Liora Susswein remembers Austin Jewish Academy as the place where her confidence, creativity, and Jewish identity were given room to grow. A K–8 alum (2008–2018), she’s now a graduating senior at William & Mary in Virginia, studying marketing while also working remotely for a Jewish lifestyle company. Recently, she served as vice president of her campus Hillel—an experience she says was shaped in no small part by the foundation AJA gave her early on.

In the Q&A below, Liora reflects on the lasting impact of an AJA education: practical skills like time management, the freedom to explore her interests, and the kind of close-knit community she’s returned to again and again—especially in college. She also shares vivid memories from Portfolio Day (including a chicken cameo), favorite learning moments like fourth-grade Texas history, and why she believes AJA’s smaller environment can be a real strength—particularly during those sometimes-tough middle school years.

“Having those deep AJA roots has really made me appreciate and love my Jewish community so much,” Liora said. “Because I didn’t go to a Jewish high school, and it really made me realize AJA was such a blessing. And then, in college, especially after October 7th, I made a conscious effort to surround myself with more Jewish people and become more involved in the Jewish community. And I really think it’s because I had found such a spot for myself at AJA that I was so comfortable and able and excited about finding a good Jewish community in college.” 

What high school did you go to?

I went to LASA, the Liberal Arts and Science Academy. It was good. A lot of the time, the other students would say, “Oh, the workload’s really hard.” I’m so grateful for AJA teaching me how to manage my time well, because not once in high school was I like, “Oh my gosh, I’m overwhelmed.”

And I still use those skills today in college. 

What are your plans post-college?

I am applying for jobs in different cities on the East Coast, and we’ll see what sticks. But I’m probably hoping to do something either in marketing or in the Jewish world, or ideally, I can combine the two.

What accomplishment are you the most proud of from the last two or three years?

I think it’s really being vice president of my Hillel at William & Mary, because before I was vice president, it wasn’t great, and I wanted to create a deep community within Hillel. 

Our first Shabbat dinner drew 85 people, which for a small town in Virginia was a lot. So I think about how important the Jewish community has become to me in my life, and how I’ve helped others realize that it’s important to them.

What would you say are one or two of the most important things that you learned from your experience at AJA?

Definitely time management, for sure. And then comfort in expressing myself.

I was always given the freedom to go any direction I wanted with any project that we had. And that really speaks to who I am today. I feel like I wouldn’t be where I am if I hadn’t been given the liberty to explore these unique parts of myself.

For example, I really wanted to get into graphic design. And I remember going into the office in eighth grade and asking, “Can I design our eighth-grade graduation invitations?” And they let me do it! I was just so grateful that they gave me the opportunity to try what I wanted to do, that they trusted me, and that they sent my work to everyone.

Can you talk about any memorable Portfolio Days you’ve had? 

Oh my gosh. I love Portfolio Day. In seventh grade, we had to do an environmental project, and we were like, “Let’s get chickens! Let’s get chickens for the J and the AJA.”

And we did! They let us get the chickens, and we started this whole egg business, and now the chickens are still there 10 years later.

I remember during my Portfolio Day presentation, I was picking up the chicken, and it pooped on the desk in the middle of the presentation. Like, what do you expect a chicken to do? I think that one was definitely the most memorable one.

And also, the fact that that project is still around today and still at the J is really meaningful. I was going to the gym two days ago at the J, and I heard a chicken. And I was like, “Oh my gosh, those are my chickens.”

What was your favorite assignment or learning experience at AJA, and why?

I think my favorite learning experience was in fourth grade, when we studied Texas history and went on a day trip to the Alamo and the Missions in San Antonio. After that, we had our big class play about the history of Texas. 

It’s really something I feel like you didn’t get anywhere else. My knowledge of the history of Texas is so much deeper than any of my friends’ knowledge of their home states.

What extracurriculars, if any, were you involved in at AJA?

I was a high-achieving middle schooler! I was president of our NJHS (National Junior Honor Society), and also president of the Knesset. Oh, and I did volleyball — I did a few school plays, but I’m tone-deaf — so it wasn’t the right fit for me.

At NJHS, we did a lot of different fundraisers, and I helped come up with ideas for them. We did a Fa Fa Fun Fest with carnival games, and everyone in art class made their own bowl that you could buy at the end of the festival. We were given a lot of creative freedom with it, and we actually had to build the different carnival games, so we learned a lot of engineering while we were doing that.

And then being president of Knesset, I learned a little bit more about how politics work. I know it was middle school politics, but it prepared me for my next steps in the world. Middle school politics is a big deal. We still deal with the repercussions from them in a couple of my friend groups. It really taught me how to deal with people that I may not agree with and how to give speeches.

How would you say that AJA fostered your Jewish identity?

Oh, I mean, how didn’t it? We had like a tefillah once a week, and that really taught me how to lead services and also how to read Torah and the meanings of the prayers.

And I remember in Judaics with Miss K, we would go through different passages from the Torah and reflect on them and read them. I still think about that a lot too: just going through those and literally sitting down and reading the scholarly texts.

It just gave me such a love for Judaism and every single aspect of it, and how there are just so many different pieces of it that all work together to create something so beautiful and a community so beautiful.

What would you say to parents or students who are wondering if AJA will be too small of a school?

My brother and I went to AJA for K through 5th grade, and then in middle school, my brother and I got a choice of if we wanted to stay for middle school or not. He didn’t stay, and I stayed. 

And I think we both got drastically different experiences. 

No one loves middle school, but I think being in a smaller community that supports you was really helpful for me. So I think that would be my advice when you were thinking about where to go after K through 5th grade. 

And K through 5th grade — it was just awesome. It was really great.

Can you share some of your thoughts on how middle school — specifically at AJA — was good for you?

We had a council class where we were able to have constructive conversations about different things that may be happening in our lives or within the classroom. That was really helpful and taught a lot of us how to have these constructive conversations about uncomfortable things, which is a key skill in adolescence.

There are some things that you don’t wanna talk about when you’re 12. But this class kind of pushed us out of our comfort zones and made us do that.

And again, those lifelong friendships, like really staying there for those last three years, helped me solidify my friendships with these people.

Also, it gave me opportunities to do things I wouldn’t have gotten to otherwise. In eighth grade, I got to paint a mural on the back of the science trailer because I wanted to explore my artistic creativity, and I wouldn’t have been able to get that opportunity anywhere else.

I learned a lot from that! One, how to paint murals…ish. Two, how to deal with bureaucracy — which were both really important skills. Well, bureaucracy probably more than the mural thing, but every day I would go in to school not knowing what would happen next. 

Which of the middle school field trips were the most impactful for you? 

Those were awesome! In sixth grade, we went to rural Texas in Big Bend. I actually still have a scar on my leg from when I fell on a rock there. I loved that because the sky was so big and the stars were so clear. We learned a lot about the Influenza Pandemic from 1918, which came back to me during COVID.

In seventh grade, we went to the Florida Keys to do marine biology. I’m not really a STEM person, but I remember being so interested in the radial symmetry of the starfish, and it was just really cool hands-on experiences.

But my favorite middle school trip was in New York for eighth grade, and we went on this big scavenger hunt around the city and stopped at all these different Jewish spots. I remember that was just so amazing ’cause it was really cool getting to see like all the things we’d learned about and talked about in Jewish history in action there.

What advice would you have for current AJA students about life after AJA?

Stay in touch with people. You’re going to have a time in high school where you think, “These were all the people from middle school. I don’t wanna talk to them anymore; I’m outgrowing them,” but you’re going to find your way back to each other. They’re such an important community and connection to have.

When I’m home for winter break, they’re the people I hang out with, and we still have Shabbat dinners together. I just went over to one of their houses to play Bananagrams the other day. So just stay in touch with your people.