 | FUN FACTS Favorite Jewish food: Charoset - “I think it’s a very underrated food but the charoset on passover, I think it’s delicious.” Spirit animal: Penguin - “They kind of just go with the flow, they’re not like a cheetah running super fast or anything, but they seem happy and I think I’m a very positive person.” Current jam song: “Back to Back” by Drake |
“I knew that KU Hillel was a great organization before I even got to KU,” senior Evan Traylor said. “And then I went and everyone at Hillel just became my people.” Traylor, who serves as an engagement coordinator for KU Hillel this year, is everywhere. Along with his internship at Hillel, Traylor works with high school students as an honors program ambassador and connects with students in other student organizations as president of the peer leadership consultants. And this past Saturday at the Homecoming football game, Traylor was a finalist for KU’s 25th annual E.x.C.E.L award (Excellence in Communication, Education and Leadership), where one male and one female senior are selected in place of Homecoming king and queen. Through this award, Traylor will help plan the Blueprints Leadership conference at KU.
In all of his positions at KU, Traylor said he enjoys forming relationships in order to help organizations become stronger, which is something Hillel has helped him do.
“A lot of my other jobs involve getting to know the people in those organizations and getting to connect with them, so it’s really powerful to have Hillel as a great base of relationship building that I can use outside of campus,” Traylor said.
As engagement coordinator at Hillel, Traylor finds ways to get groups of Jewish students who don’t normally attend Hillel to come together and have events with friends in a Jewish setting. He wants to help student networks mobilize one another to form a community like the one he found when he first went to Hillel.
“I think it’s really cool that Hillel encourages you and will even give you a stipend to make relationships with people around campus and make connections to Judaism in your relationships,” Traylor said. “It’s a super cool opportunity.”
Along with his current role at KU Hillel, Traylor is also on the Hillel international board of directors. He works on the board with other students, Hillel directors and members of the Jewish community from across the country to look at Hillel’s finances, new initiatives and programs.
“I think the best part about it is meeting the other board members and talking to them,” Traylor said. “Everyone comes from different geographic areas and it’s really cool to meet them and learn why they’re passionate about Hillel.”
After graduating, Traylor plans to stay involved in the Jewish community, working for a Jewish organization and then eventually going to rabbinical school.
“I’ve had people who have inspired me and shown me that the Jewish community is a powerful place to be in, so it’s a place I want to continue to be in,” Traylor said.
In all of his positions at KU, Traylor said he enjoys forming relationships in order to help organizations become stronger, which is something Hillel has helped him do.
“A lot of my other jobs involve getting to know the people in those organizations and getting to connect with them, so it’s really powerful to have Hillel as a great base of relationship building that I can use outside of campus,” Traylor said.
As engagement coordinator at Hillel, Traylor finds ways to get groups of Jewish students who don’t normally attend Hillel to come together and have events with friends in a Jewish setting. He wants to help student networks mobilize one another to form a community like the one he found when he first went to Hillel.
“I think it’s really cool that Hillel encourages you and will even give you a stipend to make relationships with people around campus and make connections to Judaism in your relationships,” Traylor said. “It’s a super cool opportunity.”
Along with his current role at KU Hillel, Traylor is also on the Hillel international board of directors. He works on the board with other students, Hillel directors and members of the Jewish community from across the country to look at Hillel’s finances, new initiatives and programs.
“I think the best part about it is meeting the other board members and talking to them,” Traylor said. “Everyone comes from different geographic areas and it’s really cool to meet them and learn why they’re passionate about Hillel.”
After graduating, Traylor plans to stay involved in the Jewish community, working for a Jewish organization and then eventually going to rabbinical school.
“I’ve had people who have inspired me and shown me that the Jewish community is a powerful place to be in, so it’s a place I want to continue to be in,” Traylor said.
RSS Feed
