Field Experience
Joshua Mellits, MA/MBA'19 (above) did his fieldwork at The Jewish Week under the supervision of esteemed editor and publisher, Gary Rosenblatt, and managing editor, Robert Goldblum.
The Hornstein Program's professional field experience requirement is designed to help students develop and refine important career skills that can only be acquired in a setting outside of the classroom.
All Hornstein students spend a minimum of 150 hours working for a Jewish organization prior to graduation, either during the summer after the first year of the program or during their second year. Students are given considerable support and latitude in choosing an organization with a mission that matches their interests. Stimulating fieldwork projects are carefully designed to provide students with practical experience as well as guidance and mentoring from experienced Jewish professional.
Q&A with Fieldwork Supervisors & Students
Selected List of Organizations Where Students Have Done Fieldwork
Alumni relations, fundraising and strategic philanthropic development.
Located in Marblehead, Massachusetts.
Assisting on projects and facilitating and organizing events.
Located in New York City.
Developing a corporate sponsorship model for Taking Root, Shoresh's annual fundraising event, as well as designing family-oriented educational activities, soliciting vendors and meeting development goals for Shoresh's first ever summer Honey Festival.
Located in Toronto.
The Northeast Teen Collective reviewing and revising a teen leadership curriculum; assisting with logistical aspects of the various programs; assisting in the creation of supplemental documents for the program; conducting informational interviews with the teen participants; and attending and assisting with the program's Summit in September.
Various projects around Jewish Life and Learning, day camp, development and marketing.
Located in Roslyn, New York.
Working in every stage of the publishing process, from choosing a title, to formatting and cover design.
Located in Jerusalem.
Specifically helping them to build systems for evaluation/analytics.
Located in Newton, Massachusetts.
Located in New York City.
Special projects for JCRC Executive Director, Jeremy Burton.
Initiative that targets young professionals in Silicon Valley.
Eser, a young adult learning series.
A summer interfaith camp for teens.
Joshua Venture Group and Bikkurim merged (now called Upstart) to learn about the Jewish start-up world.
A variety of projects.
Special projects for CJP leadership.
A social justice program for teens.
Specific focus on board development for women.
Working as a Goldman Fellow.
Located in Newton, Massachusetts.
Located in Baltimore.
“I completed the MBA/MA track in 2018 after living in Israel for a few years working for a well-known Jewish nonprofit. In between my first and second year of the program, I was placed at Epstein Hillel School for my summer fieldwork. It was an incredible experience in an idyllic seaside town, and at the end of the summer, I was approached by the Head of School and asked to apply job! I spent my second year of Hornstein working part-time and upon graduation, I became the Director of Community Engagement at Epstein Hillel School. I now manage a fundraising portfolio of about $1.9 million and 500+ donors, and I'm a senior member of the leadership team. Hornstein gave me the tools and connections to be able to be successful in my career. When I tell people I went to Hornstein, it carries a lot of weight, and I know that so many more doors are open to me because of it.”
Deryn Pressman-Mashin, MA/MBA'18
Director of Community Engagement, Epstein Hillel School