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Gulliver Prep senior Sara Gelrud is Gulliver’s Silver Knight nominee in the English Literature category. Next year Gelrud will attend Washington University in St. Louis taking Comparative Arts – Literature with Film – and International Relations.
In ninth grade, Gelrud and her friend Luiz Gandelman established the Gulliver chapter of the Jewish Student Union. She’s been co-president all four years.
“We have been hosting five to eight events every year,” she says.
They established cross connections between other culture groups on campus such as the Christian Student Union, and the Black Student Union.
“It’s important to share your culture with others,” she says.
On the national level, she became part of the national JSU board. Now, in her senior year, she’s the president of the national group.
“We work to plan a conference that happens every October,” she says. “All the presidents from North American come to the Conference. It’s two days of impact. We host about 200 students.”
The organization has reached 320 JSU chapters and more than 14,000 teens.
“It’s about creating this community where everyone can feel heard and feel seen,” she says. “You don’t have to be Jewish to be a member. It’s about community and empathy and knowing you’re not alone.”
The horror of the October 7 attack has created divisions all over, but Gelrud says the Gulliver Jewish community is extremely resilient.
“And we’re always moving forward,” she says.
On campus, in a regional level, they had a great presentation about the conflict, about what happened Oct. 7 and the steps for moving forward.
“I was proud of my board,” she says. “We researched the conflict thoroughly. The head of schools was there, the principal was there. Whoever wants to come in and discuss anything are always welcome too.”
She’s also worked to teach others about the Holocaust.
Gelrud been involved in environmental education since eighth grade and participates in organizing the Miami Youth Climate Summit. She remains involved in the summit as the director of sponsorship.
She’s also a member of the Gulliver Environmental Club.
“We organize a lot of environmental events,” she says. “One of the things I have been leading is the on-campus thrift store.”
When she was in eighth grade, Gelrud grabbed a couple of books from her brother’s bookshelf. They were The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas and The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.
“Up until then I didn’t have a great interest in reading,” she says.
Her love for reading led her to build Gulliver Prep’s Book Club.
She’s the secretary of the National English Honor Society, a member of the National Spanish Honor Society, the National Science Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, Rho Kappa, Quill and Scroll and the Cum Laude Society.
Along with her passion for community building, she has a passion for writing.
“I found that venue through the newspaper and literary magazine,” she says. “I became the co-editor-in-chief of the literary magazine in tenth grade.”
She’s continued as co-editor through this year.
As co-editor-in-chief of the newspaper, she also writes for the paper, often producing more stories than required.
“I really enjoy feature articles about cool things that are going on,” she says. “I love profiles and getting to know people, finding the angle that most people don’t know about.”
She also loves writing movie reviews.
“It’s something I hope to do in the future,” she says. “To be a part of the film industry or the publishing industry.”
She also loves to edit news stories because she’s able to work with someone to help them improve their work.
Linda Rodriguez Bernfeld
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