By Sanya Bery ’17, Staff Writer

For those who attend Newark Academy, and live in America, it’s probably drilled in their heads that they belong to a diverse culture, with many different and unique opinions. How does diversity of culture play a role in our lives as students and faculty of Newark Academy? Below are a sample of interesting students that practice different religions, adding to the unique culture of Newark Academy.

Hinduism
Dasara, a Hindu holiday, occurred this year on October 4th, only a few weeks ago. It’s one of the most important Hindu festivals and it is celebrated throughout India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and America. It is a time to celebrate the victory of good over evil; usually people pray and go to each other’s houses to exchange gifts and sweets. Megha Gupta’17 celebrated this day by praying and celebrating with her friends and family. She said, “My dance teacher invited us to her house for a celebration, it was very important and kind because I really appreciate how inclusive my teacher was to me and my family.” Megha’s culture welcomed her and influenced the decisions she makes in everyday life.

Judaism
Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, believed to be the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve the first man and woman on Earth. To celebrate this, people often pray in groups, self reflect and celebrate with family and friends. This year it began on September 24 and ended on September 26. Issi Young’17 celebrated the holiday with a big dinner with family and friends she didn’t see often. She said that Rosh Hashanah was a “really great way to start with a clean slate for the New Year, my actual family doesn’t actually live in this country but the people who I spend the holiday with have become family to me.”  Issi finds acceptance and love in her culture, which translates to her everyday life. Sam Kent’15 also practices Judaism and it’s important to her because her “family members have been practicing these traditions for hundreds of years; and by doing the same thing, I like to honor them in that way.” Sam connects the past and the present through her religion and “feels important when I celebrate something that I believe in.”

Catholicism
Stephanie Roser’16 practices Catholicism and received her confirmation recently. She enjoys her religion because it helped shape her as a

good person by instilling family and moral values that she has kept with her. “My faith is something that I can turn to when things are at its worst,” says Stephanie. She knows that when life gets rough, she has religion and family to help her get through it. To the right is a photo of  Stephanie and her priest after her confirmation.

New Religious Ideas
Since we live in an area with an accepting and diverse culture, many students begin to create their own beliefs, blending cultures due to what they experience. Sam Fishbein’17 practices a mix of Christianity and Buddhism: while following the Bible he also believes in Reincarnation and Nirvana. He explains his belief by saying, “God assigns a lesson to be learned or a major task that needs to be completed. Everything happens for a reason. When God believes that you understand you’re purpose on the planet and have learned all the lessons necessary, then you will reach Nirvana. For me, Nirvana is more like endless Heaven. Eventually, everyone reaches Nirvana.” It’s interesting to see how Sam created his own culture combining two very different religions.

Like Sam, Isabel Alland’17 also created her own religious value system. She doesn’t believe in God, but appreciates and lives by the values of Judaism. Isabel goes to a Jewish camp every summer and says, “The community is just really accepting of everyone and doesn’t mind if you believe in God as long

as you believe in the values and want to help better the world”. The picture shows a gaga pit at her camp that her unit decorated so they could leave a mark on camp. On the door are the pillars of olim, which is a unit name, meaning rising up; Isabel said that, “The entire summer we focused on how we could ‘become olim’ and once we did, we wanted to leave a mark on camp that would beautify it and add to it.”

It is amazing to see how both Sam and Isabel created their own culture adding their thoughts and what their community influenced them to believe. Like Isabel, Chris Paradis’16, has a unique and different perspective to religion. He says, “I assume that fulfilling my daily agenda of schoolwork, being with my family, and playing tennis attest to me being a good person. I don’t feel the need to reconfirm my faith by praying to God.”

Newark Academy is full of amazing and unique cultures derived from interesting people – we just have to look!