Sydney has volunteered as a madrichah (teacher’s helper) in their religious school, helped lead high holiday programming and served as president of B’nai Amoona’s United Synagogue Youth (BAUSY) board. Outside of B’nai Amoona, she is the president of BBYO Shira chapter and a member of the Student-to-Student program. This summer, Sydney will participate with USY’s Impact DR, engaging in various community service projects in the Dominican Republic.

NPR won a 2025 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award for its coverage of the war in Gaza. The prestigious duPont-Columbia Award honors outstanding public service in audio and video reporting.

Daniel Estrin, NPR’s international correspondent in Jerusalem and the diverse NPR Mideast reporting team have let the network’s coverage of the conflict since Hamas launched its surprise attack into southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

The duPont-Columbia Award judges stated, “NPR’s coverage of the war in Gaza exhibited ingenuity and sensitivity at great risk, getting behind the politics to show how the conflict has affected the men, women and children on all sides.”

 He is a madrich at KoREH (Kol Rinah Education Hub) and co-leads (with Claire) the BMitzvah chug to prepare students for their bar and bat mitzvot.  He is a student to student group leader.  He is a leader in the Jewish Culture Club, the Climate and Culture Advisory and the Investment Club.  He earned the honor of Academic All-State in football, received a National Merit Letter of Commendation, is an AP Scholar with Honors and a nominee for the Presidential Scholars Program.  He is a teen fellow of the Shalom Hartman Institute, a volunteer at KUTO (Kids Under Twenty-One) crisis hotline and a volunteer SAT and math tutor.  Following his summer as a staff member at Camp Ramah Wisconsin, Caleb will attend Brown University after taking a gap year to study at a yeshiva in Israel.

Former Mirowitz  student was also honored as Youth of the Year.  She is a madricha at KoREH (Kol Rinah Education Hub) and co-leads (with Caleb) the BMitzvah chug to prepare students for their bar and bat mitvot.  She is co-editor of the yearbook at Burroughs and co-founded the Jewish Affinity Club to create a safe place for Jews.  She is also a leader of Montgomery Plan, her school's community service organization, where she plans volunteering events and fundraisers for local charities.  She also received a National Merit Letter of Commendation.  Claire choreographs for The Dance Show at Burroughs and has been captain of her lacrosse team for the last two years.  She will be attending Vanderbilt University in the fall.  

Jewish Day school gave Elad Gross the skills to thrive in competitive academic environments, Hebrew competency and an extraordinary sense of responsibility to affect social change. Today, at age 27, Elad spends his days as an assistant attorney general for the state of Missouri, and most other waking moments running the Education Exchange Corps (EEC), an organization he founded seven years ago while a college student at Duke. “I had been working for a summer enrichment program in Clayton, and it occurred to me that all children deserve access to programs that prevent summer skillset loss,” Elad says. He made a cold call to St. Louis Public schools and applied for a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation. EEC was born.

The Exchange, which started as an enrichment extension to the city’s summer school, has evolved to include weekend leadership training that integrates academic skill development. Last year, when Ferguson schools shut down in August, Elad’s organization partnered with the Ferguson Library and other organizations to offer alternative school lessons.
“I know my day school school education made me a more critical and collaborative thinker, and gave me the knowledge to draw upon the rich history and teachings of Judaism,” Elad says.

“To this day, I find myself drawing upon those Jewish teachings, usually subconsciously. I don’t have to think about it. It’s part of who I am.”

My experience at Solomon Schechter shaped who I am today in many ways. I always loved school and learning, and some of the excellent teachers I had at SSDS inspired me to become a teacher. In addition, I built very strong friendships with people that I am still close to today. I feel incredibly fortunate to get to teach the love of learning to my students. I also love teaching my students to be kind, giving, and grateful people. I love helping my students create bright futures for themselves. I am excited every day to go to work and make a difference in the lives of my students.

I am so thrilled to have the career I have in ballet! I get to live out my life long dream every day by honing my art and sharing it with my community. I think art has the capability to impact peoples lives in a very deep way. Whether it's igniting a passion for dance in a young child or getting someone to forget about their troubles and enjoy the beauty of dance. We all have the power to make the world a little brighter and that's what I hope to bring about through my dancing. Schechter always incorporated the arts into our curriculum which gave me the confidence to know that I could pursue my passion. Inquisitiveness and creativity were always encouraged and I believe that has played a huge part in the person and artist I am today.