Yuval Guetta has had her hands full since October 7. She has managed a home as her live-in boyfriend spent 260 days in active service; served multiple weeks in reserve duty herself; volunteered for a variety of campus activities; and worked hard to finish her bachelor’s degree at University of Haifa in Political Science, Economics, and Philosophy.
Below, the third-year student from Eilat discusses how she found herself so far away from home, her visions for the University, and her ambitious plans for the future.
Haifa is certainly far from your home in Eilat. What are your thoughts about the city and how are you adjusting?
I really like living in Haifa. It’s a big city and you have everything here which I can’t say about Eilat, which is very isolated and remote. I’ve done my best to be part of the local community and Haifa helped me do that. For example, I’m currently enrolled in a scholarship program at the University, where I help at-risk youth surf at the beach. I’m also on the student body committee and I’m currently running to be on the student body council.
What’s the difference between the student body committee and council, and what do you hope to do if you’re elected to the latter?
The student body council has a robust budget which the committee doesn’t have. The committee — which is run by volunteers — essentially serves as a liaison for students by creating WhatsApp groups, populating our google drive and other electronic resources so people can communicate and connect with each other. If I get elected to the study body council, however, I think I’ll have more opportunities to enact real change. For example, I hope to make the University a more social place especially when it comes to connecting Jews and Arabs. For now, I think there’s still a voluntary separation between them and we need more events where these two groups of students can interact.
I want people to continue to want to study in Haifa, not only because it offers top-tier education, but also because it has a vibrant social scene. I want students to actively choose to be here and more community activities will make this possible.
Have you done reserve duty since the war broke out and how did it impact your studies?
Luckily, I only had to do several weeks of reserve duty, but I know so many people who did much more. My boyfriend, for example, did 260 days. But even though I didn’t have too many days in the reserves, it still took a toll on me since my boyfriend was away for so long. With full studies, lots of volunteer work, and a dog, I no longer had a partner at home who could help me.
As for my fellow students, so many of my peers in my study group were in reserves, and they counted on me to supply them with notes and information so they could catch up. I was worried about my boyfriend and my friends all the time and this made studying difficult.
Thankfully, all of my professors understood my situation and were very accommodating. They gave me everything I need to ensure I succeed and when I graduate I hope to continue to stay at Haifa where I’ll work on getting my master’s degree.
Why is being part of the Haifa community so important to you?
I don’t sleep much because my main goal in life is to be part of something bigger. I want the world to be a better place and right now my world is University of Haifa. In addition to doing work for the student body, I hope to also enhance my current education program and fundraise for us to send a delegation of top students to the U.N. so the program can be a special experience. I hope the program will continue to grow so we’re not only 20 students, but hopefully 130. I think this is possible if we have more resources.
What are your career goals?
I hope one day to become an ambassador, but right now my focus is on Haifa, which is my home and my community.