The second cohort of Chicago Diller Teen Fellows at their graduation Dec. 6 .

Eighteen high school students from the second cohort of Chicago’s Diller Teen Fellows program graduated on Sunday, Dec. 6. The 15-month fellowship provides teens with opportunities to explore topics of leadership, Jewish identity, Israel and Tikkun Olam.

The graduating cohort included:

• Colman Adams
• Benjamin Amram
• Lia Bauer-Goulden
• Eden Berke
• Melinda Berman
• Matan Cutler
• Grace Goodman
• Adam Gurin
• Lizzie Janssen
• Brian Schneiderman
• Spencer Schwartz
• Elisha Serotta
• Noah Simon
• Barbara Sodos
• Joshua Super
• Jared Vergotine
• Karen Weiner
• Henry Wolle

The Fellows also participated in two mifgashim (meetings), one in which they hosted their Israeli peers in Chicago for 10 days last spring and another when they visited the same peers in JUF’s Partnership Together region of Kiryat Gat, Lachish and Shafir in Israel as part of their three-week Israel Summer Seminar.

“It is important that we experience each other’s views, beliefs, and cultures,” said Diller graduate Jared Vergotine.

At the graduation ceremony, the fellows presented their Alumni Impact Projects, which will enable them continue their work to affect a positive change in the Chicago are community.

“We learned of our obligation to represent Judaism overseas and become leaders in our community,” said Diller graduate Spencer Schwartz.

The Diller Teen Fellows program is open to sophomores and juniors in high school, and operates in 26 communities worldwide. The international program pairs communities in the diaspora with Israeli communities.

To learn more about Diller Teen Fellows in Chicago, visit http://juf.org/teens/Diller_About.aspx .