The Jewish Day School

JDS is thrilled to have three JDS alumnae on campus this summer interning with JDS Alumni Relations.

• Emily Caditz ('07) attends Brandeis University where she is majoring in economics and mathematics.
• Becky Constantine ('05) attends the University of Oregon where she is majoring in business marketing and communications.
• Tania Aronowitz ('13) just graduated with the JDS 8th grade class.

JDS is proud of the hundreds of former students who have been a part of our school community since our first class graduated in 1987. Whether you are a graduate or attended for a year or two, we would love to hear from you and to help you stay connected with your JDS friends! Email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Want to network? Join the JDS Group in LinkedIn.

Looking for 2013-2014 fellowships, internships or scholarships? Click here for some resources for you.

Click here to read our Spring 2013 Alumni Newsletter - Journeys.  To see last spring's newsletter, click here.  Be sure to email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with your updates and mailing address so you'll receive printed issues.

Alumni Updates

• Corey Erlitz ('87) passed away in April in the Bay area.
• Maddie Immel has received a number of awards from Interlake High School including Special Recognition for Art and Social Studies, AP Scholar, IB Diploma Candidate and IB Student of the Year.
• Halen Baker has received an intership in Harvard Medical School's Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory - click here to read about it.
• Madeline Weinstein is quoted on Q13 talking about Mt. Si's "hot or not" contest.
• Megan Brumer has been elected as an intern for Hillel at the UW as the Jewish Life Programming Coordinator.
• Talia Etsekson (and her parents Don and Deanne) were this year's honorees at the Friendship Circle Annual Appreciation Dinner.
• Jesse Salomon is a Shoreline City Councilman who recently sponsored an ordinance, which was passed by the council, banning plastic bags and encouraging the use of resuable, eco-friendly bags.
• Bess Lovejoy launched her new book Rest in Pieces: The Curious Fates of Famous Corpses in March 2013 - published by Simon & Schuster.
• Lila Kitaeff is co-managing RadioActive, KUOW's youth radio program.
• Hannah Robin and Zach Robin were featured in a King5 Special on December 27th talking about the nonprofit organization they formed called the 2th Fairy.
• Ariel Vardy had an article called "Chalil's Prayer" published on the Everyday Ambassador website in November.
• Jake Baker is completing his BA in Business and Aviation Management at the University of North Dakota and will enter the Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Operation (UAS) program in the fall.
• Ben Bergman left NPR this fall after being named Orange County reporter for Southern California Public Radio station KPCC.
• Naomi Fine is working at JDS in our preschool and assisting in 2nd grade.
• Davey Friedman delivered a wonderful address at our Annual Fund Kick Off Breakfast in October. Click here to see it.
• Jenna Levin plays Jessica in the movie "All I Want is Christmas" now available on iTunes, Amazon and On Demand.
• Alayna Maduell is participating in the Teaching Academy at Newport High School and will go into Bellevue classrooms as a teaching assistant next semester. She also teaches and tutors students at Herzl ner Tamid.
• Daniel Novick left television news and joined GolinHarris PR Firm in Texas as a creator/writer.
• Jane Rutstein Shay has returned to teaching in the JDS Middle School after her maternity leave and welcoming son Jonah.
• Dr. Sarah Toner is a member of the JDS Board of Trustees and heads up the school's alumni outreach.
• Jacob Valk is in his senior year at Occidental College in Los Angeles where he is studying for the MCAT in preparation for attending medical school. Jacob is also preparing to present his own biological research in the spring to secure an honors degree in biology.
• Coby Vardy holds an Architecture degree and is now studying Construction Management at UW.
• Micha Vardy is a Mechanical Engineering student at Tel Aviv University.
• Nina Garkovi was featured in a King5 Healthlink segment - click here to see her story.
• Harrison Reines ('11) became an Eagle Scout in June 2012 and has moved to San Diego where he attends La Jolla Country Day School.
• Michaela Calderon attends Washington State University where she is majoring in Hospitality Business Management, is on the President's Honor Roll and is President of Hillel. She previously competed with Action Athletics Cheerleading where her team earned numerous titles before she retired from competitions.
• David Bayley graduated from UNLV in Resort & Hotel Management.
• Miriam Stiefel ('04) graduated from Pitzer College in May of 2012 with honors in political studies and sociology. She has been awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to teach English in the Czech Republic for 2012-2013.
• Gillian Friedman ('08) received the American Jewish Committee's Deborah Rosen Scholarship award for dedication to human relations.
• Maya Zwang's prom dress giveaway (She's a chapter head for the project Becca's Closet) at JDS was featured in the Seattle Times on 5/6/12.
• Talya Gillman is one of 120 young Jewish leaders from around the world selected to attend the four day ROI Summit in Israel in June. ROI connects Jewish leaders "enabling them to turn their passion into action by creating transformative work for the Jewish world and beyond."
• Kasey Feinstein ('08) will attend Seattle University next fall where she earned a spot on the cheerleading team.
• Benjamin Avner ('95) and his wife Elissa Cahn are living in Chicago and is receiving a combined MD/PhD from the University of Illinois - Chicago. He looks forward to his residency in Internal Medicine.
• Ben Gown (’96) and Josh Niehaus (’97) formed the Sababas, a Jewish education musical duo. Visit www.thesababas.com
• Zach Saul, a student at Hendrix College, is the co-president of Hillel and teaches Sunday School at a Little Rock synagogue.
• Josh Kahn ('96) is profiled in Orthodox Union's Jewish Action Magazine article on young Jewish political leaders - available here.
• Joey Mosholder is a cardiac exercise physiologist at Lawrence Memorial Hospital in Boston.
• Joshua Sloan was interviewed on NPR's All Things Considered.
• Marina Garkavi ('05) is at Brandeis University studying pre-health. Marina's sister and JDS alum Nina Garkavi ('02) is living in Seattle - see our Spring 2012 Alumni Newsletter above for her update.
• Drew, Dea and Dalya Lovy visited campus last year. Drew graduated from Albert Einstein Univ. in NY, Dea is studying engineering at Johns Hopkins and Dalya is a nursing student at the University of Michigan.

Alumni Profiles - click on the image to read their stories.

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