I enjoyed every day at BCI: singing, dancing, learning, reflecting, meditating, laughing, walking, swimming, and making art.

“I feel more like myself here than I have in a long time. My confidence has grown. It has been so amazing to feel 110% supported by the staff and other participants and it has allowed me to step out of my comfort zone in a supported way.”

“I learned that my identity as a nonbinary individual does not clash with my identity as a Jew. Rather, the two complement each other and integrate with each other in such profound ways. I am very proud of myself for overcoming my challenges of stepping out of my comfort zone and reconnecting with my faith, both of which I feel I accomplished this summer at BCI.”

“Yes! I had the chance to be myself without any filter: Zionist and pro-Palestinian, queer, and Jewish. I’d never felt so accepted in my life and that’s thanks to all the amazing staff.”

Known today as the Marilyn and Sigi Ziering Brandeis Collegiate Institute, BCI is an intensive experience in Jewish learning, arts, culture, and community offered every summer to Jewish young adults from around the world, ages 20 to 29. It combines programmatic concepts adapted from Danish Folk High School (expressing one’s identity and culture through the creative arts) and the Israeli Kibbutz (the dignity of physical labor and sharing responsibility for the community) set in the context of the American recreational summer camp.