Pursuing Their Passions
At SAR, students are encouraged to learn and grow in all facets of life, to explore the world around them, and to challenge themselves beyond their comfortable limits. Our students take with them the knowledge that they have gained and the skills that they have developed, combined with the Torah values that have been instilled in them, and have incorporated them into their lives today. Their experiences at SAR have informed and inspired who our graduates are and the paths that they have taken personally and professionally.
Rebecca Spitzer (HS ‘18) did a project on raising chickens!
For many SAR High School alumni, it was their Senior Exploration project that helped guide many onto their career paths. Senior Exploration is a capstone project for seniors and has become part of the fabric of our beloved institution, often cited as a highlight of one’s experience at SAR. The goal of the program is to provide students an opportunity to pursue a passion outside of school. For some, they utilized the time to explore an interest or to become more proficient in a hobby; others used the time to discover more about a future career either by job shadowing or setting up an internship.
As Jamie Schneider Schwartz (AC ‘04, HS ‘08), a member of the second senior class, shared, “Working in an early childhood inclusion classroom helped to pave the way for my career in education. From a young age, as a high school student, my career interest was taken seriously and through Senior Exploration, I was able to get my feet wet as a professional years before I would be leading my own classroom.”
Similarly, Arielle Gurin (AC ‘06, HS ‘10), a member of the fourth graduating class, reflects, “I am first to say that Senior Exploration could literally launch your career. Through the college counseling team, I was connected to an SAR parent, who was able to secure me a short-term internship at 1010 WINS & WFAN sport radio for my project. After Senior Ex, I maintained my relationships at WFAN, which led to a summer internship after my sophomore year of college. Having the top sports radio network in New York on my resume ultimately helped me land jobs at SNY, MSG Networks, and MLB Network. I truly believe that if you use your Senior Exploration time wisely, it can shape your career and future.”
“Definitely my experience as a songwriter was intertwined with my musical experience at SAR thanks to Avshalom Katz (former faculty). How excited we were to come to music class and to be in the choir was the highlight of our lives. When I was 12 years old, Avshalom decided that I needed to record my songs professionally and he took me to a professional studio.”
For students at SAR High School, our tagline says it all: “It’s not just what you learn. It’s who you become.” That sentiment is felt throughout the school and embraced by the community.
But long before SAR had a High School, these values rang true for our students at SAR Academy and have influenced how our Academy alumni live their lives today and pursued their own passions. As Rabbi Seth (Shaul) Farber (AC ‘80), Founder and Director of the organization ITIM noted, “I learned how to fight the good fight. We went out with Rabbi Fuld and Rabbi Chwat to free Soviet Jewry and today, in Israel, I’m still involved in that battle.”
These are just some of the examples of how SAR has created both an inspirational and practical professional foundation for its students...now tell us your story!