Jewish teens across New York City have stories to tell. This is one of the reasons why we started the New York Jewish Week Teen Journalism Fellowship — to gain access to communities whose diverse perspectives are crucial in covering the full breadth of stories impacting the 1 million Jews across NYC.
Our current fellows comes to us from public and private schools in the city, where they play tennis, work for school newspapers, participate in debate and are leaders in their Jewish student groups. You can read more about the five of them below.
Meet Our Fall 2025 New York Jewish Week Fellows
Maya Bab (she/her) is a junior at The Brearley School in Manhattan. She is co-editor of her school’s literary magazine, serves as a staff writer for her school newspaper, founded a newspaper in her upstate New York community, and created Brearley’s first-ever lower school newspaper. Beyond writing, Maya leads Brearley’s Jewish affinity, organizes speaker events to connect Jewish teens across New York City, and is an active member of her synagogue. She looks forward to combining her love of journalism with her dedication to the Jewish community as a JTA fellow!
Neve Drimmer (she/her) is a sophomore at NYC iSchool. She is a co-founder of the Jewish Student Union and serves as president of the Ethics Club. Recently, she participated in Selfhelp’s Witness Theater program, a nonprofit organization that brings together students and Holocaust survivors to share and process personal histories through therapeutic theater. Neve is an avid writer, regularly taking part in creative writing programs where she draws inspiration from art, nature and contemporary politics. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, writing and is currently teaching herself to play guitar.
Benjamin Shapiro (he/him) is a sophomore at The Dalton School in Manhattan. He has published multiple articles in the East Hampton Star and regulary contribute and edits for his school newspaper. In his free time, Benjamin enjoys performing magic tricks, playing soccer and watching live theater.
Misha Vaynerchuk (she/her) is a junior at Riverdale Country School in New York City. Passionate about the current landscape of social media and pop culture, writing, and her Jewish identity, she works for Lost Tribe, a nonprofit focused on using social media to curate a supportive, GenZ-focused Jewish community. She spends her free time walking around and keeping up with current events in the city.
Calder Weiss (he/him) is a senior at Hunter College High School in Manhattan. He has long been interested in journalism and helps lead his school’s newspaper and politics magazine. He is also passionate about his Jewish identity—especially the Jewish value of Tzedakah, or giving back to others. He frequently volunteers at his synagoguge’s food pantry and uses his Spanish fluency to mentor immigrant youth. As an aspiring attorney, he participates on the mock trial, debate, and moot court teams. He views New York Jewish Week’s fellowship as an opportunity to explore his Jewish identity while developing his writing skills, which will serve him well in the courtroom or wherever he ends up!
