Chabad Jewish Club President Ariella Rose talks about Judaism and her experience as Chabad Jewish Club President.

Adding religion to education or a career path has been a challenge for Ariella Rose — balancing Jewish holidays, practices and homework. But she figured out a way to bring it into her college life.

Ariella Rose poses at Santa Monica College (Shaylee Guerrero | The Corsair)

“Being a part of the Jewish community has only led me to wanting to take on more religious practices and becoming a better version of myself,” said Rose, who is president of the Chabad Jewish Student Club (CJSC).

Before she connected with her faith, Rose planned to transfer to a UC or CSU school. This plan changed when she lived in Israel for six months.

“Once I was there, I felt very rooted in my Judaism and decided I want to go learn all about our holy book, the Torah,” Rose said. Because of this increased connection to her faith, Rose said that she has “decided to go study at an all girl’s private Jewish school.”

Rose said she tries to apply the teachings of the Torah into her everyday life through her positivity, integrity and honesty. She applies these ideas in her environment of being the club president with her clubmates.

“The Torah teaches us to be kind, considerate, open-minded, and positive to others,” Rose said. “We speak no evil about our coworkers, we don’t judge anyone for what they may present themselves as or how they show up to work, and we make everyone feel loved.”

Religious celebrations and practices can be done over the course of many days or weeks, with Passover being the most celebrated holiday in Judaism. Passover commemorates the story of the Israelites' departure from ancient Egypt.

“At first I found it difficult to balance work and religious practices with Passover, I couldn’t work for 4 days due to the holiday,” she said. “I couldn’t do any homework or day-to-day activities that I would normally do."

Being a part of a Jewish community has led Rose to want to take on more religious practices. “This has helped me choose my career path as I have chosen a Jewish school to attend and want to work in a Jewish community at Santa Monica College.”

Rose shared tips on how to be a good club president.

“As the president of Chabad Jewish Club, it is important to set aside time to ensure the plans of our club,” Rose said. “If it’s important to you, you’ll make the time to run the club to the best of your ability.”

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