When I sent my first email announcing the pilot of a new pluralistic leadership program to Jewish campus professionals two years ago, I was excited. I could already picture the nominations arriving in droves, opening the door to student leaders who could become partners in bridge-building with the very professionals who had helped them find their place on campus. 

Then the responses started coming in — very slowly. Jewish campus professionals were stretched thin, with little capacity to recruit for another program without a clear sense of how it could support their campus or strengthen student leadership.

Now, after two years as the director of Campus Commons, I’ve come to understand something essential about how we support Jewish students: National initiatives and Jewish life on campus each play an essential role in the ecosystem and are strongest when they work together. 

Collaboration broadens the circle of support for students

A 2019 study from Springtide Research Institute shows an inverse relationship between the number of trusted adults in a young person’s life and their experiences of loneliness, stress and social isolation: as the number of trusted adults increases, these experiences decrease. Jewish life professionals on campus cannot be expected to meet every student’s needs on their own. Rather than asking campus professionals to take on more or to meet the diverse needs of every single Jewish student, we can share the responsibility. 

In evaluations of Campus Commons alumni from last year’s cohort, 75% of participants reported that they now have an extended network of mentors and peers in their lives whom they can go to when navigating difficult conversations, and 70% of them also reported that they are now extremely likely to seek out Jewish community. 

National programs have the power to both complement campus initiatives by providing specialized leadership training for existing student leaders and providing mentorship and opportunities for students who have not yet found their place on campus or in Jewish life. This helps to grow the circle of support for students while creating pathways for a broader range of young people to build their Jewish leadership.

Communication strengthens how we support students together

During Campus Commons, our team coaches students in developing and implementing bridge-building projects on campus. In the pilot cohort, one student wanted to facilitate intrafaith dialogue about the Israel-Hamas war at a particularly tense moment. As we developed the program, I asked if there was someone in Jewish life on campus who could help her navigate the particular campus’ context. She responded that she had not yet thought to turn to her campus staff for support with this particular bridge-building project, even though they already had an established relationship. 

In every subsequent cohort, we’ve made this connection an intentional part of the project process, helping students draw on relationships with campus staff who can support their leadership. Each student identifies a campus mentor whom the team keeps updated throughout the program, sharing information about the experience and offering support to further amplify that student’s leadership. 

These touch points are not simply “nice to have.” While our team can offer specialized expertise, campus professionals hold the institutional knowledge and local context needed to help a student turn that learning into meaningful action. Campus professionals have told me that these touch points help them not only check in with their student leaders, but also understand how to help students apply newly developed skills and ideas on campus. 

We can all prepare students for the day after graduation 

“What are we doing to set up our Jewish students for the day after graduation?” I first encountered this profoundly important question in an op-ed in eJewishPhilanthropy by Chani and rabbi Peretz Chein of Chabad of Brandeis. Our responsibility to students does not end when their campus experience does. 

As students approach graduation, they turn to trusted adults for support in navigating what comes next, whether that means exploring professional opportunities, connecting with Jewish community, or thinking through how they want to lead. Graduation can be an exciting and daunting transition, and the more support and connection students have around them, the better positioned they are to carry their leadership forward long after graduation.

This is where a national alumni network can play a particularly important role. When a campus professional connects a student to a national program with an alumni support structure, they are plugging that student into a network that can accompany them well beyond their undergraduate years. As students move to new cities and navigate Jewish life beyond the structures of a college campus, they can continue to access mentorship and community to develop their leadership. When national and campus systems work together, we remind our students that they are invited to draw on support from the many contacts they have acquired over their journey in college.

Connecting to an ecosystem

Our experience with Campus Commons has reinforced a simple idea: national programs and campus support systems are strongest when they work together. When we build on each other’s strengths, students have more people in their corner, more opportunities to lead, and a stronger network to carry with them beyond college.

Ultimately, supporting Jewish students is not the responsibility of any one organization, but rather a shared endeavor. The more intentionally we build to support the ecosystem around Jewish students, the better equipped young people will be to build meaningful Jewish lives on campus and wherever they go next.

Sophia Adler Varon is the manager of strategic initiatives for The Bronfman Fellowship and directs its Campus Commons program.