Pitt student Ashley Mason to serve as Hillel International student leader
Goal is seeing campuses where 'we are doing the absolute most to support our students'
Ashley Mason’s nearly three years in Oakland have yielded valuable insights on campus life at the University of Pittsburgh. This year, the Hillel at Pitt president will share her knowledge with Hillel International executives and fellow students across the country.
As one of approximately 20 members of the Hillel International Student Cabinet, Mason, 21, will spend the year partnering with others to develop strategies to engage students, bolster programming and increase Israel education, she told the Chronicle.
Working with fellow student leaders and Hillel International executives presents multiple opportunities. For starters, joining the cabinet is a chance to “share what’s happening on my campus — give the kind of Pittsburgh Jewish experience and perspective,” she said. “Pitt’s campus is really special. We have a pretty interconnected Jewish community here in Pittsburgh.”
Mason, originally from Columbia, Maryland, pointed to the Hillel JUC and Chabad at Pitt relationship.
“We are very lucky here at Pitt that we have a really positive, grounded, connected relationship with Chabad,” she said. “I know that’s not the experience on a lot of campuses.”
Mason, who is studying early childhood and special education, called her university a model of “what a truly interconnected Jewish community on campus can look like,” and said she’ll share that sentiment during a multi-day summit in Washington D.C. as well as through regular Zoom meetings with cabinet members.
Organizational ties, however, are not the only college takeaway Mason plans to share.
“We at Pitt — in my time as a student — have especially since Oct. 7 seen a lot of protesting and a lot of misinformation going on around campus,” she said. In the face of adversity, Hillel JUC has continuously aimed to support students “in all the different, various ways that Judaism can look as a young adult.”
As much as Mason is looking forward to sharing Pitt’s story, she said she is excited to learn “even more about how we can best support our students.”
The desire, she said, is driven by a “jarring” question that has been repeatedly raised by several of her peers: Given world affairs, “and all of the threats or the risk — is being Jewish worth it?”
That question cannot be ignored, Mason said. “If a student on our campus feels that way, we are not doing enough as Hillel to make this a space for them.” By serving on the Hillel International Student Cabinet, “I can go to the top and we can address the things that we are doing.”
Mason’s goal is to see campuses where “we are doing the absolute most to support our students,” she said. “That is really important to me.”
Dan Marcus, Hillel JUC’s executive director and CEO, said he’s proud of Mason’s commitment to “bringing Jewish student life to every Jewish student.” What she’s accomplished as a student leader is “outstanding,” and “we look forward to her bringing all that she learns back to Hillel JUC.”
Since learning of her acceptance to the national role several months ago, Mason has received considerable praise.
In response to the comments, she hopes people understand that it’s “not all a reflection of me,” she said.
Whether it’s the students who elected her to various leadership positions or staff who pushed her to pursue national opportunities, “I owe a lot of my experience, and my strength and security in my Jewish identity, to the people in the Pittsburgh Jewish community,” she said.
Representing Pitt and serving as a national Jewish student leader is “just a reflection of the people that have been working with me.” PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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