THE POWER OF GIVING W GA 2015
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ACADEMIC SPRINGBOARD
In just 20 years, IDC Herzliya has become one of the most prestigious academic institutions
in Israel, and its graduates are enjoying impressive careers in a variety of fields W Ella Lavon
T
Dvora Charness
Mickael Gartner
Camila Seta
he Raphael Recanati International School (RRIS)
at IDC was established in order to allow students
from around the world to benefit from high-level
academic programs in English. RRIS currently comprises around 1,800 international students – 30% of the
total IDC student body of 6,800 – including significant
numbers from the United States, Canada, Europe and
the Former Soviet Union – but also from Asia, Latin
America, South Africa, Australia and many other countries. In addition, many veteran Israelis who would like
to perfect their English-language skills and to meet students from other countries also study at RRIS. With this
distinctly international flavor on campus, it is not surprising that IDC firmly encourages global networking.
“When you graduate from IDC you have friends all
over the world,” notes Jonathan Davis, Head of RRIS
and VP for External Relations. “One of the cornerstones
of IDC is to do everything in our power to strengthen
the bond between overseas Jewish communities and
the State of Israel. Many of our graduates who return
to North America become future leaders in their Jewish
communities and fine ambassadors for the State of
Israel,” Davis continues. “Most of our students take an
ulpan and improve their Hebrew. In fact, 70% of those
who study here end up staying in Israel on a permanent
basis, and many of our graduates serve in the IDF. It
makes us one of the largest academic absorption centers
in the country, if not the largest!”
IDC Herzliya’s 20th birthday is a good occasion to
check in with graduates and see how their careers have
developed over the years. ‘The Power of Giving’ spoke
with alumni, mainly from RRIS, who told us about their
experience at IDC and how it impacted their professional lives since graduation.
Dvora Charness
Sonia Hason
Eve Mamane
30
BA Communications 2012, from Canada
“Growing up in the Jewish community of Montreal,
Canada instilled in me a sense of Jewish and Israeli pride
which I wanted to explore further. After completing my
college degree in politics at home, where I was elected
President of the Hillel on Campus and Vice President
of City-Wide Hillel the following year, the natural step
was to continue my higher education in Israel. IDC’s
Communications program was the perfect fit because I
was able to combine my love for politics and Israel advocacy in the world of communications. Upon graduation in 2012, I began working for one of Israel’s largest
channel providers, Ananey Communications, in their
International Business Development department, where
I worked with production companies all around the
world and was the local agent for MSNBC and CNBC
in Israel. Currently, I am the producer for the English
Prime Time News at i24news, a new international news
network. IDC gave me the tools needed to help me begin
a professional career in a field I have always been passionate about.”
Mickael Gartner
BA Business 2007, from France
“Born and raised in France, I moved to Israel at the
age of 14. Following my military service as a platoon
commander, I decided to study business in a leading
Israeli business school. I compared the different schools
and universities according to three criteria: the professors, the campus and the geographical location. IDC was
the only one with professors coming from global toptier universities, a campus that looked like an American
university, and a location 15 minutes from the dynamic
life of Tel Aviv.
My experience at IDC was amazing. I met some of
my best friends, learned Economics from the professor
who wrote the books used in most Israeli universities,
and could apply my learning on two ventures in parallel
to my studies. Although I was in the Hebrew program, I
was the first person to ask permission to take classes in
English at RRIS to improve my English, and the answer
was straight away positive. Today, combining programs
is common at IDC, but already back then, the openness
of the school to help students achieve their goals was exceptional.
After graduating in 2007, I spent a year in China
and two years in France working in e-commerce, before coming back to Israel to work in a large software
start-up. After a few years, I decided to do an MBA at
London Business School. As an interesting fact, when
joining LBS in 2013, I figured out that 75% of the Israeli
students were from IDC! I am currently working at
Microsoft in London in a licensing management position.”
Camila Seta
BA Communications 2014, from California
“After my time at IDC, I decided to move back to Los
Angeles and kick-start my career. My first job was working on set in television production with an MTV show,
but after some time I understood that it wasn’t quite
the right field for me, and luckily, I had a degree that
would allow me to shift gears. This was the beauty of my
Communications degree from IDC – my Visual Content
specialization covered everything from television and
film production to global marketing, social media strategy, diplomacy in the media and more. Eventually, I landed the job I hold today – Director of Public Relations for
the Government of Israel’s Ministry of Tourism, Western
Region, USA. Humorously enough, I ended up leaving
Israel only to work for that same country, but this time
from home. My job is to promote tourism to the country
I called home for three years, to show American celebrities, top athletes, fashion designers and other influential
people why they should visit a place so dear to my heart.
My time at IDC allowed me to speak to people from
86 countries and this global perspective on Israel really
helped prepare me for my job today. My degree from
IDC helped my career, but the biggest asset was the human experiences that came with it. This is what I appreciate and value the most.”
Sonia Hason
BA Communications 2013, from Italy
“I grew up in Milan, Italy, and when I finished high
school I decided that I wanted to study in an international environment in Israel, and I found IDC. When I
look back, I think that probably it was the best choice
I ever made. Studying at IDC didn’t just mean receiving a diploma and starting a career. It meant growing in
a dynamic, culturally diverse environment, measuring
myself against people from different backgrounds and
working together with some of the best professors, who
teach in a very different style than in other universities:
inspiring, informal and very practical. But what I am really grateful for are the people I had the chance to meet
– the most interesting, eccentric, fun, smart, deep and
stubborn people I have ever met.
When I finished IDC, I started working in the communications department of an investment bank in Milan,
where I still work today. It is probably one of the most
hectic fields there is. It’s a constantly changing environment and the job is completely unpredictable. We have
to be flexible and to adapt (or better, to anticipate) all the
new forms of digital communication. One thing I know:
my three years at IDC were essential for the person I am
today, for the role I’ve ended up covering and for what
the future has in store for me.”
Students from all over the
world at IDC Herzliya
Eve Mamane
BA Government 2013, from Switzerland
“I’m 24 and originally from Geneva, Switzerland. I
studied at RRIS from 2010 to 2013 and obtained a degree in Government, Diplomacy and Strategy. I have
now been living in Israel for five years and made Aliyah
right after graduating.
When I chose to leave Switzerland and move to Israel
to study at IDC, I had a precise goal: to get a BA degree
from a school where the point was to turn the students
into knowledgeable thinkers who would be ambitious
and seek excellence. After joining IDC, I quickly understood that I found exactly what I was looking for. As a
student at RRIS, I had the privilege to sit in class with
people of 86 different nationalities. This multiculturalism my classmates and I learned to live in enabled us
to extend our learning beyond our classes, as well as to
understand the issues we studied with an incomparable
depth. It tremendously enhanced my studying experience and enabled me to develop a priceless network of
partners and friends all around the world.
Today, I work at Wix.com, one of the most admired
Israeli start-ups, in the foreign team of the marketing department. I am also engaged to a former classmate from
RRIS, who came to study at IDC from Venezuela. My
experience at IDC made me a quick learner and fully
adaptable to international professional environments,
and made me bring multiculturalism into my own home.
I recommend the school to the most ambitious and adventurous people I meet; it is without a doubt an outstanding alma mater to stand by.” W
The Raphael
Recanati
International
School (RRIS) at
IDC Herzliya was
established to
allow students
from around the
world to benefit
from highlevel academic
programs in
English
For more information
about IDC Herzliya, go
to www.idc.ac.il.
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