遵从内心，探寻自我：启明星孩子的以色列间隔年

12月下旬，我们收到一封从以色列的海法辗转而来的邮件。

那是启明星2023届高中毕业生Joshua Sobhani 和 Dante Jabbari 对自己间隔年的讲述。

Joshua和Dante是启明星的第一届高中毕业生，分别被伦敦大学学院政治学和国际关系专业和多伦多大学生命科学专业录取。

Dante（左）和Joshua在毕业典礼当天致辞

拿到大学录取通知书后，Joshua和Dante没有马上继续大学学习，而是前往以色列做年间隔服务。

他们为什么会有这样的想法？

以色列局势紧张，他们安全吗？

世界这所“大学”带给Joshua和Dante什么样的新知和思考？

回顾之前的在校学习，哪些是“宝贵的营养”？

……

关于这两个在启明星长大的孩子，我们有太多想知道的；

面对母校，他们也有很多信息乐于分享…… 

海法是以色列北部的现代化海港，作为以色列的第三大城市，西濒地中海，背倚迦密山。Joshua和Dante在这里的间隔年比较特别，不是安逸的周游体验，也不是激情澎湃地加入一项事业，而是——潜心服务。

Joshua（左四）、Dante（左五）和其他服务伙伴在海法

这样的决定源于自己的信仰，也因为启明星核心价值观“服务”对他们的影响。

他们在Bahai World Center的安全部门服务。Dante的职责包括协调安全员们的工作，追踪和记录有关园区安全的信息。

‘‘终身服务是我的信念之一，然而要全身心投入并不容易，学业、工作、家庭都会带来影响，我想这样利用间隔年是最好的选择了。’’Dante说。

Joshua的工作需要他在园区里巡视，也更加直接服务于前来参观的人群。“间隔年是高中毕业到大学之间的自然过渡。现在我没有经济压力或是学业、职业的负担，所以能真正专注在服务上。其实做出这个决定，更多的不是出于时机的考虑，而是这个决定自身。” Joshua说，“‘服务’是我最重要的核心价值观之一，即便不是在这里服务，我也会用高中毕业后的一整年时间在其他地方全心服务。”

事关安全，Joshua和Dante的工作并不轻松。他们每隔3天连续工作12天，每天工作10小时。Dante还告诉我们，作为协调员，他要随时on-call（待命），保证需要帮助的同事能及时找自己。

Dante和Joshua有着典型的启明星印记——在海法的日子里，他们谨记服务的初心，却也生活得放松从容，内心安宁。即便以色列的局势并不太平，也没有动摇他们留在当地的决心。

“过去几个月，这里的冲突和不确定性是剧烈的。但海法在以色列北部，我们没有受到来自加沙地带的火箭弹的太大影响，火箭弹被反导系统拦截，空袭警报只在这里触发过一次。我们服务的地方采取了广泛而彻底的措施来保障所有工作人员的安全，我感到既安全又幸运。”Joshua说。

Joshua在海法

摒弃周遭的噪杂和纷争，Joshua和Dante更加关注自身的提升和真实的体验。

Dante很感念在海法的生活为自己带来的成长。他积累着点滴的生活体验，从学习烹饪到和来自世界各地的朋友共同成长。“我会和朋友们研究、讨论文学，进行深刻又富有意义的对话……另外，我也正在学习怎样舒适地独自生活。”

Dante在海法

Joshua呢，服务机构的文化多样性让他震惊。“这里有来自80多个国家的600位工作人员，我几乎没在同一场合遇到过2个来自同一国家的人。这样的多样性营造了一种博爱和欣赏不同文化和背景的氛围。”

今年秋天，Joshua和Dante结束间隔年之后，将分别回到英国和加拿大的大学校园，开启下一段重要的人生旅程。

他们为当下的体验感到充实，憧憬未来的生活，也怀念在启明星的岁月。

“启明星教会我要永远渴求新知。在启明星的成长激发了我探究的兴趣，相信这样的特质会伴随我终生。我关心世界实事，阅读和未来学习领域相关的书籍，和那些在我的研究领域拥有丰富经验的人会面、交谈，这些都表明，启明星教会我‘探求知识’特质的证明。”Joshua说。

“其实，Joshua在学术上取得的成绩也是他拥有‘渴求知识’特质的证明。就拿中文来说，中文是他的第二语言，他在IBDP最后的中文考试中拿到了7分，口语考试也是几乎满分。”彭扶摇说。

彭扶摇是Joshua的IB中文老师。在她的印象里，Joshua的社交能力很强，算得上是“社牛”，属于社交型的学习者，这对他的语言学习特别重要。

“他的思维活跃，想象力和联想力都很强，对新鲜事物有强烈的好奇心。”彭老师说，“在课堂上，他的一些提问甚至会引发全班新一轮的讨论！”

教过Dante两年科学的王桂华提起Dante也是连连称赞。

在王老师的记忆里，Dante沉稳、踏实，有条不紊，常常提出有深度的学术问题，也能解答出国际级别奥赛的题目。“这是非常难得的。他不仅能答出问题，还能答得很好。”王桂华说，“Dante也是个特别重感情的孩子。毕业后他特别找到我，要了我的电邮。你能感受到他对老师的尊重，对学校的认可和留恋。”

从容不破，品格优秀，对自我有清晰的认知，又能坚持明确的方向——Dante和Joshua有着启明星教育最想赋予学生的一系列特质。

我们祝愿他们在间隔年和之后的岁月一切顺利，不断经历更新更有意义的人生；经过这次访谈我们也深深感到，年轻的生命需要被尊重，被看重，因为他们常常比我们想象的要深邃、丰富…… 

In late December, we received a letter that had traveled all the way from Haifa, Israel.

It was an account of the gap year spent by Joshua Sabhani and Dante Jabbari.

Joshua and Dante were among Daystar’s first high school graduates in 2023. Joshua was admitted to study Politics and International Relations at University College London and Dante received an offer to study Life Sciences at the University of Toronto.

Dante and Joshua giving speech on the day of graduation ceremony

But after receiving their college acceptance letters, Joshua and Dante did not immediately travel to London and Toronto to continue their university studies. Instead, they chose to spend a gap year doing service in Israel.

Why did they choose to take a gap year?

How is the currently tense situation in Israel affecting them?

What new knowledge and perspectives has this special experience given them?

Looking back over their previous academic studies, what values and skills have helped them during their gap year?

…

There's so much we want to know about these two students who grew up at Daystar.

Fortunately, Joshua and Dante share their remarkable experiences with their alma mater below…

Haifa is a modern seaport city in northern Israel. It is the third largest metropolitan area in Israel, bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the west and Mount Carmel to the south. Joshua and Dante's gap year here was quite special. It has not been a leisurely travel experience nor an exciting business opportunity; instead, they came to Israel to serve others.

Joshua and Dante’s decision to take a gap year in Haifa thus originated from one of Daystar's core values: service.

Joshua and Dante are serving in the department of Security at the Bahai World Center. Dante's responsibilities include coordinating the operations of the guards outside and keeping track of information relating to the security of the Gardens.

“Lifelong service is one of my values, but it is often very hard to dedicate one’s full attention to service later in life, especially when there are so many other responsibilities such as school, work, family, and more,” Dante said. “I think taking a gap year like this is the best choice.”

Joshua's job requires him to patrol the Gardens and control access to staff, pilgrims, and public visitors at various entry points. “A gap year is a natural transition between high school and university,” Joshua explained. “I don’t have many financial obligations right now and have not gotten caught up with university life and career paths yet, so I am now able to fully focus on serving others. Service is one of my core values, and whether here at the Bahai World Centre or somewhere else, I was always planning to devote an entire year to service after graduation,” he said.

When it comes to safety, Joshua and Dante's work is far from easy. Their schedule calls for them to work 10 hours a day 12 days in a row, followed by just three days of rest. Dante also told us that, as a dispatcher, he must be on-call at all times to ensure that his colleagues who need assistance can reach him at any time.

Dante and Joshua display the typical traits of outstanding Daystar students. During their days in Haifa, they have kept in mind their commitment to service while maintaining a relaxed and tranquil frame of mind. Even though the situation in Israel has not been peaceful, this has not shaken their determination to stay in the area.

 “The conflict and uncertainty that has reigned here in the past 2 months has been tumultuous to say the least,” Joshua said. “The Bahai World Centre is located in Haifa, which is far enough north to mean that we have not been affected much by rockets fired from the Gaza strip. Rockets fired have been intercepted by extensive anti-missile systems, and air raid sirens have only been triggered here once. There are wide-ranging measures in place for the protection and safety of all staff at the Bahai World Centre and I feel both safe and blessed to be here now.”

Joshua in Haifa

Regardless of the nearby fighting, Joshua and Dante are still focused on their personal growth and service experience.

Dante is very grateful for the personal growth that life in Haifa has brought him. He is accumulating life experiences such as learning to cook and maturing together with friends from around the world. “I often read and discuss literature with my friends, and we engage in profound and meaningful conversations on many topics. In addition, I am also learning how to live independently.”

Dante in Haifa

For Joshua, the cultural diversity of the service organization has impressed him. “There are around 80 nationalities represented among the 600 staff and I am rarely at a social gathering where two people from the same country are present. This diversity gives rise to a beautiful atmosphere of love and appreciation for different cultures and backgrounds.”

This autumn, Joshua and Dante will begin their university studies at campuses in the UK and Canada respectively embarking on the next stage of their lives.

They feel fulfilled by their current experiences, and look forward to their futures. Yet they still miss the time they spent at Daystar.

 “Daystar taught me to always maintain a thirst for knowledge,” Joshua said. “I’m sure that the inquisitive nature that my years at Daystar instilled in me will stay with me forever. Keeping abreast with world events, reading books related to my future area of study, and discussing with others serving here who have extensive experience and knowledge in my field of study are all a testament to the ‘knowledge seeking’ qualities that Daystar has taught me.”

“In fact, Joshua's academic achievements are also a demonstration of his thirst for knowledge,” Ms. Scarlett Peng said. “Take Chinese for example. Chinese is Joshua’s second language, but he scored seven points in the final Chinese test of the IBDP and gained almost perfect marks in the oral test.”

Ms. Scarlett Peng is Joshua's IB Chinese teacher. In her view, Joshua has strong interpersonal skills and he is a highly sociable learner, which is particularly helpful for language acquisition.

“His way of thinking is also quite dynamic. He has a strong imagination and powerful association skills, as well as a remarkable curiosity for new things,” Ms. Scarlett Peng added. “In the classroom, sometimes his questions would even trigger new rounds of discussion among the whole class!”

Dr. Jessica Wang, who taught Dante science for two years, was also full of praise when she mentioned her former student.

According to Dr. Wang, Dante was calm, down-to-earth, and methodical. He often asked complex academic questions and could answer questions about international Olympiads. “It's very rare. Not only can he answer questions, but he can answer them well,” Ms. Wang said. “Dante is friendly by nature. After graduating, he came to me and asked for my email address so that we could stay in touch. You can feel the respect he has for his teachers, and his nostalgia for Daystar.”

Dante and Joshua share a set of traits that Daystar aims to instill in its students. These include being calm and resilient, having outstanding characters and a clear understanding of oneself, and being able to stick to a clear direction.

We wish these two Daystar students all the best in their gap year and beyond. We feel that all young people deserve to be respected, since they all have the potential to exceed our expectations with their wonderful ideas and noble aspirations.

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