Elana Kook
Elana Kook loves to read just about anything. But don’t mistake Elana for any ordinary English major: this English major is secretly (or not so secretly anymore) an avid reader of just about any pop culture magazine, with a concentration in People Magazine. In regards to her previous writing experience, Elana has been writing for The Observer since her first semester on campus. Previously, Elana served as Managing Editor and editor of the Features section. Elana also tutors at the Beren Writing Center where she loves helping students develop their writing skills at any stage of the writing process. Elana is humbled to serve as Editor-in-Chief this year. She is eager to provide the student body with an honest perspective, as well as properly represent Yeshiva University to the broader Jewish Community. To stay up-to-date with everything Observer-related, please follow The Observer on Facebook and Twitter (@YUObserver).
Makena Owens
Makena Owens (SCW ’16) is the Managing Editor of The Observer and a Media Studies major with double minors in Business and Graphic Design. She enjoys reading and subsequently scoffing at quick-fix articles trending on Twitter about “How to Increase Your Media Reach in 5 Steps” and others that attempt to solve long-term problems. When reading these articles don’t help her sleep at night, she watches TV and pays more attention to the commercials than the scheduled programming. And when that doesn’t work, Makena scrolls through Instagram to view artful panoramas of the Pacific Northwest and finally finds herself at peace. She is excited to work for The Observer for her second year with the goal of producing a consistently high-quality paper that keeps the student body informed.
Sarah King
Sarah King is a Super-Senior at SCW. Hailing from Baltimore, MD, when she isn’t working to finish her art/music double major, she can be found fencing, playing the harp, correcting her friends’ papers, or getting embroiled in the usual hi-jinx. A lover of English and all things grammar, Sarah ensures the articles for the Observer are filled with good, clean, grammatical fun.
ST Schwartz
ST Schwartz (SCW 15)was born and raised on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Like the city she lives in, she hardly ever sleeps. Majoring in Studio Art ST plans on doing everything within her power to make the things you look at in this paper as pretty as possible. When ST is not working on The Observer she will probably be working on SCDS, or chilling out on the 8th floor of 215 Lex. ST enjoys the color orange, the muffin joke, ginger ale, puns, and the Oxford comma. She would also thank you for reading the printed version because coffee just tastes better while flipping through a newspaper (or so she’s heard, ST doesn’t read newspapers or drink coffee…)
Sarah Varon
Sarah Varon (SYMS ’15), sometimes known as Svaron, is a Marketing major, Management and Graphic Design minor. She puts her education and creativity to good use by creating flyers for floor parties, managing student club social media and recruiting students for Challah for Hunger. Sarah hails from the Pacific Northwest where the air is clean. She enjoys watching the sun set over Lake Washington and playing with her pups: Desi and Lucy. In her spare time she solves mystery novels a third of the way through and listen to Spotify on shuffle.
Talia Felman
Though originally born in Boston, Massachusetts, Talia Felman now lives in Teaneck, NJ. She is a junior at Stern College and plans on majoring in Biology. When not doing schoolwork, Talia can be found drawing, volunteering in the NICU at her local hospital, and spending time with her special needs campers. She is looking forward to being on The Observer staff, and she knows it will be an especially exciting year for the newspaper.
Irit Greenboim
Hola Chiquitas! My name is Irit Greenboim and this is my second year serving as Photography Editor of The Observer. Hailing from San Diego, CA, I am majoring in studio art (Photography and Graphic Design), while simultaneously fulfilling pre-med requirements. I enjoy randomly changing the language in which I’m speaking, and have an odd obsession with sending GIFs through texts (let me know if you don’t know what those are, I’ll be more than happy to explain). I cannot wait for another amazing year with The Observer: say cheese!
Rivka Hia
Rivka Hia is a junior at Stern College majoring in English with a minor in Women’s Studies. She hails from Queens, NY and enjoys exploring all the city has to offer. When not working on The Observer, Rivka can be found writing, following Jewish current events, asking existential questions, meeting new people, practicing her three foreign languages, or doing yoga at 103 degrees. Rivka is the Editor-in-Chief of the Quipster, Founding President of the YU Creative Writing Club, President of YU TEIQU, and a board member of the YU Women’s Studies Society. You can follow her on Twitter @RivkaHia.
Shalva Ginsprang
A native of sunny Florida, Shalva Ginsparg is majoring in English and Judaic Studies. This past summer, a journalism internship with the Franklin Center led her to Washington, D.C., where she covered political news stories for RedAlertPolitics. When not buried under a mountain of books in her favorite corner of the library, Shalva bakes pies, reads The Wall Street Journal, and Skypes her siblings. You can also find her in the Beren Writing Center, where she works as a tutor. As co-editor of the news section this year, Shalva can’t wait to work with (and learn from!) the extraordinarily talented women on The Observer staff.
Sara Olson
Sara Olson (SCW ‘15) is an English Creative Writing major from Baltimore, Maryland. Her dream job would be to be a librarian and an author of children’s literature. She is really excited to join the talented Observer staff as co-editor of the news section, having written for both news and features during the past three semesters. In her spare time, Sara enjoys reading, writing fantasy, singing Broadway tunes, and watching Doctor Who.
Shira Kaye
Shira Kaye, a junior from Bergenfield, New Jersey, is a Biology major with a minor in English. She is a pre-med student who hopes to one day specialize in the field of Neurology or Pediatrics. In addition to her passion for biology, she enjoys philosophy, literature, and acting. She is President of the Fiction Book Club on Campus, is an active member of the Stern College Dramatic Society, and in her free time, enjoys playing guitar
Talia Stern
Talia is a senior at Stern majoring in Biology and most likely pursuing physical therapy. In the free time that she has, she loves watching random YouTube videos, writing songs (and pretending to play the piano), and spending time with friends and family (especially her two-year-old nephew). This is Talia’s first year as an editor on The Observer, and she has been writing for the paper since her first year on campus. She’s really excited for the upcoming semesters and is thankful for the opportunity to help The Observer succeed as the informative and important newspaper that it is. Write on!
Devi Braun
Devi Braun is the Health Corner editor of The Observer. She is really excited to be a part of the newspaper as it is a vital part of the Stern community serving many purposes. She will be starting her second year at Stern and will be pursuing a major in Neuroscience Psychology. Last year Devi acted as a writer for the newspaper and hopes to become even more involved now that she is an editor. She has always had a passion for reading and writing and was thrilled to find out that she could put her hobbies to good use while in college. Devi realizes how important it is to keep every student in the know about what is going on around her, and will strive to do so.
Abigail Bachrach
Abigail is an avid freelancer who enjoys utilizing highfalutin millennial-appropriate argot, wearing the most outrageous shoes she can procure from shopping apps on her phone and compulsively reading the news from reputable sources and/or her Twitter feed. Abigail, who also goes by her Hebrew moniker Avigayil, is a semi Media Studies, mostly Journalism major with an International Relations minor and an additional academic passion for criminal law, ancient Jewish texts and Middle Eastern studies. She is most likely to be found clutching her coffee for dear life and thrift shopping somewhere vaguely pretentious in Brooklyn or at culturally stimulating events in NYC that she will delight in sharing with you as Arts and Cultures Editor for the Observer this year. Hit her up at her Twitter handle @AJBachrach or just email her so she can invite you along and not have to go places alone.
Maddie Zimilover
Maddie Zimilover (née Tavin) is a senior majoring in Political Science and minoring in Biology. Coming to Stern from Memphis, Tennessee, she now resides in the beautiful Heights of Washington. Maddie tutors in the Writing Center and loves discussing opinions and viewpoints. Her interests include social justice, health policy, and iced lattes
Renana Nerwin
Renana, Stern ‘15, is a psychology major and a wanna-be English major (but sadly, only an English minor). Though she grew up in Riverdale, NY, Renana considers herself a true out-of-towner and is in Stern on almost any given Shabbat. When not studying, you can find Renana doing psychology related volunteer work at nearby hospitals, shopping at Fairway, or hanging out at Coffee Bean with a good book. Renana is an avid reader of The New York Times and The New Yorker, and is excited to be part of The Observer as co-editor of the opinions section!
Jackie Benayoun
Jackie is from Queens NY, and is a graduating Biochemistry major at Stern. Jackie spends her free time volunteering at the pediatric ED at Columbia, spending time with friends and family, and working at a local food pantry. She is excited to resume her position as Sci-Tech editor and has made it her personal mission to encourage the plentiful pre-health students at Stern to write for the paper.
