Senior Year

Golda Och Academy students complete our rigorous and challenging High School curriculum in seven semesters. By the end of their seventh semester they have submitted their college applications, completed their academic requirements for graduation and chosen a last semester program.

Students choose between two programs—Neshama or Internships—for the second half of the senior year after the college applications are submitted.

Neshama

This extremely meaningful semester-long educational program in Israel begins with a week in Poland, where students realize their strong responsibility for telling about what they have witnessed in Poland after learning about the Jewish life lost during the Holocaust. In Israel, our students experience first-hand living in the modern state of Israel, while learning about the complexity of Israeli society. They celebrate Shabbat and holidays the Israeli way, volunteer with Israeli teens, participate in a desert-ecology seminar at a field school in the Negev, experience the high school military service training of Gadna, engage in seminars on political advocacy, and visit major historical, religious, and cultural sites. The Neshama program enables students to perfect their Hebrew skills, witness and learn about current political issues, and study Jewish history using the land as their classroom.

Internships

A kaleidoscope of options awaits those who choose to participate in the Internship program, a real-world work experience. Individual programs vary but may include job training in a field of the student's choice (such as medical research, state or national government, non-profit work, law, advertising, communication, design, etc). Students who choose this option meet on a regular basis with their fellow students and faculty advisers to discuss their experiences, attend field trips and maintain social contact.
GOA is not just a school. It’s a tight-knit community that focuses on the exploration of education and values through a Jewish lens. This community supported my continuous development by encouraging and enabling my participation in the arts, sports, literature and Jewish leadership. These experiences enriched my life at Cornell University.
— Kineret B. Class of 2014