'Head and shoulders above': Profile of NCSY National President Miriam Shapiro

By Daniella Adler

As national president, Shapiro tours the country, collaborating with members of NCSY’s national board and ensuring that the organization runs smoothly in its many U.S. and international regions. She is also in the process of planning a retreat for the presidents of all the NCSY regions.

Shapiro first became involved in NCSY as a freshman. She recalled being deeply moved by the words of Charlie Harary, the chairman of Long Island NCSY, before havdalah one Shabbat.

“Look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself if you gave 100 percent of yourself that day,” Shapiro recalled Harary saying. “If you did, you’re great. If not, you’re mediocre. Never settle for mediocre, because you can all be great.”

It soon became clear to Shapiro that, in her words, “NCSY was something I could feel passionate about.” She built up the small Great Neck chapter of NCSY into a thriving and sought-after one, eventually winning an award for Chapter of the Year. Her house was constantly bustling with high schoolers congregating for a Friday night meal or a Saturday oneg.

Nowadays, Shapiro is often away at NCSY shabbatons. Despite increasing involvement in NCSY, and moving from Chapter President to Vice President of Education for Long Island NCSY, she still keeps up with her many other extracurriculars, such as her positions as captain of the college bowl team and section editor of her school newspaper. Shapiro has a lot on her plate, but she’s used to being busy. “I’m involved in everything. I’ve the vice president of the honor society, and I try to be involved in as many things as possible,” Shapiro explained. “People know they can count on me.”

Her favorite part of traveling is witnessing the different approaches that each region takes toward its programming. The highlight of her travels was attending Yarchei Kallah, an annual public school shabbaton in which five days of winter vacation is spent learning and having fun. “Every single person was connecting to Judaism and Hashem, and that was inspiring to me.” said Shapiro. “I was fortunate to see that, especially because I come from a yeshiva.”

On Friday night, Shapiro visited each region and introduced herself, getting “nothing but a warm welcome.”

NCSY has been good training for further work in kiruv for Shapiro. As a participant in Write On for Israel, a program that trains high school students to be activists for Israel on college campuses, Shapiro found herself answering questions about Orthodox Judaism posed by her peers.” At every meal they would sit and ask questions about simple things like washing before eating to complex issues like shomer negiyah and how you define who is Jewish, and, thanks to NCSY, I was prepared to give answers,” Shapiro said.

Shapiro wants to pursue a career as a Judaic Studies teacher, enabling her to share her love of Torah Judaism and passion for kiruv with others.

Rabbi Steven Burg, National Director of NCSY, has worked with Shapiro for three years, and  said that she “was head and shoulders above everyone else” who attended the annual Leadership Boot Camp retreat. Shapiro won the respect and admiration of her peers and NCSY staff, who chose her to be National President.

“She’s a pleasure, a real leader and a total role model,” Burg said. “As a passionate young Jewish woman, she’s second to none.”

Shapiro credits her success to her parents, who were both heavily involved in USY when they were young. They pushed Shapiro to get involved in NCSY and go after leadership positions. “Without them as my role models, I wouldn’t have been able to get to the point where I am right now,” said Shapiro. '