Humans of Bronfman Center — Jason Zilberkweit

Hi, I’m Jason.

For those of you that haven’t met me, I grew up in Berlin, Germany. I am studying computer science at Tandon. Oh — and I’m also Jewish.

The fact that I am a Jew from a historically slightly problematic country often takes center stage when people get to know me at Bronfman despite the fact that I have actually done things in my life besides being born in Germany.

So, I’m going to humbly use this opportunity to brag about some things I’ve done, specifically during my gap year. Without a doubt, the year I spent completely free of responsibility was the most formative part of my life so far.

After graduating from high school in 2016, I sold strawberries on the road for 3 months in order to save up some money before turning 18. I turned 18, got my driver’s license a day later, and then boarded a flight to Bangkok 2 days later.

I booked my return flight 100 days from then and found myself with a very rough idea of how to make my way through Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

I consider myself incredibly privileged to be able to say that I spent 100 days doing whatever I wanted to do at any moment. Be it spontaneous week long motorcycle trips into the deepest parts of the countryside, the wild nights partying with other backpackers and/or locals, the children whom I taught English in Cambodia and Vietnam, or simply the adventures I looked for at every stop — I was entirely free.

While there were obviously some crises, the feeling of complete and utter freedom is something that I don’t think will ever let go of me again.

Returning home from Asia was one of the hardest things I have had to do up to that point, but the 4 days I spent at home left barely enough time to begin telling my stories before the second part of my gap year started.

During these 6 months I worked and learned Hebrew in arguably the most beautiful kibbutz in Israel.

There I worked in an ornamental fish farm, pulling nets in shoulder deep ponds at 4 o’clock in the morning as part of my job of breeding koi and goldfish.

While I consistently smelled like fish, I absolutely loved it. What’s not to love about good food right on the beach with zero responsibility. Throw some manly physical labor and lavish parties into the mix, and life was complete.

While I more than toyed with the idea of staying, I eventually realized that I did and do want to accomplish something in my life and a perfect tan might not fulfill me in the long run. Hence, I begrudgingly left paradise… to come here.

I spent a year enjoying life and I wouldn’t miss it for anything in the world, the experiences I made, the things I saw and felt inform who I am and how I think.

And while I hated the reality of NYU and real life at first, reality is simply more fulfilling in the long run, my ambitions never entailed growing out my hair and living out my days as a vagabond.

But, just in case I change my mind, every couple of months I make sure the offer a dive shop in Thailand made me to work for them still stands, just as a backup.

Jason Zilberkweit is a sophomore at the Tandon School of Engineering studying Computer Science and Engineering.