Having attended Ramah Day Camp and the Forman Center of the Perelman Jewish Day School, Max Goldman, 16, is no stranger to the Jewish world and its core values. But it wasn’t until the sophomore at Germantown Academy joined the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia’s Diller Teen Fellows program, a one-year leadership training experience for 10th and 11th graders, that he was able to focus on his own relationship with Judaism and explore the values he personally wants to “hold on to for the future.”
We spoke with Max to find out more about him and his love for Diller Teen Fellows.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
I am not sure yet, because I am interested in a lot of different fields. I could see myself ending up in visual arts, finance, law, science or medicine.
What are some fun facts about you?
- I have been to Israel once already on a Jewish Federation trip with Baltimore.
- I can fold my tongue and keep it folded.
- I enjoy petite succulents.
- I row crew.
What was your favorite moment in the Diller Teen Fellows program thus far?
On the last day of our virtual leadership shabbaton. Everyone started talking very deeply about themselves and confiding in one another. This moment was when I realized how much more Diller was than just a Jewish group I meet with every so often.
What is the most important thing you learned from the Diller Teen Fellows program?
Listen to others and let others listen to you, be you, be true to yourself, and we are all unique and special.
Why should someone apply to be a Diller Teen Fellow?
If you want to learn more about who you are Jewishly and non-Jewishly, if you want to make new friends from all different backgrounds and all different places, if you want to visit Israel, a home to so many, if you aspire to one day change the world, then Diller is for you.
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Applications for the 2021-2022 Diller Teen Fellows program are now open through June 25, 2021. To apply for this year’s cohort, please click here. For more information about Diller Teen, please contact Darren Rabinowitz, Diller Teen Coordinator, at drabinowitz@jewishphilly.org.