By Jenn Maggin, Shoresh Unit Head

Shalom friends! My name is Jenn Maggin, and I am thrilled to be the Shoresh Unit Head this summer at GUCI! I am a 3rd year rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Ohio. I have spent two years in Israel: one year volunteering in schools and nursing homes and one year studying in Jerusalem. I have received a Bachelor’s degree in English from SUNY Buffalo and a Master’s degree in English Education from Columbia University. I grew up enjoying my summers as a camper and then a counselor at Gate Hill Day Camp, and last summer I was a Unit Head at URJ Camp Eisner. I enjoy playing guitar, eating mint-chocolate-chip ice cream, running, and being outdoors as much as possible.

This is my first summer at GUCI, and I am unbelievably happy to be welcomed into such a warm, positive, and musical community. Although most of the staff has grown up here and have known each other for years, they have made me feel at home and have gone out of their way to include me. I love watching the campers cheering during lunch with an infinite amount of ruach. I love doing handstands in the pool, learning Hebrew, jamming out during song session with my campers. I love watching as they make new friends and bond with their counselors. When we pray together each night in the Beit Tefillah (ourdoor chapel), I feel the magic and the spirit of this loving community–I feel God. I feel blessed to pray in such a caring and peaceful environment with really special people. I’m looking forward to my first Shabbat with the entire GUCI community and an incredible summer filled with activities, learning, fun, friends, and of course JUDAISM!