Miami Diller Fellows Build Connection and Leadership in Chicago
Posted on 08/01/2025 @ 06:00 AM
By Bari Lutz, Diller Teen Fellows Program Coordinator
What was originally intended to be a transformative summer journey to Israel became something entirely unexpected, but still very meaningful for CAJE’s Diller Teen Fellows.
Due to several factors, including the ongoing war in Gaza and the Iranian missile attacks in June, the Helen Diller Foundation, a San Francisco-based Foundation that provides funding and overall vision for the program, decided to cancel the Diller Program’s International Summer Seminar in Israel this year.
Of course, when the trip was cancelled, the Fellows (10th and 11th graders) and their parents were upset. They were looking forward to this summer experience all year.
However, they demonstrated the very qualities they have been cultivating in the program: adaptability, leadership, and resilience.
Rather than letting disappointment define the moment, they embraced a new opportunity for growth, connection, and community during a powerful four-day seminar in Chicago.
Miami’s Diller Fellows were met with a tremendous amount of warmth and excitement as the Chicago Diller cohort welcomed them at the airport, which began a process of bringing the two groups together into one.
The Fellows began their journey immersed in the energy of the Windy City, taking in its architectural legacy with a boat tour of the city, followed by a visit to the iconic CloudGate, better known as “The Bean.”
As always, our Diller program sought to feature the importance of leadership through action.
From using improv as a coping skill during the Fellows’ workshop with Chicago’s renowned IO Theater to transforming shattered pieces of stained glass into mosaic art (demonstrating how brokenness can be remade into beauty through creative resilience), each carefully planned activity called upon our teens to learn how to turn setbacks into strength.
There were some moments of pure fun, as when our Diller Fellows took part in a lively pizza making session, giving them a taste of a Chicago classic.
Overall, both the Miami and the Chicago Fellows had the opportunity to engage in group reflection, to wrestle with the worldwide uncertainty that faces the Jewish community and our teens, and to discuss how to remain connected to Israel, even from afar.
Gabrielle Heckler, one of the Diller Miami Fellows, shared, “We spent a lot of time reflecting on Israel, and I was able to learn and hear about the many different perspectives Israelis have on so many subjects.”
By hearing from Israeli and American representatives as they shared their personal connections to Israel, teens were able to forge a deeper sense of connection to Israel and their own Jewish identity.
Miami Diller Fellow Frida Pinkas shared, “Even though our trip to Israel was canceled, I will forever be grateful that we as a cohort got to travel to Chicago. We met new people and learned about how Jewish teens live in another part of the country.”
And that’s what Jewish peoplehood is all about!
Our Miami Fellows returned home not just with memories, but with new and enlarged capacities for connection, empathy, and Jewish pride — tools they will use long after the trip ends.
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The Diller Teen Fellows Program is currently accepting applications from rising 10th and 11th graders. |
