Toby Bollig graduatesĚýwith a Bachelor of Science in Physics, a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and a Minor in Jewish Studies. Toby served as the 2016-2017Ěývaledictorian in Jewish Studies. Below is his valedictory speech, which he gave at the Jewish Studies Graduation Ceremony on May 12, 2017.
Mazel Tov! Congratulations to all my fellow graduates. I am incredibly humbled and honored to stand here and speak as the PJS Valedictorian, especially given the impressive accomplishments and contributions of my fellow graduates.
Looking back on my time at CU, I’m struck by the robust preparation I have received in the Program in Jewish Studies to make meaningful contributions in my local community and in our global society.
For example, my first Jewish Studies course at CU, Intro to Jewish Culture with Dr. Zilla Goodman, exposed me to the concept of Tikkun Olam, a Hebrew phrase that means “repair the world.” It is often used in the context of social justice. The 2015 Program in Jewish Studies Embodied Judaism symposium titled, Freedom Seder: American Judaism and Social Justice, cemented my interest in this concept. The symposium featured several speakers including Rabbi Arthur Waskow, a major figure behind the 1969 Freedom Seder. Rabbi Waskow discussed writing a new Haggadah, the text that guides the Passover Seder. His Haggadah harnessed the power contained in Passover’s ritual celebration of the liberation of the Hebrew people during the Exodus and applied this power to the ongoing Civil Rights movement in the wake of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s death.
Other events and symposiums put on by the Program in Jewish Studies allowed me to interact with professors whose courses I did not have the space in my schedule to take. I still remember one conversation with Prof Sacks where we discussed the development of Newtonian Physics and its social, religious, philosophical, and political implications in Europe and beyond. This was the most organic opportunity I had in the course of my entire collegiate career to bring all of my areas of study—physics, philosophy, and Jewish studies—together in a conversation. Usually I’m busy explaining how these three subjects all make sense together.
The encouragement of my interdisciplinary interests by the Program in Jewish Studies coupled with power of the Freedom Seder symposium and the concept of Tikkun Olam resonated with me on a fundamental level. In my career, I plan on using all of my undergraduate disciplines while working for disability rights, inclusion, and accessibility. I want to develop policies and technologies that will help individuals who experience a wide variety of physical and cognitive differences participate in and contribute to society in meaningful and inclusive ways. In the spirit of the Freedom Seder, I hope to do this in part through faith inclusion efforts. While there is a presence from religious groups at the local level, the disability movement frequently lacks meaningful and unified involvement from religious groups at a national and international level.Ěý Given the importance of Tikkun Olam in the collective Jewish conscience, it was unsurprising when I learned last year that the non-religious, disability-oriented non-profit, RespectAbility, had launched its first national faith inclusion effort, a Jewish Inclusion program aimed at improving the accessibility and inclusion of synagogues and other Jewish spaces. This is encouraging as I’m hoping to work on a faith inclusion effort with churches in the Boulder area this summer.
In addition to preparing us for our careers, the Program in Jewish Studies allowed us to flourish in the present, by creating a home for us on a very large campus. For me nothing illustrates this better than the PJS office. The near-always open door and welcoming presence of people like Meghan Zibby make it a great place to work on homework or chill between classes.
This open door culture extended beyond the office and classroom walls. I don’t think it is an exaggeration to say that every single time I saw members of the PJS babyÖ±˛Ąapp on campus they were already beginning to greet me even as I was just recognizing them. I remember one particularly rough day not long after my cat had died when Prof Shneer walked by me in conversation with a group of people. Despite his conversation, he took the time to notice me, smile, and say hello before continuing. Being seen and valued in this way made my day immensely better.
I saw this type of care and community in the classroom and at PJS events even before I was a Jewish Studies minor. For me this started in Dr. Zilla Goodman’s Intro to Jewish Culture and Biblical Hebrew courses. It continued at the program events to which she took her classes. Her persistence in recruiting students is a large reason why many of us, including me, are a part of Jewish Studies at CU.
This community helped create the ideal environment for our academic studies.
This has included encouragement, and at times cajoling, to step outside of my comfort zone. One example that instantly leaps to my mind is Schmooze-A-Palooza, where I found myself singing alongside my classmates, in Hebrew, not once, not twice, but three different times at this wonderful event started by Prof Rivlin.Ěý I also learned to engage with film as art and literature, and not just as mere entertainment at the movie nights put on by the Student Advisory Board with the aid of Prof Senderovich.
PJS meet and greets also provided an opportunity to connect with my peers and our professors on a fun level. One of my first substantial interactions with Professor Nan Goodman was playing billiards at a meet and greet. The added bonus of the meet and greets for me was that I had the opportunity to plan them with my friends on the Student Advisory Board—Thank you Sam, Sally, Eleanor, Elana, and our wonderful advisor Meghan Zibby.
Our donors are another important part of the Program in Jewish Studies community. Their support has tangibly contributed to my efforts to promote equity on campus for individuals with disabilities. Last year, I had the great honor to be selected as the recipient of the Barry & Sue Baer Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship, a scholarship whose new recipient we recognize today. During the fall 2016 semester these funds helped me to continue working full-bore on a myriad of on-campus accessibility efforts despite the fact that I had to use my work in the Perkins Single Molecule Biophysics Lab for school credit, instead of being paid for my work as I had been in the past. I want to say thank you to PJS donors, together with the program’s babyÖ±˛Ąapp and staff, you enable us to engage with the collegiate experience, academically, socially, and philanthropically with a vigor that allows us to change the world, the University, the Program in Jewish Studies, and ourselves for the better.
I will finish by saying this: Because of the Program in Jewish Studies, my fellow graduates and I have had the opportunity to study a resilient people alongside professors, staff, students, and community members who, whether they are Jewish or not, embody that resilience. And, in doing so, the program in Jewish Studies has prepared us to help repair the world. Tikkun Olam. My fellow graduates, I’m excited to hear how each of you does this in your own unique way going forward. Mazel tov v’ todah. Congratulations and thank you.