Sammie's Internship with Onward Israel

Sammie (center) with friends in her apartment in Israel.

Hi, my name is Sammie Jacobs. I was born and raised in Beachwood, and will be a Senior at Case Western Reserve University this fall. I participated on Onward Israel this past summer, and was one of 42 Clevelanders who went on Onward this year.

About My Internship

I found out about Onward Israel during my freshman year at Case. I decided I wanted to do the program because it would give me the chance to live like an Israeli, to understand Israeli life better, and give me the chance to gain professional skills and land a good internship.

The internship I got exceeded my expectations and it was a dream come true. Since I’m an accounting and environmental studies student, I wanted to do a business development internship for an environmentalism company and was open to larger corporations as well as startups and nonprofits. I was really unsure that I would be able to find something I was looking for because it is not very common. I figured I would have to be flexible.

Through Onward I ended up working at an environmental consulting startup called ecoOS, which was the perfect intersection between business and sustainability that I wanted. The employees were warm and welcoming and we all got close. I learned new skills, and the company utilized my business interest and background to give me projects that fit specifically to what I wanted. I did data collection and analysis, worked in the software that they’ve spent the last 3 years developing, and worked on the Corporate Social Responsibility Report for Israel Chemicals, which is a Fortune 500 company. This was the coolest part of the job for me because I have found a company in Israel that does the work I hoped one day I’d be able to do.

For more information about how you can intern in Tel Aviv through Onward Israel, please visit www.clevelandonwardisrael.com or contact Mirit Balkan at mbalkan@jcfcleve.org or 216-593-2921.