Student Representatives

Undergraduate Departmental Representatives

The Undergraduate Departmental Representatives serve as a resource and representative for fellow majors and minors and potential majors and minors, and bring student concerns and/or ideas to the program faculty. They also provide feedback to the program chair, undergraduate advising head and faculty regarding scheduling problems, course offerings, etc. and help organize events for majors, minors, and other interested students.

Lia Dankowicz
Lia Dankowicz
Yiddish Undergraduate Departmental Representative
Lia is a sophomore majoring in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies with a minor in Legal Studies. She loves learning about history and culture and is especially interested in Jewish history. She is a language enthusiast, and spent this past summer taking classes in Yiddish, Hebrew, and Swedish (though not all at the same time!). Lia would love to practice with anyone interested! Despite the long-distance scenario, Lia is looking forward to spending the year working with other undergraduates to strengthen the Yiddish community and overall NEJS community at Brandeis.
Becky Marcus
Becky Marcus
NEJS Undergraduate Departmental Representative
Becky is so excited to be the NEJS UDR for the 2020-2021 academic year! She is a senior majoring in Education Studies and NEJS with a minor in Hebrew! In her free time you can typically find her at Hillel! She hopes to work in the informal world of Jewish education after leaving Brandeis. She would love to help you with any questions you might have about the NEJS department and is always happy to chat over a cup of coffee!
Sam Nassar
Sam Nassar
Arabic Undergraduate Departmental Representative

I am one of the UDR's for Arabic. I am a junior majoring in Health, Science, Society, and Policy (HSSP) with minors in Arabic and Economics and am interested in learning Arabic because of family in Egypt. I am also on the basketball team and enjoy spending time volunteering, working, and doing research. I am excited about the events we have planned for the upcoming year and would happy to answer any questions that students have about the Arabic program!

Sarah Pechet
Sarah Pechet
Arabic Undergraduate Departmental Representative

Sarah is excited to serve as one of the Arabic Undergraduate Departmental Representatives for the 2020-2021 school year. She is a senior majoring in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, Economics, and International and Global Studies, and has a minor in Arabic. Her interest in the Arabic language stems from a desire to understand the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict from all angles and perspectives, and from her interest in the Middle East as a whole. Sarah studied in Amman, Jordan during the Spring 2020 semester, and hopes to return to the Middle East after graduation, whether for work, graduate school, or personal travel!

In her free time, Sarah plays rugby with the Brandeis Women's Rugby Team and enjoys volunteering in the Office of Admissions as an Ambassador and Chatter. Back home in Los Angeles, she loves training in martial arts and is an instructor of Krav Maga!

Graduate Student Representatives

Graduate Student Representatives are resources for fellow and potential graduate students. They can assist students with learning about the program from an experienced student's perspective, give advice on housing and getting around town or navigating campus, share questions or concerns about being a graduate student, and suggest ideas for promoting social connections with fellow students. They represent NEJS graduate students at the monthly departmental faculty meetings and can share your suggestions or areas of concern.

Shirah Cohen
Shirah Cohen
Graduate Student Representative
Born in Israel and raised in Japan, Shirah completed her undergraduate studies in liberal arts at Doshisha University in Kyoto, during which she also spent time at Leiden University in the Netherlands and wrote her honour’s thesis on the impact of nationalism on the development of Modern Hebrew and Modern Japanese literatures. Her main interest is in the relationship between modernity and literature in the early 20th century, in particular in how writers processed their place in the world. She is especially interested in topics such as alienation and exile, as well as intertextuality and literary subversion. In her graduate studies, she hopes to further delve into these topics, focusing on Hebrew, Japanese, English, and German literatures.