Looking Back on an Unforgettable Undergraduate Experience Whether they were winning grants from Google to create new opportunities for young women interested in computer science or organizing the largest Jewish genetic screening in history, Yeshiva University's Class of 2017 never failed to make an impact. With commencement just around the corner, we look back at just a few of our favorite moments and accomplishments of the graduating class. 1. Creating the First TEDx Yeshiva University  Using the TED conference format of short, powerful lectures designed to spark conversation, YU students organized the University's first TEDx talks showcasing the remarkable range and depth of wisdom the YU community had to offer on topics as divergent as the similarities between magic and therapy to the impact a child’s name continues to bear on his or her life over time. 2. Hosting Hackathons to Inspire Tech Innovation in Jewish Community On college campuses around the world, hackathons—24-hour technological innovation marathons—have become increasingly popular as a way to encourage creative thinking and partnerships. But because they typically occur on Saturdays, religious Jews can’t participate. In the last three years, YU undergrads have organized three hackathons that provided a unique forum for observant Jews to connect, brainstorm and partner together to build anything from apps to robots to self-driving cars. 3. #IAmYU: Shattering the University's First-Ever Day of Giving Campaign Goal For 24 hours straight hours between September 20 and September 21, hundreds of students worked in operations rooms set up on the Wilf and Israel Henry Beren Campuses to help YU meet its goal during its first-ever Day of Giving. The campaign’s theme, “I Am YU,” sought to show the University’s impact on people and communities worldwide. Together, they raised $6,010,870 from over 2,700 donors—funding scholarships, community engagement, student life, career development and dozens of other efforts designed to improve student life and academic outcomes. 4. Gathering 1,000 People for a Times Square Kumzitz  This November, YU students hosted a moving kumzitz [concert] in support of Israel on the Red Steps in Times Square. Led by student Aryeh Tiefenbrunn on his guitar and the Y-Studs, YU’s student a cappella group, on backup vocals, they were joined by more than a thousand fellow Jews, students, friends and passersby, flooding the heart of Manhattan with songs of peace and love for the land of Israel. 5. Organizing the Largest Free Jewish Genetic Screening A groundbreaking 1,162 participants were able to receive free and comprehensive genetic testing during three sessions organized by YU’s Student Medical Ethics Society (MES), in partnership with JScreen. The screening, one of the largest of its kind ever held, was completely student-run and made free testing available to young people of many different ethnic backgrounds and walks of life within the Jewish community. “Genetic screening is something that people may not recognize the importance of until it’s too late, and we had the opportunity to reach our peers at a critical time before they have children and educate them about their own risks and options, which is one of our goals at the Medical Ethics Society," said Rebecca Garber, co-president of MES. "The impact that our screening had on the greater Jewish community is incalculable—the fact that we were able to make such an impact proves that anyone anywhere can make a difference." 6. Raising Funds to Fights Breast Cancer  Every year, hundreds of students compete on more than 50 teams with creative names like Meet the Frosters, 50 Shades of Pink, Batters Up and For Goodness Cakes to decorate cakes at Sharsheret Cake Wars, which raises funds and awareness for women facing breast cancer. Judged by expert food critics, students have just half an hour to use their creativity and cake-decorating prowess to create an imaginative confection that sends a message of support and solidarity. 7. Mapping Zika's Spread  This year, seniors Joshua Blau and Daniel Goldsmith tracked the spread of the Zika virus in dozens of different scenarios by building a computer program to simulate how the virus might move through and between populations depending on variables like demographics, seasonality and population size. Studying the different paths depicted in each simulation allowed them to observe trends in how the virus is transmitted. "It was an exciting opportunity to build a computational model that responds to a real-life issue and hopefully provides a possible framework for studying different scenarios that may emerge, including simulating different communities across the world, its impact at the Olympics, and viral prevention methods,” said Goldsmith." 8. Mobilizing for Houston Flood Relief Efforts When catastrophic floods slammed Houston in 2015, they left a trail of devastation in their wake, and the city’s Jewish community in the southwestern neighborhood of Willow Meadows was hit hard. But within hours of the storms, YU students began working with local community leaders to organize a relief mission to the area. “We have a responsibility to others as a community when disaster happens in the world, especially the Jewish community,” said participant Aryeh Laufer. 9. Winning a Google Grant to Mentor High School Girls 

From left to right, Computer Science club members Elisheva Rabinovich, Elizabeth Bitterman and Kayla Boldt

Stern College for Women's Computer Science club received a grant from Google this year to mentor high school girls in computer science. The grant is a part of Google’s igniteCS initiative to help student groups develop a computer science outreach program in their communities. "This will help us share our knowledge and passion with young women interested in computer science," said student Elizabeth Bitterman, one of the grants's administrators. "Stern’s and Google’s support for our initiative has also been very empowering to the STEM women at Stern College." 10. Taking Campus Holiday Celebrations to The Next Level  From Chanukah to Purim to Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaAtzmaut, the Class of 2017 brought a vivid sense of togetherness and community to holiday celebrations on each of the undergraduate campuses, creating memories that will last a lifetime. 11. Non-Stop Torah Learning Whether they were immersing themselves in 18 consecutive hours of learning to prepare for the High Holidays or cramming their winter break with shiurim and chavrusahs, continuous engagement with sacred text and tradition was a highlight of students' undergraduate experience. And of course, so was... 12. Brewing the Best Cholent, Ever Because where there's Judaism, there's cholent. And our students made some awesome ones.