ARIELLA ETSHALOM, 17
HIGH SCHOOL: YULA Girls High School
GAP YEAR: Michlelet Mevaseret Yerushalayim
GOING TO: Stern College for Women at Yeshiva University
Ariella Etshalom is a standout student, but she doesn’t let that define her.
“It’s not about getting the ‘A’ or being valedictorian or being perfect. It’s about being the best person you can be,” said the graduating senior at YULA Girls High School.
Ariella’s not the type to gush over celebrities (although she met Steven Spielberg once) or binge on Netflix. Instead, she’s devoted herself to helping others, volunteering at the child care program at her shul, Young Israel of Century City, and working with children through organizations such as Chai Lifeline, which supports children with life-threatening illnesses.
“I’m a goodie good,” she said. “The school always knows that they can ask me if they need anything done because I’ll do it.”
Ariella, 17, has a fervent passion for education, most likely inherited from her parents. Her father, Rabbi Yitzchak Etshalom, teaches at YULA, and her mother, Stefanie Etshalom, is a nursery school teacher at Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy.
Ariella has starred in school plays (“I like getting up in front of everyone and being a totally different person”), been editor-in-chief of her school’s literary magazine and served as vice president of YULA’s student council.
The second oldest of five children — and the only girl — also is president of the fashion club at YULA Girls. She even wrote an article about coming to terms with her mane of corkscrewed red hair for the school’s fashion magazine. “People know me for my long, strawberry-blond curls, and I wouldn’t be the same without them,” she wrote.
But, she told the Journal, “When I was younger, I wanted straight hair.”
Growing up, Ariella’s favorite Disney princess was fellow redhead Ariel of “The Little Mermaid.” “That’s why I’m the princess in the family,” she joked.
“Sometimes I get to be very girly and then sometimes I can be super tomboyish,” she said. “I think it gave me a good balance.”
In the fall, Ariella will be attending Michlelet Mevaseret Yerushalayim for a year before transferring to Stern College for Women at Yeshiva University in New York City, where she expects to study either psychology or education “so I can help people and use the skills I’ve learned over the years.” Ultimately, she’d love to follow her parents’ footsteps.
Part of what she’ll miss the most when she’s studying abroad will be her family’s nightly dinners. With a strict no-phone policy, every dinner participant is expected to engage in conversation, whether it’s about the weekly parsha or discussing a dilemma encountered that day.
“We’re a very strange family sometimes,” said Ariella about the dinner banter.
“Some people are really excited to be away from their parents and being able to do whatever they want, but I’m a little nervous. I have such a great family, it will be hard to not live here,” she said.
At least Ariella won’t be alone in Israel; her older brother Yossi is currently serving in the Israel Defense Forces.
Still, her excitement for graduation on June 16 is tempered by the unknown of the future.
“I’m also a little nervous because it’s a whole new thing.”
