My Journey Toward A Fuller Life 

For boys growing up in the Chabad Hasidic community of Crown Heights, Jewish education was paramount, but secular education was non-existent. We studied the Bible extensively, the laws that the scholars in the Talmud derived from biblical sources, and Jewish philosophy and ethics. In high school, we had a full 12-hour per day schedule, but all of our studies were directed toward learning how to serve God in the best way possible. My curiosity early on extended beyond religious texts and I always imagined myself eventually acquiring a formal secular education.

In high school, I noticed a lot of my teenage friends struggling with untreated mental health issues. Coupled with my own experiences with anxiety and depression, this sparked my interest in psychology and the study of human resilience. By my mid-teens, I decided that after completing my Jewish education, I would pursue a degree in the mental health field.

Not without strong determination and an ability to learn new material quickly, I obtained my high school diploma and college degree in my mid-late 20s. My undergraduate studies at CUNY Brooklyn College solidified my deep interest in clinical psychology and neuroscience research. I actively sought and was fortunate to secure clinical and research internships and experiences that enriched my understanding of psychiatric illnesses and how they are currently being studied and treated. I also developed an undergraduate thesis project, evaluating aspects of music perception, and plan to publish the results in the near future.

At present, I work as a research specialist with the CARRS lab at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center - Western Psychiatric Hospital. We are studying relationships between circadian rhythms and the development of substance in adolescents. In parallel, I serve as data manager for a policy project aimed at elevating education standards in the ultra-orthodox Jewish of NY.

My goal is to earn a PhD in clinical psychology and leverage my experience and knowledge to develop innovative therapeutic approaches that drive meaningful progress in the field and transform the lives of the individuals it serves.