Seventeen
year old Evan Ludin didn’t spend his
summer like the rest of his classmates at Winter Park High School;
lounging by the pool, working part-time jobs or going on family vacations.
Instead, the teen from Maitland went to the Alexander Muss High School in Israel (AMHSI) to learn about and
experience Israel’s
history first-hand and calls his time there, “one of the greatest experiences
of my life.”
AMHSI is a two month study abroad summer program for English
speaking high school students. The school offers college credit, while teens
learn about Israel’s
history in chronological order; many times in the actual location the events
took place.
Evan received a scholarship from Jewish National Fund (JNF) to go to AMHSI. In return, he had to get
donations for planting trees in Israel
and help out at a JNF event.
Evan began classes at AMHSI on June 26th, but
says he learned most of the information outside of the classroom. The program
took students on many field trips to historical sites that corresponded with
what they were learning. For example, Evan says they learned about the Six Day
War while in the Golan Heights and discussed King Saul while hiking down Mount Gilboah,
the place of his death.
“On this trip, history came alive,” Evan said, “and I have a
new found passion for Israel
and history because of this experience.”
Great teachers with outstanding backgrounds are given some
of the credit for Evan’s amazing time at AMHSI. One of his teachers, David
Sprung, fought in the Six Day War and hunted escaped Nazi’s. The other, Yossi Katz, was an Israeli national boxing champion. Evan says, “Both teachers were
amazing people and they were great teachers because they were excellent story
tellers.”
Evan lived in dorms with his fellow classmates in the town
of Hod HaSharon
and was given plenty of time to roam the city. The students also did tikun olam by planting trees in the
desert and picking tomatoes for the poor. While in Israel, he says he bought a lot of
souvenirs for his family, “but most importantly,” he said, “I brought back
knowledge of my people’s history and a passion for the Jewish community.” |
