Logan Suffel has been a member of the Beth El community for as long as he can remember, attending Hebrew school at the synagogue, having his bar mitzvah there, and now working at the synagogue just after graduating from Towson University earlier this year.

Suffel, 22, is now an accounting and HR associate at the synagogue where he grew up and is getting to experience synagogue life and operations from the employee side for the first time.

In his first professional role after graduation, Suffel said it has been a transitional period in his life adjusting to the new routine. He feels very fortunate to now have an impact on the community he’s known his whole life.

Suffel lives in Owings Mills.

What do you handle as an accounting and HR associate?

I am in charge of Beth El’s payroll and benefits, as well as processing a lot of our payments that come in, our donations, our account payments, our membership dues and that kind of stuff.

On a daily basis, I could do anything from onboarding or offboarding an employee, putting in their insurance, helping an employee get through their insurance and making sure that all of our checks and balances that come in are put in the bank and in our own database, as well.

What’s it been like working for an organization you’ve been connected with since childhood?

It’s definitely been a really cool experience, because it definitely does change your perspective on how you see how the congregation runs. Because as a congregant, as a student, when you’re with your bar mitzvah tutors, when you’re with the rabbi and bar mitzvah teachers, you kind of get that little piece of information.

Because when you’re there, you kind of hear stuff. But seeing it from a staff perspective, it definitely makes me appreciate the work that has gone on for so many years, because I now know how hard everybody works to make sure that the congregation runs the way it does, and to make sure that all of our congregants and members are happy. That’s the No. 1 priority, to make sure that everyone feels that Beth El is home and that people are happy to be here. And it showed me a newfound appreciation for how we go about doing that.

What has the transition to the professional world been like for you?

It’s very different now. It’s a whole new routine. It’s a whole new lifestyle. It’s definitely something that I was looking forward to doing for a while. At the end of my college career, I was like, I’m ready to get out of here; let’s get into the workforce. But then you get there, and it’s a very eye-opening experience. … I have a lot of friends who I graduated with that are still in the job hunt. So, the fact that I was able to leave college right away and know that I have a job and [it’s with] an organization that I love, it was kind of shocking to me, to be honest. I was expecting to have to work somewhere, anywhere in the corporate world.

What does it mean to you to be able to work in a Jewish space?

I had an internship [during college]. I was very privileged to have that internship. I worked in the HVAC industry during summer 2024. It’s a completely different experience because I am more tied to Beth El and its employees. I do get to have member interaction with many, many of our congregants.

I didn’t come here from anywhere else, I grew up in the Baltimore Jewish community. So it’s such a privilege for me to be able to work with all of these people who I’ve known my whole life. It’s really cool that I’m now able to be a part of that [Jewish professional community], as well, and make sure that everyone is happy. It’s a gratifying experience.

What is something that you want people to know about you?

I am such a nerd, I love Pokémon and “Star Wars.” That is my calling. When you can’t find me at Beth El you can probably find me at my house reading a book, playing Pokémon, or watching a “Star Wars” movie.