When looking back at my time during BBYO, I can't help but think of all the ways BBYO prepared me for the world. In one particular case last February, I came across the Kenneth Leventhal high school internship with StandWithUs. 

Before applying for this internship, I served as Morah on my local chapter board and had a ton of other leadership experience. I had felt I wanted to use beyond just the Jewish community. So I decided to apply for this internship, not knowing that it would give me the exact tools I needed to succeed beyond just my local Jewish community. 

 What started as attending summer programs has become something so much bigger—leadership, confidence, and a sense of responsibility to make an impact on the Jewish community today. And this year, I saw all of that come full circle through a StandWithUs Kenneth Leventhal High School Intern.  

The StandWithUs Kenneth Leventhal High School Internship is a year-long program for 11th and 12th-grade students who want to make a difference in their schools and communities. As a student, through this program, I’ve had the opportunity to learn about Israel, how to stand up against antisemitism, and how to become a strong leader in my community. I have the opportunity to share what they’ve learned by creating fun and meaningful programs for my peers.  Throughout the year, I have also had the chance to travel to Los Angeles and Las Vegas for two leadership conferences, where I meet inspiring speakers, connect with other student leaders, and build skills and knowledge to create positive change in my community. 

One of the biggest ways BBYO prepared me for this internship was through connection and leadership skills. BBYO not only taught me how to go out of my way to meet new people and how to build professional relationships, but also walking into this internship, especially at conferences in Los Angeles, I wasn’t intimidated. I knew how to introduce myself, how to engage with speakers, and how to build meaningful friendships with other interns from around the country. That confidence came directly from years of BBYO experiences on summer programs like ILTC and Kallah. 

As for being a leader, serving on my chapter board and being involved in ILN specifically, writing for “The Shofar” pushed me even further. Leadership in BBYO isn’t just a title—it’s about responsibility, creativity, and showing up even when it’s hard. From Planning programs and writing articles, bbyo taught me how to take initiative and turn ideas into reality. Those same skills became essential during my internship when it came time to create and lead programs at my school.

As a part of my grade 12 coursework I have to complete a capstone, or passion project, in order to graduate. When I began this internship, everything really came together because I wanted to combine my capstone with this internship to have a very effective and powerful capstone. My goal for my capstone was to really educate students and teachers in my school about the importance of holocaust education in our society today. So I put together, with the help of my teachers and mentors, my school's first ever holocaust remembrance assembly featuring a local Holocaust survivor, this past January. 

I bet you're asking how BBYO connects to all of this. Well, BBYO had been the ground roots and had already taught me how to plan meaningful, engaging programs, and the internship gave me the content and purpose behind it. I wasn’t starting from scratch—I was building off years of experience. I knew how to make something impactful, how to reach people, and how to create an environment where others actually wanted to listen and learn; I just took it to the next level. 

And then there were the summer programs—some of my most transformative experiences BBYO has to offer. They pushed me out of my comfort zone, surrounded me with passionate leaders like me, and showed me what it looks like to be part of something bigger than myself, and that mindset has stayed with me throughout this internship. It also reminded me to take risks, to speak up, and to fully step into every opportunity I was given. 

Looking back at this year and how this internship shaped my leadership and passion for holocaust education. This internship wasn’t just a separate experience—it was a continuation of everything BBYO has given me. Every connection I've made, every short article I wrote, and every challenge I took on were rooted in the skills and confidence I built through BBYO.

BBYO didn’t just prepare me for this moment—it made me ready to make the most of it. And more importantly, it showed me that the impact doesn’t stop here.

Ready to take your leadership to the next level? Check out the StandWithUs Kenneth Leventhal Internship - StandWithUs and start making an impact in your community.