you have any questions about the executive committee or application process, contact Robyn Markowitz Lawler at rmlawler@pennstatehillel.org.