I knew the Ben Shemen youth village by chance. Immediately after I was discharged from the army, I worked for a year in a nearby moshav as a youth coordinator. I always knew in my heart that I would like to work with teenagers, and the concept of working in a boarding program was a distant dream. Throughout the period I worked in the moshav, my students told me that I need to be in the Village and work there. They told me that the Village would "fit me like a glove". After quite a while I decided that I wanted to explore the possibility of working at Ben Shemen and check if what others were saying was true and that the place would suit me.

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I started working at Ben Shemen six years ago as a substitute counselor for the twelfth grade. At the end of the year I switched to my own group and along the way I was told that once I get a group I will understand what it means to be a boarding program counselor and what is this job is that everyone is talking about.

 

In August 2015, my love story began with the "Oz" group. I received a bunch of stunning 10th grade boys and girls and accompanied them for three amazing years in the village. Those were the three most significant years as I felt I was indeed in the right place and doing the right thing. Along the way, together with the students, we learned, we got smart, we went through a common process where there were ups and downs but there is no substitute for the amazing feeling I had during the twelfth grade graduation ceremony where each student stood proudly and marked the end of their education in the Village, an unparalleled exciting moment.

My connection with the members of the Oz group became a family connection, an inexplicable connection. I cherish the privilege I had to accompany them and go through the process to the extent that I would not want to do any other kind of work.

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Today after living and working in Ben Shemen for six years I feel that the place has  very quickly become my home and it is very difficult to think of living any other place. The sense of community and greenery in the village are a source of energy and are irreplaceable.