Students Supporting Israel National Student Committee 2015/16 Academic Year
Students Supporting Israel has elected its first National Student Committee that will serve as an advisory body to the national student movement. The committee is comprised of top SSI leaders, who served in key positions in their local chapters and proved exceptionally distinct leadership and professionalism. The first board includes five students, one SSI Alumna, and one SSI honorary member who made Aliyah to enlist in the IDF.
Sarah Katularu, Senior - San Diego State University Sarah is an Israeli-American student at San Diego State University. She is a Senior, majoring in art with an emphasis in multimedia and animation. Sarah has been involved with pro-Israel advocacy on campus for three years now and became the first President of SSI at SDSU. Sarah’s biggest accomplishment as a pro-Israel student on campus is being able to beat divestment campaigns two years in a row and making SSI at SDSU one of the strongest pro-Israel chapters in the country.
Julian Kritz, Senior - Augsburg College From Raleigh, North Carolina, Julian is majoring in Political Science and International Relations. He is also minoring in Global Peace Studies and Spanish. Julian is involved in a variety of organizations on campus including Student Government, Interfaith Scholars, Sabo Scholars and Students Supporting Israel (SSI). Julian founded Augsburg's SSI Chapter and served as President for the first year of the group. During that year Augsburg College student’s government at first did not recognize Student Supporting Israel as a chartered campus group, but with strong efforts and successful campaign, Julian achieved recognition for SSI at Augsburg. After graduating, he plans to take a gap year and enroll in law school in North Carolina.
Sean Siegel Senior - Pace University NYC Born and raised in Agoura Hills, California, Sean grew up in a large Jewish family that has been heavily involved with Israel since its birth. Sean is working towards earning his degree of liberal studies with concentration in political science, women’s and gender studies and marketing, with minors in law and queer studies. Last summer, Sean interned for JQ International, a non-profit organization in Los Angeles that builds and strengthens a community that nurtures a healthy fusion of LGBTQ and Jewish identities. Sean brought his passion for Israel to college to help and co-found the first pro-Israel club at Pace University- bringing SSI to the Big Apple.
Daniel Rosenfield, Junior - Texas A&M University Dan was born and raised in Plano, Texas, and is now a junior majoring in communication. Dan established SSI at Texas A&M and made Aggie Students Supporting Israel one of the strongest groups on campus. Dan and his SSI team worked together to pass the second pro-Israel student legislation of the year, showing the Aggie student government how strong the pro-Israel front on campus is. Dan was able to create a diverse pro-Israel group that represented students from many different backgrounds and political views, all share the passion for SSI's united message.
Eli Finkelstein, Junior - University of Kansas / Normandale College From Minneapolis, Minnesota, Eli decided to go out of state and start school at the University of Kansas. Eli is majoring in International management and Entrepreneurship. He was the founder of the local SSI chapter on campus, and lead his SSI group through many challenges, finally making the pro Israel voice heard on campus. With Eli's leadership SSI KU organized a large Israel Week on campus that hundreds of students attended, successfully sharing the message of Israel with the campus community.
Marta Slobodyanyuk - University of Minnesota SSI Alumna Born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Marta majored in Business and Marketing Education along with a minor in Spanish. Marta graduated from the University of Minnesota in May 2015 and was one of the original members of SSI MN, the first SSI chapter. Marta has held the role of Vice President of the Minnesota chapter, and assisted the SSI national team as a social media analyst. One of her biggest accomplishments with Students Supporting Israel was helping pass the first Pro-Israel legislation of 2014 in North America through the university student senate.
Amit Boukai - Indiana University, SSI IDF Honorary Amit was born to Israeli parents in Indianapolis, Indiana and recently graduated with a degree in Neuroscience. In March 2014, Amit founded the second SSI chapter helping SSI make the vision of a united national movement become a reality. Amit always had a strong connection to her homeland, visiting her friends and family every year. In September 2015, Amit made Aaliyah in order to fulfill her duty and passion to join the Israel Defense Forces, where she hopes to serve as a Combat Paramedic. After serving, she plans to travel and attend medical school in either Israel or back in the United States.
