On March 28 Zac Gondelman ’26, was named a 2025 Truman Scholar. From a pool of 743 candidates, Gondelman was selected through a rigorous application process that involved recommendations from distinguished leaders to join the cohort of 54 students selected nationwide. He will be the 12th Brandeis student to receive this fellowship, and the second chosen in a row. Gondelman is pursuing a major in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, with minors in Politics and Religious Studies. He is currently studying abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark. 

Gondelman discussed his journey towards receiving this prestigious honor as well as his hopes and dreams for the future in a virtual interview on April 25. He began by remarking that his “passion for leadership has been something that’s very core to [his] being. It stems from a deep … sense of love for community and a deep belief that when people come together with commonality of purpose, there is very little we can’t do.”

He expressed gratitude for those who have helped him along the way, remarking that “I am really really lucky that throughout my life, I have had incredible mentors that have taken time to take a chance on me as a young person and to have really spent time teaching me what it means to be a leader and a public servant.” Gondelman commented on the origins of his passion for leadership and his drive to do good, “It’s always been in me. I think it comes from being a queer person, who knows what it’s like to be othered, but also wants to move the ball forward and wants to help create some new magic in our world, and some new light.”

Gondelman reflected on pivotal moments in his life, including his six years interning for Temple Beth Elohim, that have led him to this point. As a clergy intern, he got to “see the beauty of the life cycle and got to really be a part of a meaningful Jewish community for the first time,” elaborating that during his time as a student at the academy, he “was really believed in and allowed the … space to create change.” 

Gondelman served as an advance-associate to the president during his time interning for the White House. He worked in presidential correspondence, handling incoming and outgoing messages. He coordinated the president’s travels and interacted with constituents. He acknowledged “the absolute chance that was taken by the Biden-Harris Administration, having an 18-year-old come and serve as an intern.” One thing that he learned from both of these experiences was that “at the end of the day, everyone just wants to be heard. Through the noise of our world, everyone wants to have … someone tell them ‘I see you, I hear you, you matter to me.’”

Gondelman shared his philosophy towards leadership and cultivating a diverse, inclusive world, saying “At the end of the day, I see my job as a leader … to help create systems for more people to experience belonging, for more people to be included in our discussions, and for more people to have a seat at the table.” He reflected on the impact of reading letters from constituents during his internship for the Biden-Harris Administration and how he was touched by “seeing that, again, people just wanna be heard, seeing the real impact that public policy can make.” He mentioned reading letters from people who initially hated former President Biden and shifted their views due to policies and actions taken by the government. This taught him “how impactful government can be on a one-on-one level.”

Gondelman sees the Truman Scholarship as “a mandate to keep doing what I’m doing, not a medal to be celebrated … I don’t see it as a stopping point, but I see it as a launching pad into what’s to come.” He mentioned how he had the privilege to coordinate over 20 different trips for Biden, domestically and internationally, during his time interning at the White House. In supporting the president’s travel, he “learned…these leadership skills in action.” These responsibilities allowed him to meet people and constituents who he never would have had a chance to meet otherwise, people who shared with him “the humanity of government… At the end of the day, we’re dealing with people, and God willing, what President Biden charged us to do in so many ways is to work to improve the lives of every-day Americans.”

When Gondelmen reflects on his experiences in Jewish leadership, both at Brandeis, where he served as a member of the Hillel Board in addition to other positions in the Jewish community, he thinks that “it’s a lot of different moments, that looking back, have led to this one great achievement that [he’s] really grateful for.” 

He expressed his gratitude for the mentors that brought him to this point thanking Meredith Monaghan, the director of the Brandeis academic fellowships office, for her “brilliance, kindness and grace,” without which this accomplishment would have been impossible. He additionally acknowledged Rabbi Miriam Hoffman from Brandeis Hillel, the clergy team at Temple Beth Elohim and the people who work in scheduling in advance at the White House, “who believed in [him], and who gave [him] space to grow and lead.” 

Regarding the Truman Award, and how he hopes to utilize the funding, Gondelman mentioned, “I’m thinking about a lot of different programs from public policy programs to social policy programs.” He shared his excitement “to plug into the community of Truman Scholars and to really explore the different facets of life that [his] new peers will have. [He feels] really lucky to be a part of that.”

Gondelman hopes to work in the Jewish community long-term in the future and sees himself working at “the intersection of civic engagement and faith engagement and public service.” He is interested in “the ways people interact with their government and how we can get more people a seat at the table.”

Gondelman further mused that “this award has been the culmination of a three-year tenure at the White House, six years working in synagogues and Jewish spaces, six years at Temple Beth Elohim, almost ten now working in Jewish spaces, since I was 12 [or] 13 years old. To me, this award is somewhat of a recognition of those years of service, but it’s also an exciting boost to keep doing work.”

Gondelman imparts some advice to students pursuing similar fields, “Keep up the work! Keep doing what you’re doing, and keep making change, and keep reaching for the stars, because, just at Brandeis, you have everything you need to create the kind of change you want to see in this world. You have all the skills you need, you have all the resources you need, so go do it!” He also cautions students against feeling scared to be in spaces and pursuing opportunities. “Too often we see young folks and diverse folks getting scared off by imposter syndrome, so reach out and do the thing!”

He said that he is “abundantly, abundantly, abundantly grateful to the Brandeis community for supporting [him], to [his] friends, who have been so gracious, and to the fellowships office, who really supported [him] ... To be named the University’s 12th Truman is an incredible honor and I am humbled and grateful, I am energized and excited and I look forward to all that comes.”