Bentzion and Shayna Fishman with daughter Chana Leah
When Shayna (Michaels) Fishman 鈥18S moved to Israel last year, she began the arduous search for a job. Armed with a freshly minted degree in computer science and a new husband, Bentzion, she began to comb postings on job sites. Little did she know in searching the Nefesh B鈥橬efesh online postings that she鈥檇 land right there: as full stack software developer in the organization鈥檚 computer department.
鈥淭he position has really worked out for me,鈥 says Shayna, who started the position in May. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want to spend my life making computer games; I wanted to do something meaningful with computer science. The mission of Nefesh B鈥橬efesh鈥攈elping people make aliyah鈥攕poke to me.鈥
Shayna works on web applications as well as with the organization鈥檚 very large database. 鈥淎nytime there鈥檚 a problem with web applications they turn to me to solve it,鈥 she explains.
The organization鈥檚 flexibility has made the position viable for Shayna, who now has an eight-month-old daughter, Chana Leah. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a great job to have as a mother.鈥
In addition to juggling her roles at Nefesh B鈥橬efesh and as a mother, Shayna started her freelance business, Fishman Tochna [software], designing custom software. A recent project included creating software for a tax management agency to electronically file 1099s to the IRS for clients simply by submitting a spreadsheet. The software reduced the agency鈥檚 workflow time by more than 50%. She points to a former Stern College professor, Rabbi Dr. Joshua Waxman, who served as both a reference and resource for her freelance work in Israel.
In her free time, Shayna works at two separate schools for Haredi women, where she teaches courses in C#, Python and Advanced Data Structures and Algorithms. 鈥淚 feel like I鈥檓 filling a niche,鈥 she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard for these schools to find instructors because there aren鈥檛 many Orthodox women who teach computers at that level. It鈥檚 been thrilling to share computer science skills with these women, who wouldn鈥檛 necessarily have had the opportunity to go to a higher-level educational institution and enter the industry. To see them work really hard and have it click for them is wonderful.鈥
Starting their marriage in Israel was a priority for Shayna and Bentzion, both of whom grew up in Denver, Colorado, and have no family there. 鈥淲e wanted to begin in a spiritually focused place,鈥 she explains. 鈥淧lus, there are a lot of good tech opportunities here in the Startup Nation.鈥 (Bentzion, a Boston University graduate who also studied computer science, is currently learning at Kollel Toras Moshe in Sanhedria, Jerusalem.)
While studying computer science became a passion, it wasn鈥檛 one when Shayna started at Stern College. As an incoming freshman, she took courses in a variety of areas she thought would be interesting, including management, introduction to music, computer science and biology. The last two would stick, becoming her major and minor, respectively.
鈥淚 fell in love with computer science. Prof. [Alan] Broder is an amazing professor. He makes things extremely clear and he knows the information cold,鈥 says Shayna, who was involved in Stern鈥檚 Computer Science Society and participated in a Google-sponsored initiative to get high school girls interested in computer science and tech fields. After her graduation, Prof. Broder reached out to her in Israel to check in and connected her with potential job connections. 鈥淗e really cares about his students.鈥
With so much on her plate, it鈥檚 remarkable that she can think about next steps, but Shayna has a plan. 鈥淥ne thing that I鈥檇 really like to do one day is combine my major with my minor in biology,鈥 she says. 鈥淚鈥檇 love to work in a biotech company because it not only combines my interests but it鈥檚 also a meaningful way to help the world.鈥
Bentzion and Shayna Fishman with daughter Chana Leah
