Gratz Stories

I am very excited to have been given the opportunity to pursue my Ph.D. at Gratz College and focus in Genocide and Holocaust Studies.

I was born in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, but I am now a Canadian citizen after nearly eleven years in exile.

Brendan Horan was still a student when he decided he wanted to become a teacher.

Dan Cohen z"l took his first course at Gratz in 1932. He’s been going to Gratz ever since. If Gratz College needed a poster child for lifelong Jewish learning, Dan Cohen would fit the bill.

For a long time, I have been fascinated by a famous statement in the Talmud: “Rabbi said: Much Torah have I learned from my teachers; and even more have I learned from my colleagues; but most of all have I learned from my students.”

There is a famous adage that states to whom much is given much is required.

Elizabeth Christy had a green thumb and a penchant for teaching, but the job of her dreams seemed to be just beyond her reach.

10th and Tabor was a laidback, very friendly atmosphere. But, the neighborhood changed over time

Heidi Omlor can trace her interest in Holocaust studies to elementary school. She was 12 when an English teacher assigned her class to read Corrie ten Boom’s autobiographical book The Hiding Place.

Hillel Kolodner, of Haifa, Israel, graduated from Gratz High School in 1973. He earned a Ph.D. in computer science from MIT, and is a senior researcher at IBM Research in Haifa. He is married and has two sons. About his Gratz education, he said, “I had a large passive Hebrew vocabulary when I came to live in Israel in 1976. Soon after, I was speaking fluently and reading the Hebrew paper, and, somewhat later, Hebrew literature.”

I am a Bulgarian-American from Salt Lake City, Utah. Although my undergraduate background from Brown University is in public policy, psychology, and education studies, and my first graduate degree was in real estate development.

Jacob Sztokman manages his career from two continents and three time zones. The 49-year-old father of four lives in Modiin, Israel, but runs a U.S.-based nonprofit organization that cares for women and children in the slums of India.

Jennifer Boyer-Switala is an outstanding student in the Ph.D. program in Holocaust and Genocide Studies. In 2015, Jennifer graduated from Gratz College with high honors and was class valedictorian, earning her master’s degree in Holocaust and Genocide Studies.

I am hopeful that my future endeavors to teach Holocaust education will impact others beyond myself.

Jesse Tannetta views Holocaust education as the perfect blend of religion and history.

Joanne Glassoff (Ginn), of Tom's River, N.J., graduated from Gratz High School in 1980.

Joel Hoffman is a 1996 graduate of the Master of Arts in Jewish Education.

My educational pursuits at Gratz College will be invaluable to my personal growth and knowledge.

My journey to becoming a teacher began when after graduating, I pursued TESOL teaching because I felt it would be a way into teaching that would add many facets to my character.

Judi Pogachefsky (Adelman), of Bensalem, PA, graduated from Hebrew High School in 1977.

Jules Spotts, of New York City, is a 1957 graduate from Gratz.

Karen Lerman’s first career was working as a Registered Nurse. Her second was raising four children, including a set of twins.

Linda Ivker, of Bay Harbor Island, Florida, graduated from Gratz High School in 1969. A retired RN, she said this of her experience at Gratz: “I loved learning history and culture. I loved my Yiddish class. I retain a lifelong interest in Yiddish.”

Lois Cohen (Kushner), Ph.D., is a 1957 graduate from Gratz.

Martin Bachman once spent the night in Hitler’s childhood home. Later, he became an adult Jewish student at Gratz and served on the Board of Governors...

I attended Gratz and graduated three different times, for high school, for a Masters, and for a doctorate in Jewish Education. I also worked in the high school and college for many years...

After Confirmation at Adath Jeshurun in 1948, I enrolled in Gratz's College dept. in order to earn a Teacher's Diploma and to prepare for admission to The Jewish Theological Seminary...

My Gratz education enabled me to teach Jewish history online at the University of Central Florida (UCF). I'm now in my 13th semester, teaching ancient Jewish history in the fall, mostly to Christian students, and Middle Ages to modern times in the spring.

"I have been actively using the knowledge acquired for my Master's degree in Jewish Music for the majority of my professional life..."

A second-year student in Gratz’s Ed.D. program, Vinokor-Meinrath knew from a very young age that she wanted to work in the Jewish community...

I am currently an associate professor at the College of Western Idaho, in Nampa, Idaho. I teach Education, Computers and Study Skills.

Susan Rochelle (Whitman), completed the Israel Ulpan Trip with Gratz in 1974. She is now Assistant Dean for Academic Planning at Berkeley Law School and has three grown sons.

Talli Dippold, Associate Director of the Stan Greenspon Center for Peace and Social Justice at Queens University of Charlotte, was just elected to the board of directors of the Association of Holocaust Organizations (AHO) – an International Network for the Advancement of Holocaust Education, Remembrance, & Research. 

Israel is near and dear to my heart. My Gratz education laid the foundation to my quest in learning about Judaism, the Jewish people and Israel.

Zachary Schaffer’s dream job was working with a political campaign. Originally from the Philadelphia area, Schaffer earned a bachelor’s degree in rhetoric and political science from the University of Pittsburgh. He graduated early in December 2015, just as the 2016 presidential election was heating up.