Noa Kattler Kupetz

Staff Writer

For the past three years, a group of Milken teachers traveled to Israel to participate in a workshop for the Nofim curriculum. In gratitude, the teachers have always brought a gift with them for Rachel Korazim, the head of the Nofim program.

“Picking a gift has always been difficult to do because we want it to be something meaningful,” Ms. Lidia Turner, Middle School Nofim coordinator, said.

This year, Turner, who has attended the workshop for the past three years, brought up the idea of bringing Korazim a gift made by a Milken student. Turner attended the Milken Art show last May hoping to find a suitable gift. A mixed media piece made by Negeen Amirieh ’13 immediately stood out to Turner.

“When I first heard that my piece had been chosen, I was so surprised! It’s an honor,” Amirieh said.

It was later realized that Negeen’s piece was based off of a poem written by Rachel Korazim. Coincidentally, the piece also incorporates the color orange in it, which is perfectly fitting because Tel Aviv, where Korazim lives, is the orange capital of Israel.

“It was a complete coincidence. It really added to the meaningfulness of the gift,” Turner said.

Amirieh created her art piece out of metal foil, sheet metal, soda cans, and rivets in Ms. Diane LaFleur’s sculpture class. The piece survived the journey to Israel, and was presented to Korazim by the Milken teachers. It is on display in Korazim’s home, and is a permanent reminder of how thankful Milken is for the Nofim program.