For many Jewish teens in Louisville, BBYO is a major part of their lives throughout their high school years. Those who participate in the program develop leadership skills and strong Jewish identities.
In recognition of their achievements in BBYO, Daniel Hemmer, Jesse Hymes, Audrey Nussbaum, Bradley Schwartz and Emily Schulman will receive Stuart Pressma Student Leadership Awards.
All of the students expressed gratitude for the awards.
Daniel Hemmer
For Daniel Hemmer, BBYO was a way to stay connected with his friends. His best friends in Louisville were members of Drew Corson AZA, so Hemmer enjoyed going to chapter activities to hang out with them.
When his younger brother, David, joined the chapter, he enjoyed the opportunity to spend more time with his sibling and to get to know his friends.
Camp Livingston has also been a big part of his life – he spent six or seven summers there. Since most of his Livingston friends live in the Kentucky-Indiana-Ohio (KIO) BBYO region and they are active in their hometown BBYO chapters, Hemmer went to a lot of BBYO regional conventions to maintain those connections.
Locally, he served a term as chapter moreh (recruitment vice president), and chapter membership doubled from 20 to 40.
A member of The Temple, Hemmer has worked as a sixth grade teaching assistant since his bar mitzvah. He enjoys teaching the prayers the students will need for bar and bat mitzvah as well as Hebrew vocabulary.
A senior at Ballard, Hemmer has been on the school’s varsity tennis team for three years. Next fall, he will attend the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Although he has not settled on a major, he is interested in the medical business field.
Hemmer is the son of Caryl and Todd Hemmer and he has two siblings, David and Elizabeth.
Jesse Hymes
Jesse Hymes joined BBYO in the eighth grade and has been active ever since. In the Jay Levine BBG chapter, she held the position of s’ganit (vice president of programming) for two years. “I loved doing that,” she said. She has also served as mazkira (vice president of communications) on the KIO Regional Board.
When she was younger, her favorite part of BBYO was being friends with the older girls. “Now, I’m one of the girls that the others look up to.”
Last summer she participated in a BBYO trip to Bulgaria, and experience she shared with the community at the Federation Campaign’s Major Gifts Dinner. “My group was a close knit group of … 30 American and 40 international teens from Bulgaria, Serbia, Turkey and beyond. For 12 days, I learned about the Bulgarian society, took part in community service projects and formed new friendships,” she said.
Although members of the group spoke 10 different languages, they managed to communicate and form lasting friendships. After returning home, the language barrier became more of an issue over social media. Determined to maintain the connections she had made, Hymes organized a six-day regional fundraiser, and as a result, was able to bring some of the international teens to the U.S. for a convention in October.
She also participated in J-Serve, an international day of youth service, every year.
Hymes is the 2016 recipient of the March of the Living Scholarship provided by the fund established by Natania Lipp, and is currently on the March.
She is a senior at Ballard High School, where she played field hockey and served as editor of the school’s yearbook. Next year, she will attend the University of Kentucky, where she will major in journalism.
Hymes is the daughter of Dena and Bill Hymes, and has a sister, Kelly, and two brothers, David and Robert.
Audrey Nussbaum
Since the eighth grade, Audrey Nussbaum has been an active and involved teen in the Jewish community – first as a member of the Teen Connection and later as a member of Jay Levine BBG. Freshman year, she ran for a board position and was elected mazkira (vice president of communication and secretary of the chapter’s website).
She received the Ellen Faye Garmon award that enabled her to attend BBYO’s International Convention in Atlanta and attended the Chapter Leadership Training Conference (CLTC) at Camp Beber. Since then, she coordinated a Regional BBYO convention.
A student at Kentucky Country Day, she plays field hockey and managed for the team. She also plays lacrosse and has a passion for theater. In the fall, she will attend Indiana University where she will major in speech and hearing sciences.
Audrey’s parents are Halle and Jay Nussbaum and she has two older brothers, Brett and Adam. The family belongs to The Temple.
Bradley Schwartz
Bradley Schwartz is a member of Drew Corson AZA who likes to come to BBYO whenever he can because he enjoys hanging out with his fellow chapter members, including the younger members.
Schwartz has served his chapter as s’gan (vice president) and moreh (recruitment vice president). In those roles, he helped plan a lot of programs.
Last year, he received the Stacy Marks Nisenbaum Award which enabled him to attend the BBYO International Convention. He also attended International Kallah.
The Kallah program was especially meaningful to him. The participants were there to learn, he said, and the program addressed topics like leadership with a Jewish spirituality focus. One discussion about the environment led the group to write a motion to make BBYO a greener organization. That motion was brought to a vote at the International Convention and passed.
The Louisville native is a member of The Temple, where he works as a tutor for the fifth grade on Wednesdays and Sundays. He also enjoys playing guitar in services.
Schwartz also enjoys public speaking. Earlier this month, he competed in the American Legion Speech Contest. He won the local, regional and state competitions.
Next year, he will attend Vanderbilt University.
He is son of Matt and Cindy Schwartz, and has a younger sister, Carly.
Emily Schulman
Emily Schulman is graduating from Sacred Heart Academy as an All-State Academic Athlete and scientific scholar ranked in the top 10 of her High School class. Despite attending an all-girl Catholic High School, she has remained steadfast and true to her Jewish heritage, traditions, and identity.
Schulman has attended over 12 BBYO conventions, served as the morah (recruitment vice president) for Jay Levin BBG andsocial actions chair for the KIO Region. Last year, she received the scholarship from the March of the Living Fund established by Natania Lipp and participated in the March of the Living trip to Poland and Israel. She says this experience taught her the true meaning of “Kol Yisrael arevim zeh bazeh,” all of Israel is responsible for each other.
Schulman is vice president of the National Honor Society at Sacred Heart Academy, serves as a Student Council Representative, and is member of Beta Club and Future Doctors of America Club. She also participates in the Y Club’s Kentucky Youth Assembly and serves as President of the Engineering Club.
Additionally, she is the captain of Sacred Heart’s varsity softball team and was named to the All-District Tournament Team her Junior season. She received the Spring Athletic Award for the top student athlete, and recently received the Unsung Hero Award from Louisville Rotary Club. Last summer, Schulman attended the Brandeis University Global Youth Summit on the Future of Medicine Conference. She is an International Baccalaureate graduate for which she completed a four-month interdisciplinary scientific research project.
Schulman works as a camp counselor at the JCC Summer Camp, where she taught herself sign language to communicate with a five-year-old deaf girl assigned to her group at camp. She has also volunteered for four years at the Little Sisters of the Poor.
She will attend the University of Tennessee this fall on an academic scholarship where she will major in biomedical engineering.
She is the daughter of Butch and Robin Schulman and the sister of Benjamin, Halle, and Matthew Schulman. The Schulmans are members of Adath Jeshurun.
The Stuart Pressma Student Leadership Awards
The Pressma Awards were created to honor the memory of Stuart Pressma, an influential young leader who deeply valued leadership development. In addition to recognizing the leadership and achievements of these students, Pressma Awards include college scholarships.
The Awards will be presented at the JCL’s Annual Meeting. Watch the next issue of Community for details.