Brandeis Magazine

Jay Bernstein, P’17, is in his second year as an EMT, riding and driving ambulances. He completed an intense six-month EMS course and exam process at age 56 — an accomplishment that made passing the bar exam and completing basic training for Marva Israel Defense Forces seem comparatively easy, he says. Mitchell Friedman is a senior lecturer at the Naval Postgraduate School, in Monterey, California. Nelson Handel is a screenwriter; a magazine feature writer; and the author of three books, including a New York Times best-seller. This spring, he will officially receive his Bachelor of Arts from Brandeis. “Four years at Brandeis left me with enough credits, but my repeated failed attempts to pass the foreign-language requirement left me on ‘terminal credit’ without a degree,” Nelson explains. He invites everyone to his graduation party. Deborah Renert has been ordained as an Orthodox rabbi by Rabbi Daniel Landes, former head of the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, in Jerusalem. Su Sokol’s 2014 debut novel, “Cycling to Asylum,” has been optioned for a film. Her new novel, “Run J Run,” is scheduled for publication by Renaissance Press this spring.