Hillel Happenings

Interview with Mrs. Shusterman

For several months, Hillel's newest face has facilitated the success of the Girls High School. With ease, Mrs. Shusterman joined the Hillel faculty and began immediately sharing her immense talents throughout the school. During a recent conversation, Reb Shaw caught up Mrs. Shusterman. Over the course of their discussion, Reb Shaw learned much about Mrs. Shusterman. For the benefit of our readers, excerpts of their conversation have been reproduced below.

Reb Shaw: Hi Mrs. Shusterman, it's nice speaking with you. Let me begin by asking you when you began working at the Hillel Girls High School?

Mrs. Shusterman: I started working at the Girls High School right after Succos break, about 2 1/2 months ago.

Reb Shaw: What have you gained from your experience at Hillel, thus far?

Mrs. Shusterman: This has been an invaluable experience for me, B"H, that will have a lifelong impact - for that, I am very grateful to the entire staff of Administrators and Faculty! It is wonderful working together with such dedicated and warm individuals, learning hands-on about updated SmartBoard usage, and seeing daily role modeling of professional caring and concern for every student. It is also been very special to work together with all of the high school girls, most of whom I have known for the past 10-15 years. It's great to see them continue to grow and to make us and their parents proud.

Reb Shaw: What's surprised you most about Hillel Academy?

Mrs. Shusterman: There have not been any surprises in Hillel Academy. I've deeply enjoyed and appreciated the warm welcome each and every day since Day One.

Reb Shaw: Fair enough. Other than myself, how many other Hillel employees have you baby-sat?

Mrs. Shusterman: I've babysat a number of current Pittsburgh professionals, B"H. As far as Hillel Academy employees, I think that I've babysat for Mrs. Shayowitz, as well.

Reb Shaw: Here's a question that one of our readers requested that I ask, "There's an open storefront on Forbes between Murray and Shady. What are the top three businesses most likely to occupy that location?"

Mrs. Shusterman: Three most likely are:

1) Coffee shop
2) Vegetarian/Indian Restaurant
3) Frozen yogurt shop

Reb Shaw: Speaking of Pittsburgh, will the Pirates ever dominate the baseball world again?

Mrs. Shusterman: My opinion would be that the Steelers and the Penguins will likely remain more successful than the Pirates in future years.

Reb Shaw: Better bus line to Oakland: 61A or 61C?

Mrs. Shusterman: In my experience (from my high school years -- going to the Oakland Library for senior thesis research), the 61C route worked out better for my specific destinations.

Reb Shaw: In your opinion, is Chef Brown's style more analogous to Mario Battali's or Bobby Flay's?

Mrs. Shusterman: I am not familiar with their cuisine, however some favorites of mine from Mr. Brown's menu are Chef Brown's handmade pizza, veggie burgers, delicious soups, and the delicious sufganiot from the Chagiga!

Reb Shaw: How many people follow your Twitter feed?

Mrs. Shusterman: I do not have a Twitter feed.

Mrs. Shusterman is joined by Sara Nimchinsky in the newly renovated Girls High School Office.