PHOTO: Noah Zeitzer, left, and Anouk Cohen, right, receive their award certificates as winners of the 2025 Sussman-Shenker Scholarships from scholarship committee chair Rich Meyer at the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland's 2025 Annual Meeting Thursday, June 12 at Congregation Neveh Shalom in Portland. (Rockne Roll/The Jewish Review)
Anouk Cohen and Noah Zeitzer were announced as the winners of the 2025 Sussman-Shenker Scholarship at the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland’s Annual Meeting Thursday, June 12.
“Our two recipients this year not only excel academically, but both of them participated in numerous ways to strengthen the Jewish community and build bridges between our community and the rest of Portland,” Sussman-Shenker Scholarship Committee Chair Rich Meyer said at the meeting. “The work that they’re doing of building relationships in our community is more important than ever, and they are inspiring hope in our community.”
Cohen, who graduated from St. Mary’s Academy in Portland this month, has been a student and teacher in Congregation Beth Israel’s religious school programs, which she has described as a formative experience in her life. Additionally, she’s participated in the inaugural cohort of Portland’s Student to Student program and participated on student panels for Facing History and Ourselves to discuss antisemitism in schools. Her pursuit of teaching was, in part motivated by her own challenges as the child of an interfaith family.
“I had a really hard time finding accepting teachers because of that,” she told The Jewish Review. “My whole life, I thought, ‘I’m never going to be madricha (teacher). I’m sleeping on Sundays. After my bat mitzvah, I’m done.’ When I had my bat mitzvah, I thought, ‘What if other people feel the way I felt? How sad would that be? I’m going to be that person who is more accepting to these kids so that no one else would feel the way I felt growing up.’ It was a really impactful experience.”
Cohen also found time to manage social media for a number of local political campaigns, serve as a Bill and Melinda Gates Youth Ambassadorship Program Student Ambassador (one of 18 globally) and other leadership programs – alongside a part-time job. She’ll be attending Brandeis University.
Zeitzer is the eldest son of outgoing JFGP Board Chair, Mindy Zeitzer. He also took part in the inaugural Student to Student cohort and has also been active with B’nai Brith Youth Organization, NCSY and the Jewish Student Union at Ida B. Wells High School, which he graduated from this month. He’s also involved at Congregation Neveh Shalom, participating in the Hebrew High School program there.
“I’m not great at public speaking, so it was a little bit nerve-wracking, but it was nice to be able to talk about my religion. I’m really proud of it,” he said of his Student to Student experience. “It was nice to be able to talk to non-Jews about what it’s like and educate them, because most of them had never met a Jewish person before.”
Among other activities, Zeitzer has also served as captain of Wells’ Cross Country and Track and Field teams. He qualified for the OSAA Class 6A State Championships in Cross Country last fall and posted a personal best time of 15:28.1 over 5,000 meters at the Rose City Championships in October. On the track, Zeitzer won the 3,000 meters at the Therapeutic Associates Chehalem Classic in April along with a pair of wins in Portland Interscholastic League dual meets at 1,500 meters this season. He placed top-10 in both distances at the PIL Championships last month, setting a personal best in the 1,500 meters at that meet with a time of 4:02.27. He’ll compete at both distances at the upcoming Nike outdoor Nationals in Eugene and in the 3,000 and 5,000 meters at the 2025 Maccabi Games in Israel. Zeitzer will attend Hofstra University, where he plans to continue his athletic career.
“To have the support from my Jewish community pushes me to do better,” he said of receiving the Sussman-Shenker Scholarship.
The scholarship was created in 1981 as the Sussman Scholarship; named for its founders, Lillian and Gilbert Sussman, z”l. It was renamed by their daughter, Lois Shenker, as the Sussman-Shenker Scholarship in 2023 to commemorate her husband Arden Shenker’s 85th birthday.