The GatherDC blog strives to present a holistic portrait of the DMV’s Jewish community, sharing a wide variety of Jewish voices and perspectives. If you have a 20- or 30-something to nominate as our Jewish Person of the Week or for a Spotted in Jewish DMV feature, please email us!
Meet Jenna! She’s just a few weeks into her new role as GatherDC’s Community Coordinator. We chat about moving from LA to DC, seeking Jewish community intentionally, what she’s most excited to do with GatherDC, podcasts, and more! Want to get coffee with Jenna? Sign up here!
Samuel: What brought you to the DMV?
Jenna: I finished college in LA in December 2023 and knew that I wanted to try [living] somewhere new, most likely on the east coast. I’m from northern California. I’ve never seen myself as living in one particular place. I could see me living anywhere. I got a job in DC and had a friend from high school out here…I kind of jumped because I need to jump to try something new.
Samuel: What has kept you here?
Jenna: I love being on the east coast. I’m near friends and family I’ve never lived near in my life. I also feel like I’m just starting to build my adult life outside of being a student – I’ve made friends here and built the beginnings of a community. I want to continue to build that. No matter where I end up in life, that will always be special for me in DC. I’m big on keeping connections because you never know when they might come back around. Like, I ended up meeting my Dad’s high school friend’s daughter at a Chabad event in DC. I hadn’t seen her since I was 10, but I love catching up with people!
Samuel: What has that community-building process been like?
Jenna: I moved to DC knowing some family friends in Falls Church, and a high school friend who went to Georgetown and is now in med school there. I’ve made a lot of my community and friendships through her, and have my small little friend group, but I’m also always trying to explore, make my own connections, and build my own community.
Samuel: What’s feeling alive for you Jewishly?
Jenna: My Judaism has always been rooted in community. I’ve been trying to expand my circle with anyone I meet, whether that means hanging out in a Jewish context or not. That community is what Judaism really means to me. Even doing more religious things, like going to services, the reason that those are so special to me is because I am surrounded by other people.
Samuel: What brought you to GatherDC?
Jenna: I was new to DC last January. Finding Jewish community was a priority of mine, but not the top – I needed to get acclimated, I was starting my first real job, all of that. By Passover, I still hadn’t really made any friends. I went over to my family friend’s house and realized that I might have to seek [Jewish community] out, more than it just showing up at my doorstep. I found GatherDC on Google and scheduled a coffee. That was a really good jumping off point. Even though I could google and see all the things that were going on, I wanted someone to push me, to show me a direction. It’s almost too daunting to look at when it’s a long list. How do you know what exactly is right for you?
Samuel: What’s the difference for you between that guided approach and just extensive googling?
Jenna: Even though coffees aren’t extremely long, you get to have an actual conversation. The recommendations are personalized, rather than just “you’re 20, you fit into this sect of Judaism, here’s this thing.”
Also, the first event I went to was Jew Kids on the Block, and Gather was represented, and so I knew I would have at least one person there who I could see and talk to for a few minutes.
Samuel: What are you particularly excited about as our new Community Coordinator?
Jenna: I’m excited to explore the landscape of 20s and 30s DMV life! I’m new, too, but I think that helps. Not everybody we meet with is new to DC, but they’re at least exploring the DMV Jewish community in a new way. I’m excited to navigate that, learn, and be able to help people on their journeys.
Samuel: What has your Jewish journey been like?
Jenna: I was raised in an interfaith household, but went to a Jewish preschool and went to Hebrew school in preparation for my bat mitzvah. I always said that after my bat mitzvah I would be done. It felt like something I had to do – I loved sports, I loved extracurriculars, and Hebrew school felt like extra school that other people didn’t have to do, and I did. But then, by my bat mitzvah, I had made friends through my synagogue. So then there was an eighth grade program, and a ninth grade program, and confirmation, and I kept choosing to sign up for them because that’s where my friends were. I realized there was more to Judaism – it didn’t have to be this prescriptive thing I ‘had to’ do.
When I got to college, I felt very alone and confused, but went to my first Shabbat and felt welcomed there. Someone encouraged me to apply to be a freshman representative. I thought: There’s no way I can do this, I don’t know enough people! But I still applied, and eventually ended up becoming president of my Hillel chapter; it was a really crazy journey. I think that really represents how sometimes you need a push from someone to try things. It might be something you really enjoy, but you feel unqualified, or not religious enough, or whatever it is. That’s why now, for the first time in my life, I’m making a conscious effort to seek out Jewish community, rather than waiting to just run into it.
Samuel: Okay, a few quick ones to end. What is something you’re obsessed with?
Jenna: Podcasts. I will listen to any news podcast. I really love investigative journalism, especially deep dives where someone’s able to uncover some truth that’s been sitting around for twenty years. I’m always scouring the internet and subreddits to find new ones.
Samuel: What are you listening to recently? Do you have a favorite?
Jenna: I actually have a list of everything I’ve ever listened to. But one of my favorites is In the Dark’s Season 2. My favorite part about it is that the season comes back for a part two because the journalism affected the subject’s case. It was reopened because of new evidence. That’s power. I’ve never wanted to work in journalism but I’ve always been fascinated by these people uncovering things that we would have never otherwise known about because either nobody cares enough to look into it, or other people want it to stay hidden.
Samuel: If you could pick up one new skill this year, what would it be?
Jenna: I’ve been trying to learn Greek. My Mom’s whole side of the family is from Greece and, although I have a 500-plus day Duolingo streak, I’m just not doing it. If I could have beginner Greek down, that would be great. It would be great to be able to go to Greece and not need my Mom to be my translator.
Samuel: What are you feeling proud about right now?
Jenna: Honestly, I’m just proud to be navigating my life on my own, making decisions and being confident in them. That’s something I’ll continually work on. I don’t have a set gameplan for my life, but I’m navigating the day-to-day and, as simple as that sounds, I think it’s an exciting and nerve-wracking thing!
Samuel: What’s the best part of being 24?
Jenna: I have my whole life ahead of me. I have time on my side.
Samuel: What’s the worst part?
Jenna: The future is so uncertain. There are so many doors open, and I almost have decision paralysis. What should I do? What can I do? What do I want to do?
Samuel: You’re having three people over for Shabbat dinner. Who are they?
Jenna: My first is my great-grandma, my Mom Mom, who passed away in 2019. She lived to 100, and I had her in my life until I was 19. She was just such a ray of sunshine and full of life. She lived alone for the last 15 years of her life and stayed curious. She had such a positive spirit.
The second person would be my friend Alexa, who was in Hillel with me in college. We actually met because our moms were friends, and we talked on the phone before she chose Occidental. She is also just a ray of light, and a big part of any Shabbat dinner I love is good conversation.
The third person I’d invite…Ezra Klein would be interesting to have there. Of course, with any opinion journalist, I don’t agree with everything he says, but opinion writers have met so many interesting people. So I feel like inviting him would be like an invitation to hundreds of people, through him.
Samuel: Last one. Finish the sentence: When Jews of the DMV gather…
Jenna: New ideas come to life.
The views and opinions expressed in this blog and on this website are solely those of the original authors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of the organization GatherDC, the GatherDC staff, the GatherDC board, and/or any/all contributors to this site.
