Allison Cook
MAJS'04, Hebrew College's 2004 valedictorian and first Wexner Fellow—not to mention the new mother of twins—has had her hands full since graduation. Allison's sons, Samuel and Joseph, who will be a year old on March 23, join their mom often on visits to the College, where she teaches an Early Childhood Directors Institute class to an "amazing and inspiring group of women," all directors of programs in the field of Jewish early childhood education.
The course curriculum, based on her master's thesis,
The Seven Prophetesses and the Rabbinic Periodization of Israelite History, proved a "professional stretch" for Allison to develop, she says, but teaching it has been "a great new experience and challenge." Allison researched her thesis while enrolled at Harvard University's Master of Education Program, which she completed in 2003.
Attending Hebrew College and Harvard "was an amazing journey I never anticipated," Allison recalls. "Hebrew College really affected the way I learned at Harvard—I came with all this Jewish learning and text study—this academic lens that I applied to their coursework. It was really helpful to have that background."
Allison's career includes the Cambridge-based Jewish after-school program Kesher, where since 1997, she has taught, been head of teacher development and coordinator of the bar/bat mitzvah program, and still works part-time mentoring teachers. She completed the Wexner Graduate Fellowship Program in January 2005 and says she is on course to achieving her career goal: "to combine classroom teaching with training and curriculum development."
Although Allison has no immediate plans to earn another degree, she calls herself a lifelong learner and eagerly browses the Hebrew College course listings, hoping to further her learning when her sons are older. Allison and her husband, David Hirsh, a family physician and educator at Harvard Medical School and Cambridge Hospital, reside with their twins in Cambridge.
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Shalom Haverim
