What are you currently doing? I recently graduated from Duke University with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in chemistry with a concentration in pharmacology. My college experience was greatly characterized by my undergraduate research experience. I work in a biomedical engineering lab designing and synthesizing polymers and small molecules for drug delivery applications. Additionally, I have just solidified my post graduate position. I will be working as a post bac researcher in the Kenner Rice lab within the NIDA Institute of the NIH. The lab works to design and synthesize novel small molecule drugs that target opioid receptors and reduce...
AJA News
Alumni Mom’s Perspective on Portfolio Day
Many people ask Renee Lafair about her secret to child-rearing. Her three kids, now adults, attended Stanford, Northeastern, and Johns Hopkins University. In their spare time, they’ve worked together to build board games and advocate for change in national policies. But Renee says the “secret” to their successes started with Austin Jewish Academy’s Portfolio Day. “Of all the amazing things AJA gave to my kids, Portfolio Day is one of the most important,” she says. Starting in kindergarten, AJA students participate in Portfolio Day, where they present three topics they learned in class that semester. The presentations grow with the...
A Day in the Life of an AJA Middle Schooler
Step into the vibrant halls of Austin Jewish Academy’s middle school, where every corner hums with energy, curiosity, and learning. Walking down the hallway today, let’s peek into their schedule and see what makes AJA such an extraordinary place to be. 8:00 AM: ArrivalThe school is bustling with energy as students arrive, backpacks slung over shoulders and smiles on their faces. In the hallways, there’s a buzz of morning greetings and quick chats about last night’s homework or the latest basketball game. 9:00 AM: Diving into Math In the Pre-Algebra class, students review their Chapter 2 material on Ratios, Proportions, and...
Parent Education: Salient Speech and Language Challenges
On Friday, November 15, Zahava Merlis, seasoned speech-language pathologist and owner of Firefly Friends Speech Therapy, PLLC, presented to AJA parents on “Salient Speech and Language Challenges,” the latest in a series of parent education events at AJA. Zahava currently works with several AJA and ECP students, as well as many students around Greater Austin. She provided important context on language, then walked parents through a range of important topics that impact how students learn: articulation challenges, expressive-receptive language disorders, audible processing disorders, dyslexia and dysgraphia, ADD, selective mutism, hearing deficits, and more. She also stressed the importance of making...
Developing a Growth Mindset at AJA
One of the things we try to foster here at AJA is a Growth Mindset in our students, as articulated by Carol S. Dweck in her book, "Mindset." But what is a Growth Mindset, and how can education encourage children to develop one?
How This Torah Went from An Attic to the AJA
The students at AJA get to experience a real Torah service multiple times a week, but how did the 1948 Torah get here? It was the generous gift of Andrew and Andrea Bowen and their daughter Mychaella, an AJA alumna. The Torah was first commissioned by the Jews of Tripoli in Libya, but when the Jews were expelled from Libya after the founding of the state of Israel, the Torah went with them. Eventually, the Torah was lost in a synagogue attic. When the Bowens started searching for a Torah, someone rediscovered the Libyan Torah in the attic of the...