Summer Update Part II – Forge Academy students experience Israel for first time & Forge grads build on opportunities
Dear Friend of Forge,
As you saw in our last newsletter, Summer 2017 was quite exciting for Forge Leadership Network. A very successful Forge Leadership Summit was followed by the previous year’s Summit students embarking on a life-changing trip to Israel.
BACKGROUND: Why Do Forge Mentorship Academy Students Go To Israel?
The Forge Sequence: From Leadership Summit to Mentorship Academy
The Forge Leadership Summit is not only the entry point to the Forge experience, but it’s also a five-day interview. Throughout the Leadership Summit, students are evaluated for acceptance to the Forge Mentorship Academy. Invited alumni of the Leadership Summit complete a written application for the Mentorship Academy. Acceptance is highly competitive.
The Mentorship Academy is a year-long program offering experiential learning in national and international politics, training in argumentation and current events, and an individualized mentor match. Designed to supplement full-time studies or employment, Forge facilitates the Mentorship Academy through digital platforms, conference calls, mentoring relationships, and trips to Washington, D.C. and to Israel.
Why Israel?
After completing the Forge Summit in Ohio and then Forge D.C. six months later, students in the Forge Academy are given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to come face-to-face with the roots of their faith and the epicenter of international affairs and foreign policy in Israel.
Forge Leadership Network gives young conservatives experiences and relationship connections that they wouldn’t otherwise have a chance to receive. Passages – an organization created by Museum of the Bible and the Philos Project – makes it possible for American college students of Christian faith to discover the Biblical roots of their faith and begin to understand the complexity of the challenges confronting the modern state of Israel.
Passages generously allows college students to go on these 10-day excursions at a deeply discounted rate. International flights, hotels, tour guides, meals, expert speakers, everything included! Passages typically only takes groups from one university, but they partner with Forge because of our reputation for finding and mentoring the best young minds from many universities.
For a week-and-a-half, Forge students walk in the footsteps of Jesus, Abraham, David, the disciples, and other heroes of Scripture. They also meet with rabbis, pastors, diplomats, soldiers, members of The Knesset (Israeli Parliament), as well as both Arab and Israeli journalists and professors. As Forge trains and mentors young conservatives, we view this trip as an incredible opportunity to further our work. This trip to Israel and partnership with Passages allows our students a two-fold benefit: 1) they grow deeper in their core convictions, the faith that motivates many of our students’ interest and desire to impact the public square in the first place and 2) they encounter the epicenter of international relations and foreign policy. Forge can provide students with incredible internships, job opportunities, mentors, and a tremendous grasp of domestic politics and policy. But if our students are going to maximize their impact on their state and nation, they will be better equipped the more they understand the world outside of those borders. There are few regions of the world more complicated and fascinating than the Middle East!
FAST FORWARD: This July, the 2016-2017 Forge Academy members embarked on their own experience of Israel with Passages.
Here is one Forge student’s impression from his ten days in Israel:
Boaz Akins:
8/7/17
“As most of you probably know by now, I recently got back from Israel. I have been telling people that, to date, this was the best experience I’ve had in life. While I was there, I feel like I learned so much, made eternal friendships, and grew exponentially as a person. I felt so at home in Israel, and since I’ve been back in Ohio, all I have wanted is to return to Israel. I am extremely grateful to Forge Leadership Network for giving me this opportunity and Passages for making this trip so edifying.
The evening we arrived in Jerusalem was one of the most memorable moments, and the poem our guide, Gadi, read was awesome in explaining how that moment felt, so I’ll leave you with that:
To Jerusalem:
By Yitzhak Yasinowitz
‘One does not travel to Jerusalem,
One returns
One ascends
the road taken by generations,
the path of longing
on the way to redemption.
One brings rucksacks
stuffed with memories
to each mountain
and each hill.
In the cobbled white alleyways
one offers a blessing
for memories of the past
which have been renewed.
One does not travel to Jerusalem
One returns.'”
|
