Alumni Perspective: Jacob Wolf-Sorokin

Alumni Perspectives: Taking a Stand for the Power of Opportunity

By Jacob Wolf-Sorokin

Jacob, as a high school junior, at RYFTI's 2011 Fall Kallah

                It’s hard to believe that it has been two years since I last made the weekly pilgrimage down to the Youth Room for Monday Night School. I recently returned to Temple Israel on a Monday evening to visit. The scene’s familiar feel struck me. The same smells of scallion pancakes, stir fry, and General Gao’s Chicken greeted me as I entered the room. Some students came clad in uniforms from sports games, others lugged instruments from their rehearsals, and many more had come from an afternoon of socializing. It’s not that nothing had changed, many of my peers have graduated and moved on; rather it’s that others were now taking advantage of the same opportunity and program that was available to me.

            All of us at Temple Israel—young and old, rich and poor, sick and healthy—are privileged to share a caring, nurturing community. We benefit from the great opportunity of engaging with one another intellectually, socially, and spiritually. Growing up, I was not always aware of how fortunate I was to have access to such great opportunities, which helped shape the person I have become. During high school—through community groups including RYFTI—I had the chance to join with peers from across the state in calling for greater access to youth opportunities for all. Without the guidance of Rabbis Pesner, Kolin, and Soffer, and the support of Mike Fishbein and other youth staff at Temple Israel, I would not have been able to take advantage of these opportunities.

            In college, sometimes conversations with my friends will turn to topics like life at home and our time in high school. Invariably, everyone can point to various opportunities that they had, which help shape their worldview, perspective, and ambitions. People I talk with of all ages share a sense that certain opportunities in their past have proved formative. And yet the best way to give thanks for such experiences is to help ensure the next generation has access to a similar array of opportunities. For this reason, I have been privileged to serve as the Political Director of Students for a New American Politics PAC (SNAPPAC), the nation’s largest student run political action committee, for the 2014 election cycle.

At SNAP we’re committed to electing today’s progressive leaders while training those of tomorrow. We believe that the justice of a society can be judged not just by the views and biographies of its political leaders, but also by the diversity of their staff members. Since the first entry point into politics is often an unpaid internship on a political campaign, many young people face a financial obstacle that may prevent them from getting involved in politics. We at SNAP aim to address this issue by using our funds to operate the SNAP Fellowship, a nationwide fellowship program. SNAP Fellows are young people—selected from a competitive pool of applicants—who are commonly first generation college students, children of immigrants, people of color, from a low-income community, LGBTQ, or deeply passionate about the progressive cause.

SNAP does not merely provide opportunities to young people. We leverage our resources in support of current candidates for Congress. Our fellows spend their entire summer working to build grassroots support (as Field Organizers) for progressive candidates from across the nation.

One of my favorite stories about SNAP comes out of California. In 2010, Elaine Cartas served as a SNAP Fellow on a campaign in Iowa. Although she had not spent much time working in electoral politics prior to that summer, Elaine decided to pursue a career in politics after that experience. Now, in 2014, she’s working as Dr. Lee Rogers’ Finance Director in his campaign for the US House seat in California’s 25 District. Rogers is a progressive candidate running in one of the few districts won by President Obama in 2012, but currently represented by a Republican. SNAP’s endorsement of Rogers carried added poignancy for me given Elaine’s position on the Rogers’ campaign. It’s not only testament to the power of the SNAP Fellowship in helping to shape the future trajectory of one’s life, but ultimately the ability of young people to seize on an opportunity and help make the world a better place.

This summer, many of us and our children and grandchildren, will enjoy enriching opportunities, but not everyone in our communities will have that chance. I hope you’ll join me in working to ensure Americans from all communities have access to such opportunities. I can imagine few better ways to do so than while also taking a stand for our country’s progressive future. Please visit www.snappac.org/donate to find out more.

Jacob Wolf-Sorokin is the Political Director of Students for a New American Politics PAC (SNAPPAC) and a rising junior at Yale University. He served as the RYFTI President from 2010-2012.