Hofit Vaisman
Excellence Program participant, Nazareth Illith, Israel
Meet Hofit and learn about her experiences in the Excellence Program.
Fifteen year old Hofit Vaisman is in the tenth grade and lives with her family of six in the northern city of Nazareth Illith. Although Hofit was born in Israel, her parents made Aliyah to Israel from Ukraine in 1991.
Hofit learned about JDC's Excellence program at her school through the local newspaper. She joined the program, because it offered her the opportunity to study art with instructors from Jerusalem's famed Betzalel Academy of Art, and she loves to draw.
Through the program, not only has she expanded her knowledge of art, but she has also met interesting people and made many new friends, and she looks forward to continuing to participate in the program.
While also interested in tennis, basketball, chess, and singing in a choir, Hofit indicates that her drawing is very important to her, because she dreams of being an artist. She realizes that many young people are not able to follow their dreams, as they are not given the opportunities that she receives through JDC's Excellence. Hofit is thankful for this and is enjoying reaching for Excellence.
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.
