Outstanding Social Impact Award
Each year, the Dean of Student Affairs recognizes an outstanding student who has made significant social contributions over the years, embodying a strong moral vision alongside entrepreneurial spirit. The recipient is awarded with a certificate of excellence, which is presented during the Dean’s List Ceremony. Eligibility criteria for the award include the following:
- Applicants must be undergraduate students, in their second year or beyond, enrolled in a full-time regular study program, and not repeating a year. Students may have no more than two cumulative failing grades, and must not be postponing their studies for any reason.
- Applicants must be making a significant, uncompensated contribution to the community (i.e., not for credit, scholarship, or salary).
- Applicants must have no record of fraud, dishonesty, or disciplinary action, including plea agreements related to exam or academic misconduct, or any other offense of dishonesty.
Here’s a glimpse of the recent recipients of the Outstanding Social Impact Award:
Recipient of the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Social Impact for the 2023-2024 academic year — Yohai Arie
Yohai, a second-year student of psychology and business administration, was selected from among dozens of students to receive the award due to his entrepreneurial efforts, his extensive and inspiring contributions to society, and, above all, his humility.
From the time he was a teenager, Yohai felt a deep commitment to social engagement. Following a personal experience, he founded the volunteer-based organization “Paying it Forward,” which currently oversees 12 social initiatives. With no salaried employees, today the organization mobilizes approximately 200 volunteers, most of them teenagers, to lead a range of impactful projects. These include collecting and repairing broken computers and delivering them to families in need, facilitating intergenerational meetings with the elderly to alleviate loneliness, mentoring children from families facing illness or special needs, organizing birthday celebrations for elderly people without families, assisting welfare-dependent households, and other activities aimed at narrowing social gaps and spreading kindness.
In addition, Yohai delivers lectures and workshops throughout the country on the subject of activism and social influence, using his own experience to teach youth about social entrepreneurship and instill in them the values of giving and civic responsibility.
On October 7, he established, together with volunteers from his organization, an emergency operations room to provide equipment and hot meals to soldiers across the country. He also took part in the mission to help evacuees from the north and south settle temporarily in Jerusalem and the Dead Sea area. For this purpose, he succeeded in recruiting over 1,000 volunteers. In parallel with his civic initiatives during this period, he served about 300 days of reserve duty, managing funeral arrangements in the Jerusalem district.
There is no doubt that Yohai exemplifies the values of Reichman University, embodies the spirit of “beautiful Israel,” and is most deserving of the Award for Outstanding Social Impact.
Recipient of the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Social Impact for the 2022-2023 academic year — Shira Lapid
Shira, a student of sustainability and government, was recognized for her extraordinary contribution — in both impact and scope — following the outbreak of the Iron Swords War. On October 7, Shira was in New York, scheduled to return to Israel that evening. When her flight was canceled, Shira chose to take action and establish “Hapak NYC” — an operation dedicated to bringing reservists, soldiers, officers, and doctors from around the world back to Israel. She and her team recruited and oversaw over 400 volunteers from the Israeli and Jewish community in New York, and in cooperation with Israeli consuls, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Intelligence, the Airports Authority, and others, succeeded in returning over 3,000 people to Israel. To fund the operation, Shira and the other volunteers raised approximately $15 million, which was used to lease private planes and buy airline tickets. Later, once the mission was complete, these funds were used to purchase equipment for the IDF, civil emergency teams, and evacuees — including, for example, 500 liters of breast milk for babies without families or mothers in the war’s early days. In addition, Hapak NYC organized donor delegations to Israel’s southern and northern borders. Shira remained in New York for several weeks, ultimately establishing a nonprofit in both Israel and the US to ensure rapid mobilization in the event of future emergencies.
Recipient of the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Social Impact for the 2021-2022 academic year — Idan Siboni
Idan, a law student in the direct track to a graduate degree in law, technology, and business innovation, led — together with five fellow students — the combat soldiers’ campaign to enact the “Meimadim Lalimudim” law (the Absorption of Discharged Soldiers Law and Fund for Participation in Financing Studies in Institutions of Higher Education). This law effectively anchored in the state budget the Meimadim Lalimudim scholarship — the funding of academic scholarships for discharged soldiers— thereby ensuring government funding to cover 75% of university tuition fees for combat soldiers, special populations, and new immigrants released from the IDF. The scholarship was originally launched in 2016 by then-IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, but it relied on donations rather than state funds. When donations dwindled, the program’s continuation was jeopardized. Recognizing the threat, Idan and his peers embarked on a two-year struggle that included demonstrations outside the Knesset, advocacy with lawmakers and media, recruiting MK Alex Kushnir to champion the initiative and co-drafting the bill with him, and later representing combat soldiers in negotiations between the coalition and opposition. Their determined efforts culminated in May 2022 with the successful enactment of the law and the allocation of approximately 100 million shekels for the scholarships.
Recipient of the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Social Impact for the 2020-2021 academic year — Noga Rosenberg
Noga, 29, is a member of the Ofek Forum for career IDF officers studying at Reichman University. In her most recent position, she served as an operations officer in Unit 669, and prior to that in the Shaldag Unit. She was the first woman to join the operational forum of these elite units and today is the most senior woman in the Israeli Air Force’s Special Forces “7th Wing.” As a participant in the Air Force’s excellence program, Noga met Maty Zvaig, the CEO of Scale-Up Velocity, an organization dedicated to diversifying Israel’s high-tech workforce. During the meeting, Maty presented the officers with the challenge of increasing the number of women pursuing STEM studies. At the end of the discussion, Noga approached her and asked what she personally recommended she study. Maty’s response was clear: computer science.
From that moment, Noga never looked back. She worked to improve her high school grades in order to qualify for admission, received special approval from the IDF to pursue her studies, and took it upon herself to serve as a role model for young women in the field.
As soon as she began her studies at Reichman University, Noga launched Develop Her, a project under the umbrella of Scale-Up Velocity. The initiative gives young women the opportunity to take a Python programming course, engage in professional conversations with women from academia and industry, and receive personal mentorship designed to remove the barriers that often prevent them from pursuing scientific studies. The program’s goal is to help increase the representation of women in Israeli high-tech and the scientific community. Over the past two years, Noga has worked with dozens of young women and views this initiative as her personal mission.
In addition, Noga is a partner in the “Coexistence Studio” project, which brings together Muslim, Christian, and Jewish women in Jaffa for joint sports activities and discussion circles. She also serves as a faculty member at the Ofek Forum at Reichman University (a forum for students from the security forces) and volunteers with the organization Shavot, where she led “Girls Week” in the city of Petah Tikva. As a member of the LGBT community, Noga recalls the profound support she received from the LGBT Association’s helpline when she came out — a moment that made her realize the power one individual has to extend a helping hand. Since then, she has dedicated herself to meaningful volunteer work in every sphere, all while managing a demanding military career. Last year, in honor of Pride Day, she hosted a “Pride in the Living Room” gathering at her home for fellow students, where she shared her personal journey and worldview.