Diller Teen Fellows is a 15-month fellowship for high schoolers. Active in 22 communities worldwide, it partners with JUF in Chicago.

The Diller Teen Fellows program focuses on leadership, Jewish identity, Israel, and social justice. Through diverse activities and discussions, I have grown to appreciate my Jewish identity and understand its significance in every aspect of my life. But more than helping me grow as an individual, Diller is a program that creates a family from strangers.

My first Shabbaton -or weekend retreat-as a Diller Teen Fellow is an experience that I will never forget. My favorite memory was an activity we did involving glow sticks.

We all came to the Shabbaton from different backgrounds and we barely knew each other. In addition to learning about leadership and celebrating Shabbat, we also spent the weekend becoming a unified group.

To close this fantastic weekend, we summed up the experience with the perfect final activity. In completely darkness, each fellow was given two glow sticks. We were asked a simple question on a personal topic with the intention of letting us open our minds and share our hearts with each other in a safe space. When we were ready to respond, we each cracked our glow stick to share our answer.

As each person lit their glow stick, the room grew brighter and we became each other’s diaries. This allowed us to take our bonds to a deeper level and expand our friendships beyond expectations. I am forever grateful for this unique opportunity and am eager to explore Israel with my Diller family this summer!