Join us as we offer a special blessing for our kids heading off to College at our Shabbat Renewal service.  We will welcome the Executive Director of the University of Texas Hillel, Maiya Edelson, to give advice on staying Jewishly involved and connected on college campuses today.

Also, if you'd like to sign your College Student up to received special communication and gifts from our Sisterhood and Rabbi Strauss, please complete this form  by September 17th so that we can stay in touch with your student!

More about Maiya Edelson:

Maiya joined the Texas Hillel team as Executive Director in 2017. Prior to her arrival to the Forty Acres, Maiya spent five years with Maryland Hillel as Assistant Director and Director of Educational Engagement, and previously worked as Program Director at Hillel at Davis and Sacramento. In 2015, Hillel International named Maiya a Richard M. Joel Exemplar of Excellence. As Executive Director, Maiya works closely with students, staff and the broader community to advance Hillel’s work on campus and to inspire every Jewish student to create an enduring commitment to Jewish life, learning and Israel.

Maiya holds a Master’s Degree in Experiential Jewish Education from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from Columbia University (Columbia College), where she was captain of the women’s softball team. Maiya competed for the Israeli national softball team from 2003-2013, traveling to six different countries representing Israel on the diamond. Maiya has been an educator at both Camp Alonim and Camp Ramah, and has been a part of leading over 15 student educational trips in Israel, Poland and throughout the US. She completed the Shalom Hartman Institute’s Fellowship for Campus Professionals, and is part of the prestigious Schusterman Fellowship. In addition to her leadership of Texas Hillel, she is pursuing a doctorate in education, with a focus on organizational change and leadership, from the Rossier School of Education at USC. Maiya is married to Dr. Jerome Edelson, a physician at Brooke Army Medical Center, and they reside in Austin and San Antonio.