When Maxine Kalika (r.) joined Jewish Family Experience as a preteen, it was her first encounter with formal Jewish education.

Maxine, now 23, credits JFE for helping her have a bat mitzvah, which “was not in the plan at all in my Jewish journey,” she says.

As a teen, Maxine attended Stevenson High School and became active in NCSY, participating in holiday programming and then educational events, including Latte & Learns and Dinner & Learns. She soon became a regular at NCSY Regional Shabbatons, and by her senior year Maxine was named Regional President of Midwest NCSY.

“In high school, [NCSY] was my favorite place to be, the place I felt most comfortable, welcomed, and loved,” she says. “NCSY was my gateway into Judaism and Torah and was a very crucial place for my learning and personal growth.”

After high school, Maxine attended Meorot Yerushalayim and Touro College. More recently, she served as the Women’s Engagement and Education Coordinator for the Russian American Jewish Experience in Brooklyn.

Looking back, Maxine says she greatly appreciates “the JFE family taking me in, teaching me patiently and believing in my ability to grow Jewishly.”

And if not for NCSY, Maxine adds, she wouldn’t have had the knowledge – or inspiration – to ultimately live as an observant Jew.

“NCSY helped build my morals, ideals, and really made me think of what I wanted my life to be in the future, and how I was going to attain it,” Maxine says. “I’m building a frum home all because of what NCSY gave me.”