The Jewish Student Union has a new face in town. Sam Zitin has arrived from Indianapolis to take over the role of JSU’s Associate City Director.

The Jewish Student Union is a club that provides easy access to Jewish education for kids in secular schools. This program is unique because it strives to educate students on the issues that the kids themselves are interested in.

Meetings consist of the members of JSU discussing relevant topics that interest students and addressing them through a Jewish lens. For example, drug abuse and eating disorders receive a Jewish twist during serious conversations.

The teens involved in JSU bring Jewish education to kids who may not get it otherwise.  

The  topics covered in JSU are not the only thing that drives students to the club.

 “[Zitin] is really energetic and uses his knowledge to help me become more involved in the clubs,” says Lee Goodman from Ladue High School. Zitin’s energy is part of what drives students to the club. 

 The kids aren’t the only one’s who benefit from the experience though.

“I didn’t have access to Jewish education growing up, so being able to share Judaism is amazing.” says Zitin. Zitin’s goal is to find out what it is kids want to learn about, he wants to enlighten students on issues that concern them. By teaching the students, Zitin benefits as well.

The job here is a bit of shift from what he was doing previously. In Indianapolis, Zitin’s primary responsibilities were in National Conference of Synagogue Youth, or NCSY, an orthodox youth group, while here he will be mainly focused on JSU and helping NCSY on the side. The two programs differ in that JSU reaches out to kids in secular schools while NCSY involves the orthodox Jewish community. 

Although JSU meets at various high schools, Zitin will only be teaching at Ladue, Crossroads, Whitfield, Marquette, and MICDS.

Every school has a different approach to the club because the students decide what the club does and learns with guidance from Zitin’s and the other professionals. For example, the Clayton JSU club meets at Starbucks in the evening, because most of their students have after school activities or sports.

Understanding teens’ busy schedules, JSU aims to supply Jewish education everywhere the students may be.

 Zitin is excited about his new role in JSU and the students are excited to have him.  “He[Zitin] has a new take on things, he is rejuvenating JSU,” said Sarah Casteel from Clayton High School.