Life is often deemed a journey with unexpected twists shaping the path. Oded Wilson appreciates the metaphor. Having recently arrived in Pittsburgh after a lengthy trek in Jewish professional life, the outdoor enthusiast and new assistant director at Hillel JUC of Pittsburgh is eager to roam forward forging new opportunities for students.
“I grew up in Israel, in the [Israeli] Scouts, understanding what nature can give you and how it can connect you to yourself,” he said. “I just feel, there, at home.”
Though Oakland isn’t a forest, the density of students offers a familiar setting. Before arriving at Hillel JUC in June, Wilson, 44, partnered with Israeli and Jewish youth in both formal and non-formal educational environments. For nearly 20 years, he worked in Jewish day schools, at Jewish summer camps and on 35 college campuses with stops at the Jewish Agency, Jewish National Fund-USA and
Hillel International.
The thread, he explained, was a commitment to cultivating leadership and identity.
While instilling these qualities is the hope, Wilson aims to accomplish more with the University of Pittsburgh’s Jewish student community.
“As the assistant director, I have a couple of different hats,” he said.
First, his role is to ensure that Hillel JUC is a place where “students feel welcome and want to be a part of.” He also will work to “connect students to Israel, expose them to many different communities in Israel, different leadership styles and different people.”
Too often, references to the Jewish state are met with stereotypes, bias and negativity, he continued. “I learned that if you say to a student ‘Israel,’ they will immediately say, ‘conflict, bad, negative, war.’ I want to create a relationship with them that exposes them to Israeli culture, art, music, food, different innovations, different projects that only Israel does and nobody else does in the world. I want them to create relationships through positive experiences and something they are passionate about.”
By doing so, Wilson said, broader awareness is achieved.
“At the end of the day, everything that is happening in Israel, it’s a story of the people. It’s not the story of the government,” he said.
Wilson, whose field-based feats include hiking Israel’s 683-mile National Trail, is excited for the road ahead. Along with collaborating with students, he’s looking forward to supervising a cadre of fellow Jewish professionals.
The goal at Hillel JUC is to build a “cohesive team that feels they are here together,” he said. While relying on the same “mission and vision,” each staff member will uniquely engage with students.
He praised several staffers and their abilities. As for his own talents and aspirations, he pointed to the accomplishments of his great-grandfather Samuel Wilson, an early 20th-century building contractor responsible for historic structures in Tel Aviv and Rishon LeZion.
“He built the building, and I have the commitment to fill the room,” Wilson said. “It’s in my blood; I can’t run away from it. I don’t want to.”
If life is a journey with unexpected twists, then Pittsburgh is a perfect place en route, he explained. “The Jewish community [here] is very welcoming.”
Pittsburghers are so hospitable, in fact, that Wilson needed to decline multiple invitations. In the weeks after his June 7 arrival, he said he received 10 Shabbat dinner requests. “It felt like I came back home to Israel, and that says a lot.”
Having made camp in Pittsburgh, Wilson is excited for the coming path.
Joining Hillel JUC isn’t only an “amazing opportunity,” he said. “It’s a privilege to fill the room with students that are connected to themselves, to their Jewish identity, and see what the future holds.” PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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