The University along with the Hiatt Career Center and the Heller School for Social Policy and Management hosted the SoJust Leadership Forum last Tuesday in the Hassenfeld Conference center in Upper Sherman.

The forum, titled "Journeys in Social Justice, Beyond Brandeis," was designed to encourage students to pursue careers in social justice and utilize resources that are largely available to them at Brandeis.

Prof. David Cunningham (SOC) opened the program with a few remarks on what it means to pursue social justice during one's career at Brandeis and far beyond it as well.

Cunningham also spoke about what the event was essentially designed to accomplish, saying that the SoJust forum was crafted to sustainably connect current and former University students in their efforts to work toward careers in social justice in the nonprofit and private sector worlds.

Following Cunningham's opening remarks, the panel began the informal question-and-answer segment of the evening.

The panel consisted of Yaser Robles '03, substitute lecturer of Social Sciences at Bronx Community College; Andrew Slack '02, executive director of the Harry Potter Alliance; Rosaline Salifu MA/SID '11, a former program manager for the Social Investment Fund in Ghana; Maicharia Lytle, executive director of Lift Boston; and David Warren '85, director of education for the Anti-Defamation League.

Several questions were posed to the panelists, ranging from their personal experiences at Brandeis to the immense difficulty they faced when trying to plan their ultimate or ideal careers in social justice.

When asked to describe his journey from Brandeis to his current position as director of education for the Anti-Defamation League, Warren spoke about how his initial academic comforts were not necessarily the right skills to depend on.

"Back when I was in school, internship and practicum opportunities weren't what they are now, so I really had a very linear path," Warren said. "I was a Politics major here, and I really had a sense all the way through that, based on what I perceived to be my skill set over time, and after a number of different experiences and opportunities, I came to discover skills I never thought I'd be exercising."

In an email to the Justice, Student Union President Herbie Rosen '12, who helped promote and plan the forum, wrote, "Members from the Hiatt Career Center, Ethics Center, and the Schuster Institute [for Investigative Journalism] wanted to put more emphasis on the social justice that Brandeis is known for. What better way than to invite Brandeis alumni who have pursued a social justice route in their professional lives after Brandeis?"

"I think the main goal was to get a conversation going on what students could do with social justice outside of school.

It was also a networking event, and we created a nice atmosphere to fulfill both goals," Rosen wrote.

In an interview with the Justice, Haley Orlofsky '14 spoke about how the informal Q-and-A with the panelists inspired her to pursue her dream of working toward a career in social justice.

"Personally, I've always had a passion for social justice and I'm still learning and trying to figure out what direction I want to go in," said Orlofsky, "And it's refreshing to hear from people and know that it's okay to not know 100 percent how to do it, but that all the experiences along the way are what help you achieve that," she said.

When asked why she attended the event, Caroline Duchin '13, spoke about the resourcefulness of the event. "I hope from this event to gain more of an idea of what people do in general, related to social justice at Brandeis and afterward," she said in an interview with the Justice.