Teen scientist advances research on the cancer she survived

19-year-old Elana Simon recently co-authored a study published in the prestigious Science magazine about a genetic mutation she helped discover

BY SUZANNE KURTZ SLOAN, The Times of Israel

JTA — At 12 years old, Elana Simon was diagnosed with fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma, a rare form of liver cancer that largely affects adolescents and young adults.

“I didn’t know much about [fibrolamellar] and it was pretty scary,” said Simon, now 19. “But I was extremely fortunate to have an incredible surgeon.”

After having her tumor removed, Simon, who grew up in New York, where her family remains active members of Temple Shaaray Tefila on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, has been “totally fine ever since.” Currently a freshman at Harvard University, Simon is majoring in computer science.

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My Life As A Benchwarmer

Some of my toughest choices include cheering on the team or streaming ‘Orange is the New Black.’

Doria Leibowitz for FreshInkForTeens.com

Multitasking — no high school student can succeed without it. Studying for a Talmud test while eating lunch and doing your history homework, no problem. Preparing for the math quiz while davening Mincha — please, you were doing that in third grade. But the ultimate trick is what I do 10 times a year and more for playoff games (God willing): make productive use of my time while being the backup goalie on my yeshiva’s floor hockey team.

So as I stare down the court, listening to the squeaks of sneakers rubbing against the floor, I think about my choices: watch the game, cheer on the team like a good teammate should or go on my phone and contemplate whether or not the Wi-Fi is strong enough to allow me to write my history paper and stream “Orange is the New Black” at the same time. The decision is always tough, but ultimately I try to make the right choice and do all three, at the same time, of course. So while screaming and jumping up and down, I have one eye on my history textbook —reading about George Washington crossing some river in the freezing cold — and my other eye on my phone, while I try to hack into someone’s HBO GO account.

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The Mitzvah Project- Curse or Blessing?

From The Mitzvah Bowl

That year is approaching — the one where your soon-to-be 13 year old (or 12 year old in some communities) will become a Bar or Bat Mitzvah.  Along with the never-ending to-do list— lessons with the Cantor or Rabbi, the speech, a party, decisions about the guest list, there is that one other obstacle — THE MITZVAH PROJECT. In too many families, it is actually the dreaded Mitzvah Project!

After more than twenty years of work in the tzedakah world,  often guiding parents and kids on their Mitzvah Project journey, I can say for certainty that this seemingly simple task has evolved into something rather different from the idea that first took hold a few decades ago. For too many kids THE PROJECT has become a rote exercise, something on the check list, much like ordering party giveaways or addressing invitations. Too often, projects become a hasty one-time event collecting specific items to donate or soliciting funds for a specific cause.

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Val Weisler’s ‘Validation Project’ empowers bullied teens

By Suzanne Kurtz Sloan for JTA

The Teen Heroes column is sponsored by the Helen Diller Family Foundation. To learn more about the foundation’s $36,000 Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards, visit http://dillerteenawards.org.

(JTA) — For Val Weisler freshman year of high school was marred by tears and unhappiness as classmates bullied her daily for being shy and withdrawn.

“I was a different person and I didn’t feel comfortable,” said Weisler, now a 16-year-old junior at Clarkstown High School South in West Nyack, N.Y. “I was hiding myself and hating myself. I didn’t feel welcomed.”

She soon realized, however, that “there were so many other teenagers who had bigger problems than me.”

Weisler set about to create a community of support for teens experiencing bullying. In January 2013, with money that she had saved from babysitting, she launched a website, The Validation Project. The site encourages teens to become “Validators” by matching them with a mentor to learn a set of specific skills that can then be applied to local community service. In addition, the teens can work with others in the project’s network to spread positive messages through social media or brainstorm together to develop and implement social action campaigns. To date, Weisler said there are more than 5,550 teenagers and 2,000 mentors with chapters in all 50 states and in 100 countries involved with the project. They have also raised a collective $25,000 in goods and services for people in need, she added.

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