Articles JELF on Campus: Connecting with Jewish Life at UCF and UF

Meeting students where they are brings JELF’s mission into focus. During a recent Florida campus trip, members of the JELF team visited the University of Central Florida and the University of Florida to connect with students, strengthen relationships with campus partners and share information about interest-free educational loans.

Bagels and Community at UCF

At the University of Central Florida, Jenna Shulman, Sandra Bass, Amy Wait and Bonnie Simonoff gathered with students and campus partners for a bagel lunch at UCF Hillel.

The visit offered time to introduce JELF’s resources, answer questions and connect with the people helping Jewish life thrive on campus. The team also visited Chabad at UCF and the Alpha Epsilon Phi house, extending those conversations into other spaces where Jewish students find community.

These relationships help ensure that students—and the people they turn to for guidance—know where to find JELF when financial needs arise.

A Meaningful Return to Gainesville

For JELF CEO Jenna Shulman and Loan Program Director Sandra Bass, both University of Florida alumnae, the Gainesville visit was a welcome opportunity to return to their alma mater. Joined by colleague Bonnie Simonoff, they explored the Jewish community that helped shape their college years and experienced how it has grown.

The trip included a visit with Rabbi David Kaiman at Congregation B’nai Israel, where Sandra worked while she was a UF student. The team also met with Linda Maurice, the Federation’s executive director and local JELF coordinator, to connect around JELF’s work in the community.

For Jenna and Sandra, the trip marked their first visit to the Schilit Hillel at UF. Shabbat dinner featured a memorable performance by Rabbi Joel Fox and an opportunity to experience the warmth and energy of Jewish student life firsthand.

Later that evening, the team joined the community at Chabad, where Rabbi Berl and Chanie Goldman have been growing Jewish life at UF since 1997. Their decades of dedication were evident in the welcoming atmosphere and the spirit of their familiar refrain: “It’s great to be a Jewish Florida Gator!”

With more than 20 JELF recipients attending UF at the time of the visit, the trip connected JELF’s mission with a campus that holds personal meaning for its staff and remains an important home for the students it serves.

Across both campuses, the visits reinforced the importance of personal relationships. By connecting with students and the organizations that support them, JELF can help more families learn about a resource that can ease the financial burden of earning a degree.

Thank you to our campus and community partners for welcoming JELF and helping us reach more Jewish students.