By Elexa Sherry | Contributor

Sara Goodie, an Athens, Georgia native, did not expect her life path to take her to Austin, Texas.  Goodie is a senior at the University of Texas where she is earning her B.A. in psychology, a Hebrew minor, and a certificate in Core Texts and Ideas.

Coming from out-of-state, Goodie said she arrived in Texas not knowing a soul. Her sophomore year, she went on Winter Birthright, where her love and involvement for Texas Hillel grew. Goodie said the trip to Israel solidified her decision to become a Rabbi post-graduation. 

 “I came home and I decided, well, I guess I’m going to do everything and Texas Hillel now,” Goodie said. “I guess that’s where my extra energy is gonna go.” 

Goodie has led the Hillel community on campus with several leadership positions including being a member of the Social Justice Cohort, a Campus Engagement Intern, a Birthright BICEP Fellow, where she organized the
reunion of the birthright group, the Gender Justice Committee Chair, along with leading several services. 

Goodie is currently the Religious and Cultural Chair. She also helped start up a new club called LGBTJew. 

“Now we’ve got this little queer community at Hillel, which is what I have wanted to establish this whole time,” Goodie said. “So [it’s] been really cool to see it actually come together”. 

Among all of the various leadership positions Goodie has experienced, she’s also been involved in learning fellowships, including Life’s Big Questions, and the Israel Learning Fellowships. 

“What makes Judaism is the people”, Goodie said. “It’s evolving all of the time… and we hold onto the core values and traditions, and that unifies us but at the same time, we’re constantly innovating.” 

Goodie’s favorite Hillel program was this year’s Passover Seder, where she got the chance to put together her own Haggadah. She said it was one
of the most rewarding and meaningful experiences she had at Hillel. 

“It was clear that everyone was just happy to be doing something meaningful, in-person,” Goodie said. “And we also had real wine, so everyone
was having a good time!” 

Beyond her involvement at Hillel, Goodie is a part of the Jefferson scholar’s program, with discussions of inter-faith dialogue and book
clubs through the College of Liberal Arts. She takes classes including philosophy, religion and literature. 

Goodie is currently considering attending Rabbinical schools in Philadelphia, New York City, Los Angeles and Cincinnati. 

Sara, we wish you the best of luck on your future endeavors of becoming a Rabbi and we are so thankful for all that you have done for the
Texas Hillel community. Congratulations!