Brandeisians are known for being extremely involved in various clubs and organizations on campus. Nathan Feldman, is no exception. In addition to being part of the Meor program, he is also a CA, the vice president of Phi Psi and is thinking about starting his own online publication. Read on to find out more about this week’s campus celeb.
1. What are the most rewarding and challenging parts about being a CA?
I definitely think that the most rewarding part of being a CA is becoming a part of an amazing community. Each CA is unique and a fun kind of quirky, which allows us to have tons of fun when together, whether it is for training, Intramural sports or on duty in the Quoffice (quad office). However, the most challenging part of being a CA is trying to replicate this community (that the CA’s have established with one another) on our halls. Our titles as “Community Advisors” and not “Residential Assistants” reinforce that building a floor community is our main priority.
2. Are you a CA in freshman or sophomore housing?
Freshman housing, Cable residence hall-north quad
3. What is one piece of advice you would give to someone who is going to be a CA for the first time next year?
Enjoy your job. And if you have freshmen, act for the first couple of weeks as if you are a Freshman too (but obviously still their CA) so that you can make meaningful connections with the people on your floor. What I mean by this is hang out on the hall as much as possible, keep your door open, and make an effort to go to neighboring rooms and say hi; especially during the first few weeks.
4. I hear that you are involved in the Meor program. What does Meor stand for and what is its mission/goal?
Meor literally translated into English means “illumination.” The goal through the course of the semester is to illuminate the Jewish roots within the participants. There are weekly lessons and twice a semester we go on a Shabbaton over the weekend where we are hosted in a Jewish community, one is in Monsey NY and the other is local.
5. We hear that you are interested in starting an online journal, which is very exciting! What content do you plan on writing about on your site? How did you decide that you wanted to create a blog?
Really anything that college guys are interested in reading about: sports, technology etc. I feel that there is an absence of information that focuses on college men that is written by college men.
6. What are your plans for the summer?
Instead of returning to work for Camp Ramah as a counselor I will hopefully be living and working in NYC, probably Brooklyn, for a market research company. However, I would also like to work on various start-up companies with some of my close friends. Entrepreneurship is my passion and many college kids overlook it as a viable career.
7. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
My dream is to travel the world with two of my best friends, David and Nadav. We want to fly to Europe and then backpack through the country, making our way across Asia to Japan where we will then fly to California and finally drive across the US back to the east coast.