To sum it up in one sentence, the JCSC fellow is responsible for coordinating what Hillel has affectionately termed "engagement work." Engagement students are the ones that you will not find at Hillel on a regular basis. Therefore, the fellow tries at best to spend a good portion of his or her time out on campus-meeting, greeting and actively connecting with unaffiliated Jewish students. You possibly could be the students only connection to Jewish student life on campus! That is a heavy weight to bear, but you were hired for a purpose and I believe that you are definitely capable of meeting every Jewish student on campus!
"Meeting students where they're at" can occur in many different ways. You will responsible for planning and implementing a certain number of programs each month. Programs are a tool for meeting students where they are at on campus!
In addition to your specific JCSC responsibilities, you also have various duties that come with being a Hillel staff member. In general, we strive to help each other out as much as possible here in the office!
Coffee Dates - (one on one's) - they go hand in hand with Engagement!
The best way to get to know students to take them out for coffee/ice cream or any fun treat of their choice! Find a place in the middle of campus to meet with a student-such as Kerchoff patio or the Ackerman Student Union. When you take the student out for coffee ask them questions about how what they are doing on campus, where they are from, if they want to get involved in Hillel and how YOU can plug them into various programs that are going on in Hillel. I always sort of think of the JCSC fellowship as being a paid friend for students. Enjoy yourself on the coffee dates! Another great thing to do is bring an already involved student on the coffee date so that way the student meets someone that is already involved in Hillel.
Tabling!!! Ahh the enjoyment of tabling and meeting students on campus!
Tabling is another tool (yeah engagement tools!) to meet students on campus! UCLA is very unique in that we have BRUIN WALK a permanent area on campus to TABLE! To be a GREAT tabler you need to have various tools with you!
1) FOOD-EVERY STUDENT LOVES TO EAT AND THEY WILL DEFINITELY STOP BY THE TABLE IF YOU HAVE FOOD! GUMMY CANDIES ARE ALWAYS GOOD-B/C THEY DON'T MELT!
2) FLYERS-SO STUDENTS CAN FIND OUT ABOUT ALL THE FUN HILLEL PROGRAMS!
3) STUDENT CONTACT FORMS SO THAT YOU CAN GET THE INFORMATION OF THE STUDENTS YOU MEET
4)OTHER STUDENTS THAT ARE ALREADY INVOLVED IN HILLEL SO THAT ENGAGEMENT STUDENTS CAN SEE HOW COOL AND EXCITING UCLA HILLEL REALLY IS!!!