A Winner True to Her Values ESTEE ACKERMAN ’23 Stern College for Women Gold Medal Winner, Table Tennis
Encouraging Teachers to Think Outside the Box LAYA SALOMON, ED.D. ’00 Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, M.A., Ed.D. Director of Azrieli’s Master’s Program in Jewish Education Associate Professor, Azrieli
R aised in Canarsie, Brooklyn, Dr. Laya Salomon grew up in a family of Holocaust survivors with a passion for ed- ucating Jewish children. Her father, aunt and uncle all survived Bergen-Belsen; her aunt, the renowned Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis, was a leading outreach activist at a time when few Orthodox women assumed such public roles. But it was her Aunt Shifra Jungreis, a day-school principal (and, in 1963, the captain of Yeshiva University’s College Bowl team), who cut out an ad for YU’s Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration from The Jewish Press and presented it to her niece. “This is what you need to do,” she told the recent college grad. Dr. Salomon would be the first in her family to pursue advanced degrees in the field. At Yeshiva University, Dr. Salomon was immediately drawn to Rabbi Dr. Chaim Feuerman, the then-dean of Azrieli, who became her mentor. The philosophies of Dr. Feuerman, who was warm, ap- proachable and larger than life, were ahead of their time. “He was a true champion for students,” Dr. Salomon said, noting that he be- lieved teachers should be “a guide on the side” not “a sage on the stage” and that students should be taught according to their inher- ent abilities. True to his principles, Dr. Feuerman encouraged Dr. Salomon’s habit of doodling in class, which she had spent a lifetime hiding from teachers. “I even started incorporating cartoons into the papers I wrote for him,” she said. When she became a professor at YU, Dr. Feuerman sent her a gift—an adult coloring book and art set with a note: “Never stop doodling.” It formed the cornerstone of her educational philosophy. Dr. Salomon, who lives in New Jersey with her husband and six children, notes that student-centered education and teaching with the end goal in mind have always been at the core of her approach, skills that are encouraged at YU. “I believe in making the class- room a place for everyone to succeed,” she said. “We often see be- haviors that we think we need to punish or, at best, ignore. But great educators celebrate these differences and use them to build up students.” This approach also underlies Azrieli’s programs, many of which cater to both new and experienced teachers. “As educators, we base our programs on the model that different people, with different backgrounds, have different needs,” she said. “In the same way we teach our teachers to differentiate instruction with their students, we also model that differentiation with our own students.”
I ’ve never considered myself typical,” said Estee Ackerman, an Olympic 2024 table tennis hopeful who is as much known for her grit and grace as for her ability to place religious values above ambition. A nationally ranked player, gold medal winner and one of the first Orthodox Jews to ever try out for the Olympics, the Stern Col- lege senior has been building an impressive table tennis résumé since the age of 8, when her father, worried that his children might be spending too much time with their electronic devices, installed a pingpong table in the family basement. By the time she was 11, with a slew of competitions under her belt, Ackerman was invited to play tennis great Rafael Nadal in an exhibition game of table tennis at New York’s Grand Central Termi- nal before a crowd of 500. Ackerman, the table tennis prodigy from West Hempstead, won. “I don’t think he knew who he was playing with,” the newly minted media sensation told The New York Times in a post-match interview. Yet months earlier, the outcome of another match unfolded quite differently and, in retrospect, would become her defining moment. Ackerman had claimed her spot on the big stage, the 2012 U.S. National Table Tennis Championship. But when one of her matches fell on Shabbat, tournament officials refused to resched- ule it. It was, in her words, “time to make a decision” and, with her parents’ backing, she made an adult-sized—and innovative—one. “11-Year-Old Table Tennis Phenom Chooses Shabbos Over Champi- onship” read the headlines. By placing her practice of Judaism above her passion for winning, the religious girl from Long Island set her future course as an athlete and a role model. “Some people back home were surprised,” noted Ackerman. “‘How could you give up your big chance?’ they asked me. But my response back then is the same as it is today. I wanted to stay true to myself and my faith.” And, in her own way, she’s a true innovator: “Before matches I pray to G-d, because at the end of the day, He knows what is best for me.” Since that singular moment more than a decade ago, this path-breaking athlete has continued to play on her own terms, nav- igating her training, tournament competitions and even uniform attire to comply with her religious beliefs. Ackerman was the first Orthodox Jew to try out for the 2016 U.S. Olympics and likely the first to win gold in the Junior Olympics that same year. During her 2020 gap year in Israel, she was recognized as a top-ranked player but was again forced to forfeit her place in the Olympic trials, which required her to compete during Shabbat.
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Indeed, Dr. Salomon, along with Dr. Rona Novick, Azrieli’s dean, supports Azrieli students’ careers on all fronts, from tuition remission, leadership opportunities, specialized certificates in spe- cial education and literacy, and dual degree programs with several YU graduate schools, to a lifetime of mentorship and a thriving net- work of present and future teachers. For Dr. Salomon, it all comes back to education—and today, that means overcoming the new challenges of educating a post-COVID generation of children. While once upon a time students relied on teachers to relay information, teachers have become curators of in- formation, packaging and presenting it in a way that creates curios- ity. At the same time, students’ social and emotional needs have been magnified tenfold. “The definition of education has changed,” she said. “It’s about focusing on the whole child.” Nothing is more important or rewarding, Dr. Salomon said, than developing the next generation of educators. “I have that passion that my parents instilled in me, and I’m so lucky to be able to pass it on here at YU.”
Setbacks? She’s had a few, but her focus and ability to innovate have propelled her forward. In 2021, Ackerman made her 13th trip to Las Vegas for the U.S. Nationals, earning a bronze and a gold medal. Back home at Yeshiva University, where she is majoring in Jewish Studies, she’s played varsity tennis for two seasons (2020– 2022) and has been a motivating force on both the women’s and the coed table tennis teams. For Ackerman, being a role model is the other part of her win- ning equation. Her 2012 headline-making decision has left an en- during impact on her community. “I couldn’t believe the tons of emails and calls I received from other Jews—Conservative, Reform and Orthodox—letting me know how my actions motivated them to make a greater commitment to their religion,” she said. As a result, she has become a frequent guest speaker at Jewish day schools and community retreats, where she inspires others with her message. Being a person of faith in the modern world shouldn’t prevent any- one from pursuing their ambitions or breaking new barriers. With the 2024 Olympic tryouts on the horizon, Ackerman’s in- tensity, talent and commitment make her unstoppable.
To contact Ackerman for speaking engagements: emackerm@mail.yu.edu
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YU Today : Powered by Innovators, Guided by Values
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