Support My Cantorial Journey

I am excited and honored to have been accepted into the H.L. Miller Cantorial Program at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York starting this fall! I know I am embarking on an amazing, yet challenging, program of intense learning and service to the Jewish community, and I cannot wait to get started.

I received about 50% of the annual cost through grants and stipends, and I am asking you to help me raise the other 50% for the first year. I want to share my history and journey to this point with you, and I hope you will be inspired to support not only me but the next generation of Jewish leaders wherever you can.

I have been steeped in Jewish tradition since I was born, and I have always loved being Jewish and participating in Jewish life. From Hebrew day school to summers at Camp Ramah to singing in my synagogue’s youth choir and living in an observant home, my youth revolved around Jewish lifecycles. I was especially inspired by my late father (Joel Shickman, z’’l). My father was a composer, singer, music director at our synagogue and performer. He filled our house with every kind of music, but especially Jewish music. I spent many road trips as a kid listening to Craig Taubman, Debbie Friedman, Rick Recht and others. I distinctly remember sitting on my dad’s lap every week for Havdalah as he played guitar, and I sang along, sometimes playing a small drum or toy guitar.

My father had a brilliant mind and bright soul that drew people to him and inspired them, so it was no surprise when he decided to go to seminary to become a rabbi. I grew up surrounded by rabbinical students and thought of them as my extended family. Sadly, my father never finished his studies. He died of AML when I was only eight, but his love and guidance are a constant force in my life.

Looking back, my journey to this application may seem straight-forward, but even up through college I saw myself on a very different path. I was diagnosed with autism when I was four years old. I spent countless hours learning from therapists and my parents how to do basic social interactions. I spent most of my time in the back of the classroom with my nose in a book, oblivious to those around me. As I got older, even though I did develop close friendships and I am naturally an extrovert, I assumed my adult and professional life would be more solitary.

I was a NASA kid, visiting launch sites whenever I could, building and dismantling anything I could get my hands on while studying hard in my engineering classes. I volunteered at the science museum on weekends and was a High School Aerospace Scholar at NASA in Houston the summer before my senior year in high school. Even as I went on a gap year in Israel with the Nativ program after high school, I was intent on networking in Haifa and the tech sector working toward a career in research, computer programming or rocket science. But my year on Nativ brought new ideas and unexpected experiences. I fell headfirst into a wealth of Jewish culture I didn’t realize I was missing. For the first time I was in an area where Judaism was the norm, not just some quirk brought up by conflicting club schedules or finding kosher food in the cafeteria. I took my first Jewish history and Hebrew classes in years and found myself yearning to learn more about my identity. I began wearing my kippah daily and re-working prayer into my life.

I started college as an aerospace engineering major, but I soon found I didn’t love the work. I loved music, history, philosophy and Jewish studies, and I devoted myself more to those extracurricular areas than to my core subjects. After a lot of self-reflection, I transferred to another university and changed my major to religious studies with a minor in music. I didn’t know yet what I would eventually do with such a degree – I thought I might become a music teacher – but I was happier and more motivated than ever.

Then COVID hit. Thankfully, a marching band friend introduced me to AEΠ, and although I had never pictured myself as a fraternity member, the community I found there was incredible. After I was inducted into AEΠ, I quickly volunteered to fill the empty post of Jewish Identity Chair where I would lead Shabbat and holiday services. I enjoyed leading services at shul during my gap year with Nativ in Israel, so it was a natural fit. The main difference was that this was the first time I was in the specific role of organizer and was responsible for my job instead of just being available for a part. I led Zoom services for our chapter and developed holiday events. I also worked closely with the campus Hillel to lead services and create Jewish programming. It didn’t really feel like a job to me though. I couldn’t wait for Fridays to pull out my guitar and play the latest Kabbalat Shabbat piece I’d worked on for my brothers.

The first time I led Havdalah for AEΠ with my own guitar I could feel my father’s presence. Memories of him flooded over me and I felt a mix of emotions that is hard to describe. I was proud to continue his legacy, I was inspired by his memory, and I was missing his voice. The prayer of separating the holy from the mundane lined up with my feelings of moving from the past to the future – one supporting the other. My memories of Havdalah with my dad are a piece of the past I can always call on, it’s something that is always there.

In AEΠ, we supported each other. I quickly found that I wasn’t learning just for myself but looked forward to sharing what I learned with several impromptu chavruta that seemed to start springing up everywhere. I learned that I could thrive in a community and that my life didn’t need to be solitary.

After graduation, I was networking, looking for a job and thinking about graduate school in music education or Jewish studies. Incredibly, a local synagogue needed a cantor for Friday evening and Saturday morning services and everything clicked for me. What started as a three-month contract was extended to over a year, and I loved leading with my guitar, filling in for the rabbi, and helping with Sunday school programs.

Serving the Jewish community is the most fulfilling, inspiring and motivating work I have ever done, and at this point I knew I had found my calling. I immediately started preparing to apply to cantorial school. I started voice lessons and Hebrew classes, I attended Song Leader Bootcamps and leadership seminars. I volunteer and help lead services at synagogues in my community. I visited schools, met with current and former students and faculty to find the right fit. And now, I cannot contain my joy that I have officially been accepted to the cantorial program at JTS.

Thank you.