Just before starting his freshman year at Beloit College in Iowa, Yosef’s grandmother passed away. Two weeks after he arrived on his college campus, the twin towers were attacked in NYC. These major life events set off a series of fundamental changes in his life as he began to think more philosophically about consequential choices and to look for a deeper sense of his own identity. Yosef became more interested in Judaism and making a connection to Israel, and mid-way through his sophomore year in college, he transferred into the undergraduate program at Yeshiva University in New York. Taking advantage of their study abroad program in Israel, he discovered an intellectual and spiritual depth of meaning in his life. What was meant to be a yearlong journey turned into the journey of a lifetime.