Emma Maier, a Brawerman Elementary School graduate, was ordained as a cantor on May 7, 2023, a year after receiving her Master's degree in Sacred Music from the Debbie Friedman School of Sacred Music at Hebrew Union College. We asked Emma about her formative years at Wilshire Boulevard Temple and Brawerman, the mentorship provided by Cantor Gurney, and what inspired her to become a cantor.

Surrounded by administrators and former teachers, the Brawerman alumni class of 2015 came back to the Irmas Campus to pass the Torah and reminisce about their time as students. They sang Hashkiveinu and shared a final blessing to protect their journeys that lie ahead.

After graduating from Brawerman, Rachel attended Marlborough School, where she played varsity soccer for four years and graduated as valedictorian. She then went on to Princeton University, where she majored in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. At Princeton, Rachel was actively involved in the Center for Jewish Life, including as a student representative on the Board of Directors, and was a captain of the Women’s Club Soccer team. She received the Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence and the R. W. Van de Velde Award, and she wrote her senior thesis on intergenerational economic mobility in Great Britain. Rachel graduated from Princeton in 2018 summa cum laude and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. After graduating from Princeton, Rachel became an Analyst at the Princeton University Investment Company (PRINCO), which invests Princeton’s endowment. Rachel continues to be involved in the Princeton Center for Jewish Life as an alumni volunteer. Since starting at PRINCO, she has also started running and completed the Fall 2019 Princeton Half Marathon!