Choices 2016 - Stephanie Mrackovich
Good evening, and thank you for joining this beautiful evening as we celebrate women’s support of the Jewish community. My name is Stephanie Mrakovich, and I am honored to be here tonight to share with you my unique Jewish story.
There are many people who step into our life, who teach us important values when we struggle through a tough time, and who help shape us into the individuals we are today. But I’m sure if you all took a moment to think, you would be able to name a few main role models who have impacted your life.
For some of us, it’s a parent or sibling. For others, it’s a mentor they have met along the way. For me, it is my grandma.
There is something unique about a relationship between a grandparent and a grandchild. Grandparents have a level of wisdom that is timeless, and they provide us with a different perspective – a universal truth based on the core values we have all been raised with. Values that we will continue to pass down to future generations, just like Judaism itself.
I wasn't born Jewish. I grew up celebrating Christmas, and went to a private catholic school.
When I was 4 years old, I met my grandmother for the first time. She moved to Canada to live with us, and took care of me while my parents were working.
When I wasn’t in school, we spent our days sitting in the sun, talking and playing, and appreciating the important things in life. Even as I grew older, she was always the first person I would tell about my day every time I came home. She was sweet and loving, she was my best friend.
My grandma taught me the importance of smiling, laughing, and being happy. I still remember the times when we would laugh so hard we started to cry.
“Mitzvah gedola lihiyot b’simcha tamid”, It is a big mitzvah to always be happy.
[Rebbe Nachman, Likutey Moharan II, 24]
Being happy is something we always wanted to share with each other, and with the people around us. Appreciating how you make the people around you happy and smile is a beautiful gift, and it is a value that has resonated with me ever since.
When I was 13, my grandmother’s health began to deteriorate. My father accompanied her back to her hometown in the former Yugoslavia so she could peacefully spend her last days in a familiar place.
After my grandmother’s passing, my father brought home news of our forgotten heritage. In my grandmothers last moments, she explained that we are Jewish, and how her mother had repressed Jewish expression while raising her children in a nationalistic Orthodox Christian environment.
Jewish? I’m Jewish? What exactly does that mean?
I didn’t know it at the time, but I was given a gift – a precious chance to reconnect with my late grandmother in a way I never thought I could. My father and I wanted to carry on her traditions and let her legacy live on. And so, I converted.
I took private lessons to learn Hebrew, studied Judaism with a rabbi, and switched from my catholic school to King David in grade 10. Later that year, I had my Bat Mitzvah on my 16th birthday.
It was a big change, and a very exciting one. I finally had a place to discover my true identity and I treasured every moment. Not surprisingly, every single Jewish value that I studied aligned with what my grandmother and parents had taught me.
I found myself constantly wanting to get involved and find give back. At King David, I took part in several extracurricular activities including co-organizing Mitzvah Day two years in a row and sitting as Vice President for our Student Council. During my time at the University of British Columbia, I was involved with Hillel and was the two-term president of the Jewish Students Association.
Today, I continue to share my happiness by being involved with Axis Vancouver and supporting the various events we organize. I am part of a group of 20 incredible individuals who inspire me to give back in new ways. I joined the committee last year to help plan the annual Hannukah party, and am excited to make this year even bigger and better!
This summer, I participated in Axis Leadership Lab, a program that helped me further develop the leadership skills necessary to make an impact in our community. (And by the way, if you know any young Jewish professionals, I highly recommend you encourage them to join this program! They won’t regret it!)
I am grateful for the opportunity I had to attend the Jewish Federation’s FEDtalks where I met Randi Zuckerberg at the Axis pre-reception. Its events like this that keep young professionals like myself inspired to continue integrating Judaism into my work-life balance.
I am thankful I had such a strong and empowering grandmother as my role model, and for instilling in me the Jewish values we all share.
But most importantly, I am thankful to the Jewish Federation for always finding ways to give back, so that individuals like myself have a place to share our happiness and success.
Tonight, we are all here to unite to strengthen the Jewish community through tzedakah. A strong community is one that is able to promote and support its members. So on behalf of the young Jewish population of Metro Vancouver, I would like to thank you for your continuous support, so that we can keep thriving as a community and share our Jewish values with each other and our children to come.
Thank you.