Danielle Heller
Excellence Program participant, Nazareth Illith, Israel

Meet Danielle and learn about her experiences in the Excellence Program.

Danielle lives in the city of Nazareth Illith, Israel, and while she was born in Israel, her parents came to Israel in 1991 from the Former Soviet Union.

As a participant in the JDC Excellence program, Danielle studies theater at the Orna Porat Theater. Programs like this are not usually offered in Nazareth Illith. This is a special opportunity for Danielle to hone her drama and performing arts skills with a renowned theater.

Danielle believes that the program opens doors- it provides young people with potential for excellence who live in periphery cities in Israel the opportunity to be exposed to the arts and positive experiences. She now has the chance to develop talents she has always wanted to develop.

In addition to theater, Danielle hopes to study psychology in the future.

Excellence

Less than a quarter of Israel’s profoundly gifted children ever receive enrichment and encouragement to develop their talents. Immigrant youth or those from peripheral communities are most likely to be overlooked as financial and geographic barriers make such opportunities inaccessible. Their exceptional skills may never be realized as long as their environment pre-determines that they do not reach the top. Consequently, some of Israel’s most brilliant minds remain trapped in a life of underachievement, rather than becoming society's trailblazers and community role-models. It is a tragedy of wasted potential—for youth, communities, and Israel as a whole.

JDC's Youth Excellence Program offers Israel's most outstanding students the means to cultivate their talents. By connecting students to leading institutes of arts and science, the program opens an unprecedented window of opportunity for these youth. Students are rigorously selected to participate in weekly learning sessions plus intensive learning periods over vacations. Science students are challenged to develop creative, scientific thinking while arts students are driven to quality through training with expert artists in their field. Visits to places of professional excellence such as the Weizmann Institute or national theaters inspire and motivate. The program also includes leadership development components and measures to increase parental involvement in children's studies.