Remarks from Student Leadership Award recipients

Due to the online nature of the Jewish Federation of Ottawa Annual General Meeting, the community award recipients were unable to make acceptance speeches. Here are the remarks of Daniel Kuhnreich and Cara Lebenzon, recipients of the Student Leadership Award.

Thank you to the Jewish Federation of Ottawa for this wonderful honour. We are so appreciative of your kind words of support and we are very proud to accept this award for our work with the Jewish Law Students Association (JLSA).The JLSA’s mission is to provide Jewish law students with a space to participate in a social environment that fosters Jewish identity with the hope that students continue to give back to their communities when they graduate. With the help of an incredible executive team we were fortunate to be able to provide University of Ottawa law students with a vibrant Jewish community on campus. 

One of the highlights of the year was our Shabbat dinner featuring Justice Michael Moldaver of the Supreme Court of Canada. We had a huge turnout, and Justice Moldaver gave an amazing speech about his career as a judge that left us inspired and eager to begin our legal careers. We also had some laughs and opportunities to chat with him over dinner.

Organizing programs and increasing participation in the JLSA could not have been possible without the help of a few noteworthy people who we would like to thank.

Sasha Kathron, director of Hillel Ottawa, generously gave us space in the Hillel House to hold our board meetings, programs and dinners, and was always around to help. She introduced us to the Jewish Federation of Ottawa and encouraged us to apply for the generous grant which helped us organize our most successful program of the year. We could not have had such a fun and successful year without her friendship and mentorship. We are so grateful for everything Sasha does for Jewish life on campus, and we cannot wait to work with her again next year!

Another thank you must go to Rabbi Chaim Boyarsky of the Chabad Student Network in Ottawa, whose passion for helping Jewish students is unparalleled. He is always willing to provide the JLSA with anything we need, always with the biggest smile on his face. We are extremely thankful for everything you have done for us, Rabbi!

We would also like to thank Dean Adam Dodek at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law. He graciously attended our first Shabbat dinner as our keynote guest speaker and made a lasting impression on our board and members. Thank you Dean Dodek for your kind support and meaningful participation in the JLSA!

Last, but certainly not least, we would like to thank and recognize each member of our executive board for their creativity, hard work and dedication to the JLSA. We have an amazing team and could not have had such a great year without every one of you.

• Alex Levine, VP Finance

• Allie Cuperfain, 3L Representative

• Amanda Werger, 1L Representative

• Erica Leibovitch, Civil Law Representative

• Gilly Tanzer, 2L Representative

• Isaac Bushewsky, 1L Representative

• Margarita Grup, VP Social

• Ocean Enbar, 1L Representative

We are so looking forward to the upcoming 2020-2021 academic year, and we could not be more excited to revamp our mission with the new incoming students.

Photo: Justice Michael Moldaver of the Supreme Court of Canada with members of the Jewish Law Students Association executive.

(From left) Alex Levine, Justice Michael Moldaver, Cara Lebenzon, Daniel Kuhnreich and Margarita Grup.