‘With Help from University, I Developed Confidence in My Academic Ability’

Ten months after October 7, the strength and resilience of the Israeli people continue to shine. Tel Aviv University students have played a crucial role, initiating and joining volunteer efforts to support those affected by the war. Many students were also called up for reserve duty, including several international students with dual citizenship.

Jonathan, a first-year undergraduate student from the UK in the Management and Liberal Arts program, shares his experiences: 

“Orientation was supposed to start on the week of October 8th. I can still remember the feeling of knowing that I was soon to be starting my first year of university. The week before orientation was dedicated to preparations, and I had to hype myself up. Internal dialogues of motivational speeches ran through my head as I locked in certain thoughts and mentalities to guarantee my commitment to hard work and passion in my chosen subjects. 

This was the start of a new life and it was exactly what I had worked for. 

That same week when my new life was supposed to commence, I was called back to the army due to the events of October 7th. As opposed to the step forward I had hoped for, I stepped backward into my past lifestyle, old friends, old clothes, old priorities, and a reestablished need for survival skills.

On the 22nd of October 2024, a truck of 30 soldiers left Gaza for the last time for the foreseeable future. Each soldier was as confused as the next. How long till I am expected to get back to my regular life? Should I study or travel? Should I share my experiences with those around me? Will I have PTSD? Do I need therapy? Is everyone going to worry about me? Will I be the same person I was before again? Will I be called back here tomorrow? 

One month later, I started university, still equally as confused, and expecting to be sent up north at any time over the next few weeks. Starting university whilst being part of something so much bigger is uniquely comical. On one occasion I was nervous about an Academic Writing paper I had to hand in the next day when I received a text that it was likely I’d be called up to the north in the next few hours where I would be fighting for my life. 

Suddenly the paper due tomorrow is a lot less stressful. But I may not go up north and hence I must finish my essay to a good standard. My real stress is directed towards my safety but I know that I must apply myself to my essay."

The BA in Management & Liberal Arts is taught fully in English and provides international students with a relevant, comprehensive education in management and entrepreneurship studies, combined with a rich foundation in the humanities and social sciences.

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I promised to apply myself to school while here, and there is no point in not applying myself fully.

"I study Business Management and Liberal Arts–majoring and minoring in Philosophy and Life Sciences respectively. This degree incorporates business practicality with theoretical life tools learned through philosophy. 

Due to the culture of open discourse during classes, many conversations I have been a part of have helped me to understand many of my own experiences. 

Professor Fromer’s class ‘Modernity and its Discontents’ has placed me in group conversations where my unanswered questions from war are part of academic discussions and I have been introduced to writings from well-renowned psychologists and philosophers who explain different opinions on aggression, war, and societal changes that are happening due to the discontents of the enlightenment period.

The ability to look upon my toughest experiences as assets for my academic exploration as opposed to hindering developed flaws is indisputably therapeutic. 

Entering university, I hoped for a distraction. To be surrounded by younger generations, learning, and social activities as opposed to being the youngest around me in an atmosphere of aggression and fear. Instead of a distraction, I was met with tough goals and a lot to prove. I was not distracted but focused, and I had all the questions I wondered whilst leaving Gaza answered.

With additional help from the university, I have managed to develop confidence in my academic ability. Each reservist is able to explain their particular situation to their professors in order to guarantee a tailored support plan that allows them to be challenged by the course but not stressed by war-related externalities.

Whilst additional credits allow me to make up for classes I have completely missed, the reassurance that my professors are here to help me through this complicated situation is unparalleled. 

Yes, I am still one phone call away from my life turning upside down. But as I improve my confidence in my ability to make the right decisions, I feel less nervous about what the future may hold.

In fact, my life and experiences to date closely resemble Aristotle's ideal education system. As I sit in Greek philosophy classes learning why he believed three years of intense national service in the Greek army helps make a man virtuous, I redevelop my optimism, labelling myself a product of my surroundings and experiences rather than a product of my surroundings, held back by my experiences."

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