'I see them experiencing Jewish joy,' says professor at Old Dominion U. Amy Milligan, director of the ODU Hillel, runs an Am Yisrael Chai Café for students to gather and gab about campus life, something perhaps more significant post-Oct. 7. (Sept. 10, 2026 / JNS) Room No. 2024 at Old Dominion University's Batten Arts and Letters Building is a hub for Jewish students. The modest space on the campus in Norfolk, Va., offers a safe zone to decompress. Perhaps just as importantly, it boasts a credenza full of snacks. The de facto meeting area for ODU Hillel doubles as the office of Amy Milligan, director of the Institute for Jewish Studies and Interfaith Understanding. Milligan, 44, also director of the ODU Hillel, recently received the Academic Engagement Network Faculty Changemaker Award for her leadership in combating antisemitism and fostering a welcoming environment for Jewish students. Those students have weekly get-togethers, usually at a Starbucks, though Milligan also regularly hosts them in her office. The coffeehouse atmosphere is familiarly known as the Am Yisrael Chai Café. On Sept. 3, Milligan and 12 Jewish students gathered for a casual nosh-and-chat, the first one of the new academic year. She was wearing her custom-designed Nike Air "Am Yisrael Chai" sneakers, which in English means "The Jewish Nation Lives." The dozen or so Jewish teens feasted on shawarma and talked on topics ranging from weighty issues like antisemitism to practical cooking tips. Kyle Ratner, a sophomore majoring in computer security, said he had baked challah for his non-Jewish dorm friends using three packets of yeast. "The loaves were massive!" said the 19-year-old. What's not massive at ODU is the Jewish student body. About 75 Jewish students attend out of a total university enrollment of 25,000. Being in a minority like that can be overwhelming for a young person who's living away from home for the first time. Milligan strives to give those students an opportunity to feel like they're part of a community, even if it is small. "There are experiences and interactions that you haven't had before, and you're trying to figure out your peers in a new space, especially if you're a first-year student," Milligan said. "The pressure is really high." 'What we were experiencing' During the café get-together, the conversation turned to the ever-present specter of antisemitism. The students shared recollections of an ugly incident in late 2025. Every year during homecoming, nearly 100 student groups and clubs paint crowns (the ODU symbol) on the sidewalks near the student center. Shortly after the ODU Hillel students painted the crown with a Star of David, it was vandalized with droplets of red paint, symbolizing blood. Milligan and a group of 25 people (including Christian students) quickly mobilized to repaint it. Milligan said such bigotry was evident before the Hamas-led terror attacks in southern Israel on Oct, 7, 2023, but then things changed significantly. "It amplified, and the support felt different - I think because we saw who really understood what we were experiencing and who maybe didn't," she said. "Some unexpected allies have stepped up, which has been an amazing part of this, too." One student shared with the group that he was in a club where other students made frequent anti-Jewish jokes. "He just chose to try not to listen to them anymore," Milligan said. "We have students who have left those clubs when they don't feel like it's an environment that they want to be in, and others who are trying to stay in them. It's a tough decision, especially when you're a young adult. They're adults, but they're also adulting for the first time. You are trying to handle things on your own, and you don't always want to run to your mom and dad." The pressures of college - academic and social - combined with knowing that antisemitism always looms, can be emotionally exhausting for a young person. That's why Milligan always has a large basket of kosher chips and candy available for kids who drop by the café. Noah Brokowski, 20, a mechanical engineering major from Fredericksburg, Va., said he looks forward to meeting with fellow Jewish students there. "It's a community," Brokowski said. "I can meet with a bunch of like-minded individuals and people who share something in common with me." Creating a community is Milligan's goal. She said some students seek out the group because they know about Hillel and want to join. "Other times they come because when they get to ODU, they think it doesn't matter that they don't know other Jews," she said. "Then suddenly, they're away from home for the first time, and they miss that connection or the community, or they feel different in some way." 'I don't care about their politics' Growing up in Philadelphia, Milligan attended Elizabethtown College, then earned a Ph.D. at Penn State and a master's degree at Duke University, followed by a Fulbright year at Phillips University in Germany. She is now in her 10th year at Old Dominion and says she loves what she does. At the same time, she says campus life has gotten more difficult for Jewish students since Oct. 7. That just makes her more committed to creating an environment where they can gather and be themselves. "There's a moment every spring when we have a graduation Shabbat dinner, and I just like look at them," she said. "That's always when I think, 'We did it - we did another year. And I see them experiencing Jewish joy." Laughing, she continued: "This sounds very Hallmark movie, but there's something about looking at young adults, walking alongside them, both for the year and for their time at ODU, and seeing them at the end just really proud to be Jews. That's my goal. I don't care about their observance level. I don't care about their politics. I want them to be proud to be Jews in the way that is Jewishly them." Bill Motchan is a freelance writer and photographer.

Repair the World and Hillel International expand Bridging Service Fellowship for second year, connecting Jewish students with peers Across Campus. August 26, 2026 New Fellowship Builds Empathy, Mutual Understanding, and Community Across Campus Lines After a successful pilot year, Hillel International and Repair the World will expand the Bridging Service Fellowship, bringing Jewish and non-Jewish students together through shared volunteer service, learning, and bridge-building experiences. The cohort-based program is designed to build relationships, deepen dialogue and service skills, and create shared impact on campus and in the broader community. This year's cohort will include 218 fellows across 16 campuses, growing from the inaugural year, which included 111 fellows across 10 campuses. This program builds on years of partnership between Hillel and Repair the World, which has trained over a thousand service engagement interns and catalyzed tens of thousands of Jewish students to serve. The initiative is informed by Repair the World and Hillel International's commitment to sharing the deep Jewish traditions of service and diversity of thought with campus communities. The year-long Bridging Service Fellowship is a partnership between campus Hillels and other campus or student organizations, such as campus departments of religious and spiritual life, student affairs, and interfaith councils. Staff from Hillel and the partner organization co-facilitate the cohort of fellows from both communities. Each week during the seven-to-ten week program, fellows participate in three core components: * Ethical Volunteer Service: Fellows volunteer with local nonprofits on campus and in the larger community, addressing pressing needs. These volunteer opportunities include serving meals, tutoring students, and packing care kits, among others. * Cohort Learning: All cohort members join facilitated sessions rooted in Jewish values, identity exploration, and dialogue across lines of difference. Fellows are encouraged to share their perspectives and experiences on campus. Co-led by two facilitators - one from Hillel and one from the partner organization - sessions build students' capacity to engage in dialogue that invites participants to see how their efforts connect to the week's themes. * Peer & Small Group Bridge-Building: Between full-cohort sessions, one-on-one conversations, and small-group discussions, fellows build trust, deepen understanding, and develop the self-awareness and leadership skills that they will carry throughout their lives. "The Bridging Service Fellowship equips students to lead with empathy, confidence, and curiosity in an increasingly divided world while actively serving their community" said Dani Levine, Hillel International's senior director of social impact. "Judaism values hitchazkut, strengthening each other, teaching that working together across differences leads to a stronger outcome. Hillel believes this effort advances a core priority, building bridges between Jewish student communities and other faith and identity communities to promote understanding and empathy on campus. As students learn more about what matters to each other, they can work together to create campus environments where all students can thrive." "Participating in the Hillel Bridging Service Fellowship was one of the most meaningful and rewarding experiences I have had," said a fellow at the Lester and Jewell Morris Hillel Jewish Student Center at Michigan State University. "Throughout the fellowship, I learned that building strong relationships does not require everyone to think the same way or share identical backgrounds. Instead, true connection comes from listening, respecting differences, and finding ways to grow together. One of the biggest lessons I gained from this experience was understanding how differences within a group can actually become strengths when approached with empathy and openness." At Hillel at Virginia Commonwealth University, one student described how the fellowship transformed her understanding of service itself, writing, "I will always seek to make an impact beyond just serving, but connecting with the people I am serving." A Christian student in the VCU cohort shared how this program transformed her approach to volunteering at her church. By getting to know clients more personally, she learned that several are unhoused and began preparing ready-to-eat food packages that better meet their needs. Research shows that serving together builds understanding that conversation alone cannot. When people work toward a shared goal, they can form lasting connections across backgrounds. "The Fellows have built relationships, deepened their dialogue and service skills, and created a shared impact on campus and in the broader community," said Anyu Silverman, Senior Director of Bridge-Building at Repair the World. "The Fellowship is also a natural entry point for the Jewish service movement. We heard that serving for a semester has inspired students to continue volunteering beyond the bounds of the program. Repair is excited to support students in their service journeys - on campus and beyond." Discover the crew that's right for you. Search colleges and universities for all kinds of Jewish experiences