There are many people who love their jobs.
When you work at a synagogue, that’s easier, considering the organization is more of a community than it is a traditional business. For Sami Halle, a Beth El marketing associate who manages the shul’s social media platforms and the Beth El Podcast Network, her credentials in terms of loving the place where she works are impressive.
“I myself am a preschool graduate of Beth El,” Halle said. “So it was really special to come back here and start working here down in the school. There are a couple of people who still work here, or congregants, that say, ‘Oh, I remember you.’ So I get to re-meet people.”
Halle followed an atypical path to her current role. She started her career at Beth El as a pre-K teacher in March 2020, immediately before the pandemic came and changed the nature of teaching and learning. After two years with the preschool and religious school, she moved up to be assistant director of the preschool.
“About two years ago, I was asked to take on a little more of some of the marketing, since I was already doing that anyway, and they were comfortable with me [doing it],” Halle said.
While she wasn’t formally trained in marketing or communications, Halle took to the role fast and has excelled.
“I just use my already creative mind and what I would do throughout the day and put it in the photographs or flyers or videos, and that’s when the marketing department came to me and asked if I’d be interested in joining them full time,” she said.
Halle said that her background in this field is rooted in her experience as a “’90s kid who grew up before and after the computer and learned along the way.”
“That’s how I got most of that knowledge — just growing up and trial and error,” she said.
At many shuls, working in marketing and communications might be limited to the tasks that Halle already described. At Beth El, it’s a little different, considering the synagogue has its own extensive podcast network.
When Halle is working in that capacity, she serves as a producer, social media manager and occasional on-air talent, too. For Halle, the job, as a whole, is an interesting one.
“It’s very fascinating. I get to meet and talk to a lot of different people that I didn’t have the opportunity to before,” she said. “You hear a lot of people’s stories, whether it’s inviting them on our podcast, or making promotional videos or interviews. You hear a lot of how Beth El came to be what it is today and family history and you get that ‘aha!’ moment where [people say], ‘oh, I’ve heard about your family, but now I get to connect all the pieces. And I think that is something really special.”
While Halle loves her role, she also misses the classroom. However, a new pursuit allows her to explore both sides of her professional past. Earlier this year, the Beth El Podcast Network introduced a podcast called “Morah to Talk About,” which is a podcast that focuses on the school’s teachers and offers a view into their perspective.
“We’re always excited to release a new one of those episodes, because it’s important for the school to also get that recognition as well as the individual teachers, and I think that’s something really special that I am excited to watch grow,” she said.
For Halle, this homecoming has been as good as her first go-around at Beth El.
“Coming back feels so warm and welcoming and so familiar,” she said. “When you go out and see a congregant or a child, whoever it may be, just another friendly face to say hello to, it’s another person to have in the village … you really get to expand your village in a whole different dynamic when you’re a part of this Beth El community.”
