Our Alumni Have the World at Their Fingertips

Zach Novetsky (‘05): Student Rep. at Durban II and NYU Senior

Zach Novetsky (class of 2005), now in his final year at New York University, was chosen in spring 2009 as one of three U.S. student representatives at “Durban II”-- the United Nations’ 2009 World Conference on Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Other Intolerance in Geneva. He joined the European Union of Jewish Student’s delegation there and wrote a blog for the Jerusalem Post as the event unfolded.

Yochi J. Dreazen (‘94): Wall Street Journal reporter

During his senior year at the Academy, Yochi Dreazen built a newspaper, Kolot, from scratch. He raised the money and recruited a small staff of like-minded editors. he soon found a small high school in southern Illinois that was willing to print the newspaper for us for free as a class project. The other editors would join him in the computer lab to edit and layout each issue. Read more

Brad Sugar (’00): Director, Jewish Student Union

Aside from going to Cubs games with Mr. Harris, an AP History project about the Water Reclamation District of Chicago (which earned state honors), and the planning best Purim Shpiel to ever grace the ICJA stage, perhaps the best memory of ICJA I have is meeting and dating my wife, Shaina. Read more

David Steinberg (‘80): Animation

David landed his first job in animation the summer after his senior year at Ida Crown when he showed his “Keter 1980” yearbook illustrations to Don Bluth, a Disney director who was forming his own studio. David’s enthusiasm, more than his artwork, garnered a summer job varnishing desks for the fledgling company. Read more

Raysh Weiss (’02): Fulbright Scholar

In Aug. 2006, Rachel Weiss (’02) arrived in Germany to encounter what continues to be her “biggest revelation” as a Fulbright grant recipient. While spending Shabbat with a young couple in Frankfurt, Weiss realized that the pair had little access to Jewish education for their young child and bought kosher food from a list of products. “It was suddenly clear to me that basic staples of Jewish life in the U.S. and Israel, such as hechsherim and Jewish education, are not to be taken for granted,” she says. Read more

Gabe Axler (’00): Israel Defense Forces

Many Academy graduates continue to learn and actively stay involved with Israel long after graduation. When Academy Alum Gabe Axler (’00) joined the Israeli Defense Forces, he felt his ICJA education prepared him for everyday life in Israel. Read more

Email your Alumni Story to icjanews@icja.org