Office of Study Abroad

Profile: Jeremy Weinberg '12

Jeremy in Israel

Majors: Psychology, Education Studies

Study Abroad Program: University of Haifa International School, Honors Psychology (Haifa, Israel)

Current job/graduate schools:

  • 2014: Northeastern University, MS in College Student Development and Counseling
  • 2019: Boston College, MBA
  • Current role: Leadership trainer/facilitator for LifeLabs Learning, a learning and development company. We train organizations and leaders to master life's most useful skills!

Why did you originally choose to study abroad at University of Haifa? I studied abroad in Haifa, Israel, because I wanted to explore a less touristy area of Israel (not Jerusalem or Tel Aviv), and particularly appreciated the very diverse Arab and Israeli population. The school also offered an Honors Psychology program, and as a psychology major that allowed me to take some additional coursework to count toward some major requirements. At the time, the program also was one of the few that had an option to live with Israeli students (which I do not believe they have anymore), and I liked the idea of immersing myself in Israeli student culture as much as possible.

What have you been up to since graduation? I started out working in Higher Education Administration within Student Affairs – residential life and student conduct, primarily. I recently shifted focus to learning and development outside of the higher education space and in the corporate world. My company specializes in training meant to simplify complex skill sets to train managers and teams how to work best, and we use psychology and neuroscience research to help us do that, so it fits in to my interests in both psychology and education.

What lessons or skills did you learn from studying abroad that you still think about today or still impact you today on your current path? Studying abroad helped me become a more resilient and adaptive human, since it challenged me to push myself out of my comfort zone, make new friends/connections, and explore a different area of the world. I also think it helped me become more independent and find my voice in a way I had not before. I came back from study abroad more confident in my abilities to connect with others and bring in my ideas to conversations.

One memory from abroad that still feels like it happened yesterday: Around the Spring Break time, I went with a group of newer friends to Ein Gedi, where we spent a few days in a nice hostel and explored nearby botanical gardens and enjoyed time on the beach. It was such a nice time to get away and explore new areas of the country that we did not get to explore otherwise.

Your message to students thinking about studying abroad: As a highly involved student leader, it was a big decision to leave Brandeis for a semester and let go of my involvement and leadership responsibilities — I was afraid of missing out on so many things on campus. BUT it was the best decision I made for myself, and I do not regret it. If you are even considering studying abroad, you should do it! It is worth it, and you’ll be so glad you did.

“I came back from study abroad more confident in my abilities to connect with others and bring in my ideas to conversations.”

Jeremy Weinberg '12