Tikkun Olam: Repairing the World as a Guiding Principle

Tikkun Olam, the Jewish concept of "repairing the world," has been a guiding force since I was a child. To me, Tikkun Olam is more than a phrase; it’s a call to action, a way of being that reminds me of our collective responsibility to contribute to the betterment of society. This principle is not only something I hold dear—it is the foundation upon which I built my company and nonprofit work.

When I began College Bound Advising and later founded my other initiatives, I leaned into the values of Tikkun Olam. Helping students and their families navigate the complex and often overwhelming college admissions process felt like a natural extension of this ideal. 

I saw helping students and their families as an opportunity to create clarity out of confusion, hope out of hopelessness, and confidence out of doubt. In many ways, my work is a form of repair—providing students with the tools, guidance, and encouragement they need to shape their futures and, in turn, make their own positive contributions to the world.

My students hear it all the time: doing community service is more than building a resume of doing acts of service; it’s about making a positive contribution, one small act at a time. 

In challenging times (as we find ourselves today), I am leaning into this practice even more. Whether it is helping one of my students, picking up milk to drop off at our community free pantry, making lunch bags for a local homeless shelter with my family, working with the teen leaders (#workingtowardschange), or building the Head Towards College Foundation, every small act feels like a stitch in the fabric of a better world. In these moments, I feel most aligned with my purpose, and it’s when I see the most meaningful changes in the young people I work with. 

Tikkun Olam is not only a concept I practice but a philosophy underpinning everything I do. 

Inspired by my late mother, Brenda Joy, I’ve always valued giving back to the community. In my mother’s memory, I embrace Tikkun Olam, instilling the importance of kindness and compassion and spreading joy in my children from a young age.

As my children found ways to give back, I sought to make my own impact but struggled to focus on one cause—there were so many pressing issues. After reading What Will They Say About You When You Die? and Impact, I gathered close friends to launch the Head Toward College Foundation (HTCF), creating a space for collective action.

I began by funding pro-bono college counseling for underserved students in my hometown, but I wanted to do more. In 2019, frustrated by limited community service opportunities for teens, my middle daughter helped launch Working Towards Change, a student-led initiative that organizes service projects—from packing snack bags for food pantries to fundraising for disaster relief and creating dignity bags for shelters. Over the past six years, students have identified needs and led efforts to address them.

After the brutal October 7th attacks in Israel and the subsequent rise in antisemitism, I felt compelled to act. I began assisting Jewish students in finding safe spaces on college campuses and connecting them with organizations to support them when (not if) they faced antisemitism. I’ve since dedicated time to educating other admissions counselors on how they, too, can support Jewish students.

On February 27, 2025, following another violent antisemitic protest at my daughter’s college, I asked the HTCF Board of Directors to formally expand the foundation’s mission to include programming that helps students find their Jewish community when they head off to college and partner with organizations that empower them to fight antisemitism when they get there. The board unanimously approved the change.  

Teenagers, in particular, are incredibly responsive to this idea. They may not articulate it as Tikkun Olam or “repairing the world.” Still, they resonate with the idea of making an impact — finding a purpose - and, as Jennifer Wallace reminds us in her book Never Enough, are searching for a sense of feeling they matter. While a body of research shows that when teenagers feel seen, supported, and empowered, they begin to see themselves as agents of change in their own lives, I don’t need to read it to know how true this is. I see it every time the volunteers (#workingtowardschange) get together.