Student Profile - Susan Remick Topek

  • Residence: Setaucket, Long Island, New York
  • Programs: MA in Jewish Studies & Certificate in Jewish Early Childhood Education
  • Profession: Director, SAJES Department of Early Childhood and Library Services
  • Interests: Family, writing and cooking for the Stonybrook Univ. Hillel community
  • Gratz Online: “ Perhaps that is the most amazing thing about studying at Gratz Online. I do not feel like I am alone at my computer.”

Susan Remick Topek has an impressive résumé. More than 30 years as a Jewish educator, recipient of the prestigious Grinspoon-Steinhardt award for excellence in Jewish education, and director of the early childhood and library services department for SAJES, the central agency for Jewish education on Long Island, New York.

Add seven Jewish children’s books to her credit, including the Noah series, Ten Good Rules, Israel Is and Shalom, Shabbat: A Book for Shabbat, you might say she wrote the book on early childhood education.

Sue has worked in Jewish education since her teenage years as a Young Judea leader in her native Dayton, Ohio. After high school, she participated in the Young Judea Year Course in Israel, and then received a BA in Judaic Studies from the University of Texas in Austin.

Despite these impressive credentials, she always wanted to fulfill a lifelong dream: a graduate degree in Jewish education. Yet, with family and career obligations, commuting more than two hours each way into New York City to earn a graduate degree in Jewish Studies was simply out of the question.

The turning point came when Lyndall Miller, whom Sue has known professionally for many years. told her about the Gratz Online Certificate Program in Jewish Early Childhood Education “When the possibility arose that I could also complete a master’s degree online, I jumped at the chance,” says Sue. “I am very proud that I will complete the program for the certificate in Early Childhood Education this semester [Spring, 2006].”

She especially enjoys the challenging work, the high expectations and the opportunity to study online with peers with diverse backgrounds and experiences. Her favorite classes include Jewish early childhood education, Bible, Jewish music and teaching children with learning disabilities. Sue also now feels much more comfortable with computers and the process of learning online.

"I have the greatest admiration for all my classmates.  Like me, this is not all they do - and yet the course work, the sharing in forums are intense and revealing and thoughtful," she emphasizes. "Perhaps that is the most amazing thing about studying at Gratz Online.  I do not feel like I am alone at my computer. I am in school with classmates and studying and discussing
as any student would in any school.  Okay, sometimes I do it at 5 am or at midnight. Sometimes I bake challah and make soup while in class.  And I can wear whatever I want!"

She especially appreciates the insights and expertise her professors have shared, as well as the support she has received from faculty and administrative staff. “I have grown as an educator because of their example and encouragement. I have real conversations with them – on the computer - but I can hear them talking with me.”

Gratz Online has enabled Susan Remick Topek to enhance her professional skills. “Studying online at Gratz has given me self-assurance about the direction of my life,” she says. “It has helped me to move forward in my profession and to feel that I am better able to give to my colleagues and students.”

Close this article