Meet the HBI 2022 Gilda Slifka Summer Interns
June 23, 2022
By Lauren Hakimi
Every summer, HBI welcomes interns from across the country and world who complete original research related to the HBI mission of fresh thinking about Jews and gender worldwide and support the work of scholars affiliated with HBI and Brandeis. During the eight-week program, the interns also attend educational lunch sessions with scholars, visit Jewish sites of interest in the Greater Boston area including Mayyim Hayyim, and a walking tour of Jewish Boston. The Gilda Slifka HBI Summer Internship is supported by a generous gift from Gilda Slifka. Meet our interns.
Madison Cissell is an incoming graduate student at the University of Indiana-Bloomington, where she will obtain dual degrees in library science and folklore. She graduated in 2021 from the University of Kentucky, where she majored in psychology. She also helped conduct oral history projects, including the Jewish Kentucky Oral History Project, and served as a research assistant for Jewish studies professor Sheila Jelen. She is working with archivist Surella Seelig in Brandeis Universitys Jewish feminist archives while also conducting an oral history project about women who had their bat mitzvahs later in life. Unfortunately, Madison was unable to bring her pet rat to Brandeis this summer.
Katayoun Matloubi is a PhD student in French literature at the University of Connecticut. She holds a master's degree in that subject from Shahid Beheshti University in Iran, and she volunteers at Action Against Hunger and Amnesty International. At UConn, she also teaches French and serves as a senator in the graduate student government. As part of her dissertation, Katayoun's project this summer focuses on female narratives of the Holocaust. She is also working with Northeastern University professor Debra Kaufman. She looks forward to getting to know fellow interns and work with scholars she admires.
Lauren Hakimi recently graduated from Hunter College with degrees in history and English. Her work as a writer and journalist has been published in CNN, WNYC/Gothamist, Bon Appétit, the Forward, JTA/New York Jewish Week, Alma, Lilith magazine and more. This summer, she is working with HBI Assistant Director Amy Powell on the institute's blog, Fresh Ideas. She'll also be working on a guide to the works of Grace Paley. This is her first time living outside of New York!
Miranda Hellmold Stone is a senior at Smith College, where they major in Jewish studies, minor in English, and serve as a tour guide. They also interned at the Los Angeles Review of Books and Persea Books. This summer, they are working with HBI Director Lisa Fishbayn Joffe on defining get refusal as a form of domestic violence. For their independent project, they will create a website about the history of agunot in the United States. Born and raised in New York City, Miranda's go-to is an everything bagel with scallion cream cheese and lox.
Mia Hay studies Jewish studies and gender studies at the University of Texas at Austin, where they are also involved in the Jewish Studies Undergraduate Students Association and serve as a resident assistant. They will work with religious studies scholar Jillian Stinchcomb on a reception history of the Queen of Sheba in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and for their independent project, Mia will analyze Hebrew Bible passages to show why they should not be used to justify transphobia. They look forward to escaping the Texas heat this summer.
Michaela Harrel majors in gender studies and Spanish at Mount Holyoke College. They’re also a photographer at their college newspaper and served as a representative for Girls Learn International at the 63rd United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Their personal project explores political propaganda aimed at convincing Soviet Jews to move to the Jewish Autonomous Region. This summer, Michaela will also work with professors Jonathan Krasner and Ziva Hassenfeld to analyze the development of gender roles in Jewish children. From California, they look forward to building concrete research experience and getting to know people who share their interests.
Noah Marchuck is a rising junior at Emory University, where he studies psychology and gender studies and is president of the student government. He was also an intern at Hillels of Georgia and the Hillel representative for Emory's Inter-Religious Council. Noah will work with Jewish studies professor Alexander Kaye on a project about exile and diaspora. He will also conduct an oral history project about how queer Jewish men navigate their queer and Jewish identities. He's excited to be living with new people this summer.
Lauren Hakimi is a recent graduate of Hunter College and a 2022 HBI Gilda Slifka summer intern.