Lara Solinsky - SSDS Class of 2003
Lara Solinsky exemplifies the type of person we imagine when talking about how Solomon Schechter teaches the whole child. Not only is she successful academically but she has lived a life full of selflessness and compassion. In addition to the Solinsky family, the Schechter family taught her to become a good person.
Lara believes that SSDS profoundly impacted her growth and development. At SSDS, she learned how to excel academically, through close relationships with the faculty. She also learned to be confident and self assured. In high school and college she always felt comfortable going to professors and others to ask for help, and that has served her well.
“The values that SSDS instilled in me are those that I still hold today. Derech Eretz is something that I learned a lot about, and was able to act upon at SSDS. It has definitely motivated me to always give back.”
Immediately after Solomon Schechter, Lara attended Hall High School in West Hartford, was on the regional board of USY, attended Yachad, and did the Philanthropy Leadership Institute. After graduating high school, Lara attended Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass. She graduated this month with a double major in Psychology and Education Studies. While there she was very involved in the Waltham Group, which is Brandeis’ community service group. It is the largest student group on campus with over 600 volunteers. The Waltham Group is an umbrella organization with 17 service programs. Each program has a couple of coordinators and she was a coordinator for TIPS (Tutoring In Public Schools) since sophomore year. TIPS sends Brandeis students to volunteer in local Waltham schools for one hour per week. When she became coordinator of the program there were only 15 volunteers, and now there are 60. Lara led the expansion to serve 5 schools. She also began running an after-school homework clinic in 3 schools for kids whose parents are unable to help them. During this past year Lara was one of the three budget and steering members of the entire Waltham Group. In this role, she helped oversee the entire organization, helping the 55 coordinators manage their programs, running weekly meetings and trainings throughout the semester. In addition to her direct work, she has been actively involved in getting Brandeis clubs involved in service with the local community through the "clubs in service" initiative.
A few weeks ago Lara received the Edwin E Hokin Memorial Prize which is given to a student who “demonstrates ideals of community service and good citizenship." She earned this award for her involvement with the Waltham Group and the Waltham community throughout her time at Brandeis. She was also nominated for the Massachusetts President Student Service leader award. One student can be nominated from each university, and she was the first student ever nominated from Brandeis.
This month she graduated Brandeis and will continue her selfless work to help people in her next role. Next year Lara will be involved in a program called Citizen Schools. It is a two year national teaching fellowship AmeriCorp program, whose mission is to fight the achievement gap. There are many different locations throughout the US, she will be serving in the San Francisco bay area. During the academic year, she will work with middle school students afterschool. Twice a week, they have "apprenticeships," which is one of her favorite parts of the program. Citizen Schools partner with professionals in the local community, and they come for 2 hours per week for 10 weeks to teach their specialty. For example, lawyers would come in and conduct a mock trial program with the kids for 10 weeks, and the last week they would present in front of a jury at the courthouse. The other afternoons, they work on academic readiness and some college prep.
In addition to her work in the bay area, Lara will be getting her Master’s in Education through Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. by spending this summer and next summer taking courses, and a couple online ones throughout the year.
As a Schechter community, we are very proud of the work that Lara has done over the years and we are excited to know that her experience at Solomon Schechter helped shape the incredible woman that she has become. She will truly impact many people’s lives both directly through her work, and indirectly through her inspiration of others.
| 
