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Student Profile: Jil Deheeger, Master of Arts in Jewish Studies
Jil Deheeger knows what it means to live in a global society. She lived in Paris for a decade where she taught English in an international school. Now living in her native Chicago, she teaches English to new immigrants from across the globe. After researching different options for pursuing graduate work in Jewish studies, she chose Gratz Online, the virtual campus of Philadelphia-based Gratz College – where students hail from across the United States and literally across the globe, from such countries as Canada, Sweden and Israel. From day one, Gratz Online has been the right fit for Jil, a born student and citizen of the world. She majored in Art History at Smith College, studied in France, and received her BA with Honors in French from the University of Chicago where she did graduate work in Comparative Literature. She received a Master of Arts in Linguistics, with a concentration in teaching English as a second language, from the University of Illinois “My very first class at Gratz was fabulous and most of my experiences have been equally stimulating,” she says. She first learned about Gratz College through an advertisement in Moment Magazine. Particularly appealing was that she could earn her master’s degree completely online, without any summer or other residency requirement. Additionally, because of her affiliation with the Reconstructionist movement, Jil was impressed that Gratz College offers joint programs with the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, its neighbor in suburban Philadelphia. Jil especially enjoys the interactive nature of the Gratz Online learning platform. “ I love the chattiness that can occur online - the back and forth between students and professors. It is so lively and welcoming,” she says. For Jil, whose life is about building connections, this interaction is extremely important. When she lived in Paris, she helped found Kehilat Gesher [bridge to community], the only French Anglophone liberal synagogue serving the greater Paris area, a Jewish community which aims to bridge the gaps among nationalities, cultures, and the conditions of modern secular lives. In Chicago, her ESL students are from China, Cambodia, Vietnam, Russia, Ukraine and Iran. Some are still unfamiliar with the alphabet. “It is challenging, wonderful and rewarding. I became interested in this because I really saw the need, and I knew how frustrating it is to live in a foreign country without the language skills necessary to function on your own…. It is such a gift. AND it connects you with people whose first language might not be English.” As for Jil, her interests in Judaism have continued to grow since her four children [now 22, almost 20, 17 and 12] began to reach the age when formal religious training became important. Jil is studying primarily for her own enrichment. When she has time, Jil likes to read, quilt, and play tennis. She is also training as a docent for the Illinois Holocaust Museum. Eventually, she hopes to teach part time at the Hebrew High School of the Reconstructionist Synagogue in Evanston, Illinois where her family belongs. But for now, Jil is happy to study Torah L’shmah, learning for its own sake. “I love my Gratz courses – logging on and getting onto the forum often feels like walking into a room abuzz with intellectual and provocative people – all eager to discuss all sorts of ‘stuff,”’ says Jil. |
