Where are they now?
Profiles of past Maxine Fischer Scholarship recipients

Adina Shoulson, 2000 recipient
Adina Shoulson, the first winner of the Maxine Fischer Scholarship lives in White Plains, New York, with her husband and children. She received an M.A. from NYU’s Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies. She taught for three years at Maayanot High School in Teaneck and is in her second year at SAR High School in Riverdale, N.Y., teaching Jewish philosophy and European and Jewish history.

The goals of the scholarship speak to Adina. “Any award that encourages women’s education, particularly in the Jewish world, is valuable and should be perpetuated and grown. This is a realm where women have much to contribute and their success can lead to greater prestige and respect for women who still struggle to take on leadership roles.”

Adina and her family are very involved in their congregation, the Hebrew Institute in White Plains, and she co-chairs the monthly women’s tefillah service.

Jenny Labendz, 2001 recipient
Jenny Labendz graduated from Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union and when she won the award, she was a junior in the joint program of the Jewish Theological Seminary and Barnard College, majoring in Talmud and Philosophy.

One of Jenny’s professors described her as an “ideal student – smart, hard working, eager to learn and grow, and possessing a quiet confidence that makes her a natural leader.” In his words “offering the Maxine Fischer Scholarship to Jenny Labendz will benefit Jewish education and honor Maxine Fischer’s memory.” The Women’s Department agreed.

As of November 2007, Jenny is pursuing a Ph.D. in Talmud at the Jewish Theological Seminary and has degrees in philosophy and ancient Jewish history. She presented a lecture at Congregation Agudath Israel of West Essex on “What Chanukah is Really About.”

Andrea Kamenetsky Fleekop, 2002 recipient
Andrea Kamenetsky Fleekop received master’s degrees in Jewish Education and Jewish Communal Service from Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles in 2003.

Andrea described her dedication to Jewish education, “I believe every person who chooses, should have the opportunity to be welcomed into the Jewish community with open arms. It is never too late to begin one’s Jewish educational journey.”

For the past two and-a-half years, Andrea has worked as Director of Education at Temple Beth Torah in Fremont, Calif. where she supervises a preschool, religious school, confirmation, and adult education courses. Her husband, Rabbi Joel Fleekop, serves at Congregation Shir Hadash in Los Gatos, Calif.

Dena Bodian, 2007 recipient
Dena Bodian, the most recent winner of the award, is in her third year of rabbinical school at the Hebrew Seminary of the Deaf in Chicago. Within the local deaf community, she serves as a Hebrew tutor, currently working with one of her deaf classmates. Dena is also a member of the Progressive Chevra Kadisha (Jewish burial society), and both participates in and leads taharot (ritual purification of the dead).

Thanks to the generosity of the Maxine Fischer Scholarship, she was able to spend the summer at the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, where, with other rabbinical students from assorted schools, she studied and worked in the field of social justice.

This year, Dena is the coordinator of the Jews by Choice program at Anshe Emet Synagogue, where she teaches various adult education courses. After she graduates from the Seminary in 2010, Dena hopes to work in a mid-size urban congregation, guiding families through life-cycle events and still working with Jews in the deaf community.

Shoshi Rosenbaum, 2008 recipient
Shoshi Rosenbaum is a rising senior in the double-degree program with Barnard College at Columbia University and List College at the Jewish Theological Seminary. She studies music and religion at Barnard and Talmud at JTS.

Aside from her academic pursuits, Shoshi is co-founder and musical director of Columbia/Barnard’s Jewish women’s a capella group, S'madar. She runs the NOAM program at Congregation Agudath Israel in Caldwell, where she trains high school students to develop leadership skills within the context of informal Jewish education. Shoshi spends her summers working at Ramah Nyack, and this summer she will be their Rosh T’filah, prayer organizer and curriculum specialist, as well as the coordinator of a new learning initiative, a Beit Midrash for staff members.

Shoshi is also involved with various projects of the Zamir Choral Foundation, and she is an active member of Hadar, a traditional egalitarian minyan on the Upper West Side.