Ido Goldfarb would arrive at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem at 9 a.m. every morning to start his day. The eleventh grader, who attends Shalhevet High School, worked at the hospital this past summer, learning about medicine in a place he loves: Israel. He was participating in NCSY/JSU’s Next Step summer program, which gives Jewish high school students the chance to spend their summer working as a professional in Israel.
“My experience at the hospital was something incredible,” said Goldfarb. “It exceeded my expectations.”
Throughout the day, Goldfarb, who wants to work in medicine, would feed the patients and do simple errands around the wards. He’d take blood down to the labs to get it checked and have the opportunity to shadow the doctors – some were in neurology, while others were in orthopedics and the ER.
“The day that I got to watch surgery, it was a liposuction surgery,” he said. “It was mind-blowing… It was like my dreams were literally coming true. I loved it so much.”
“It was like my dreams were literally coming true. I loved it so much.” – Ido Goldfarb
During the school year, NCSY and JSU inspire high school students in the United States to stay connected to their Judaism. They run cultural programming like Shabbat dinners, learning and lattes, festive meals for holidays, services during Shabbat and the holidays, and fun and uplifting retreats.
For the summer, they invite students to summer camps, trips around the world, and Next Step, which provides niche programming and personalized internships in Israel to high schoolers. Opportunities include internships in biomedical research, engineering and 3D printing, high-tech, investment banking, communications, government and nonprofits, and marine life and zoology. Along with working in a field of their choice, the students also travel throughout Israel and take part in Jewish, social, and cultural programming.
While Goldfarb had been to Israel before, he said his time at Next Step was “incomparable.” He got to enjoy exploring Israel in the summer, specifically at the beginning and end of his trip and on the weekends. He also experienced hands-on what it’s like to work in a hospital—and he formed friendships for life.
“Something that really struck me was saying goodbye to my friends on the last day,” he said. “Everything clicked. It was very meaningful, all my relationships with my friends that I only built in one month. They’ll last forever.”
After interning at Shaare Zedek, which is Jerusalem’s largest and fastest-growing hospital, Goldfarb is certain that medicine is the right path for him.
“I’ll never forget walking into the OR for the very first time,” he said. “That was a very, very meaningful experience for me. I felt like I was walking to my future. It was like a preview. It was like when you watch a movie and you see a trailer. That was my life’s trailer.”
He continued, “[Medicine] is always something that I have had a lot of passion for. And I know that this summer really strengthened that.”
