“It’s the best route to my biology degree,” he said, while waiting to register for classes on August 31. “I know that being in Touro’s small, friendly environment will help me achieve my professional and career goals, which is to become a physician, and I also know I’ll benefit from its intimate classes and large network of alumni,” he added.

Toronto native Dovid Kerzner spoke similarly. Although he has yet to declare a major, the Brisk and Telshe Yeshiva alumnus said he was pleased with LAS’s flexible course schedules that are allowing him to keep learning in Bais Yosef Navardok in Brooklyn, while fulfilling his requisite classes. 

Oriel and Dovid join the ranks of one hundred other students in this year’s new cohort of men at Lander College of Arts and Sciences in Flatbush. This year’s students have studied in Israeli yeshivos such as Bais Yisrael, the Mir, Mikdash Melech, Netiv Aryeh, Mercaz HaTorah, Chofetz Chaim, Ohr Somayach, and Ohr Yerushalayim (OJ), among others, and have graduated from high schools such as Chaim Berlin, Yeshiva of Far Rockaway, Torah Vodaath, Shaare Torah, WITS, Ohr Elchanan, Nesivos Chaim, Ateret Torah, Mesivta of Waterbury, and Telshe Yeshiva (Cleveland).

The new class of men also includes transfer students like Yonah Karp, whose SAT scores placed him in the top 5% nationally. Yonah enrolled in LAS after spending two years at CUNY’s engineering program. After a gap year in Israel (which he spent studying in R’ Senter’s yeshiva), Yonah switched his major from engineering to computer science in hopes of having greater flexibility to channel his inner creativity. As someone interested in mobile app programming, Yonah has already developed quite a few rudimentary applications—such as TeamMate, an automatic team dividing app that evenly spreads out talent when users are trying to create teams for personal sports games.

“We are very excited for this year’s cohort of Lander College of Arts and Sciences men, who were educated in some of America’s and Israel’s most prestigious yeshivos and share a deep commitment to Torah study and academic excellence,” said Dean Goldschmidt. “We are so proud to welcome them to our campus and look forward to guiding them to a promising future.”