v Calendar: The law and medical schools are on a mixed calendar -- more semester-like than quarter system, so be sure you check when they start and when finals are.
v Activity Fairs: Last year they held a Grad activity fair at the same time as the Student Involvement Fair on the Oval, and I found it a pretty big waste of time -- you are much better off going to each school's own fair (especially at the law school).
v Kick-Off Event: The annual Wine and Cheese Tasting in the Sukkah is a big hit. We ordered the wine from kosherwine.com to save a little money. If you hit heavy on the publicizing aspect of this program, it will basically run itself -- good weather, of course, is a major plus.
v GAP Shabbat: This typically happens once a quarter and involves dinner being served for grads and professionals in a different room than the undergrads. There has been a number of requests to make this a little nice -- better food, wine, nice dessert, etc.
v GAP Goes Out: I've taken GAP out to dinner once a quarter as well, and it always works out very nicely. Hillel usually pays for something (salad and dessert, drinks, whatever) and they buy their own meals. Be sure you check with the restaurant about how they will allow you to pay; most restaurants will give you one check but will allow you to put it on more than one credit card. If this is the case, you should collect all the cash or credit cards and list how much should be charged to each card -- make sure you are covered for the entire cost before you pay. If they will NOT allow separate credit cards, tell each participant to bring cash or a check that they will make out to you for the amount of their dinner -- then you pay the check and get reimbursed by each participant and by Hillel. This year we went to Zachary's Deli (Easton), Buca Di Bepo's (Arena Grand) and Haiku (Short North).
v Out on the Town: GAP members really enjoy going out to shows -- this year we saw a comedy show at Funny Bone (Easton) and two plays with the touring Broadway company. Some participants have expressed interest in the symphony or ballet; also check CatCo and the Wexner center for schedules. We did a Happy Hour before one of the shows, which was a lot of fun (you can do that any time, not just before something).
v Law School Lectures: A regular program Hillel has developed is a lecture series at the Law School. Find a Jewish lawyer (talk to Susannah) who practices something interesting; find a good date (check the law school's events calendar online) and ask one of the co-presidents of the Jewish Law Students Association (JLSA: Jaime Klausner and Shannen Katz) to book a room for you. We always hold this during lunch, from 12pm - 1pm. Hillel provides a bagel lunch -- usually bagels and cream cheese, a veggie tray and fruit tray, drinks, maybe dessert. The speaker usually gives a short talk first, about how s/he got involved in that field and why s/he enjoys it, and then we open up for questions. I only did this twice during the year and I really think a third time would have been overkill, but it depends on what lawyers you can find and when they are available.
v Medical & Dental Series: There used to be a Medical and Dental Lecture Series as well, but I did not continue it this year. Debra used to have a local dentist speak to students about establishing their practice, but now the dental school does a whole series about it. You may want to consider putting together some other type of lecture for these students.
v Tabling: I tabled in the Med, Law, and Dental schools once a quarter with food and handouts about upcoming events, usually during the lunch hour. The law students are especially wary of "free food," they are expecting to have to sign-up for something; having one of the JLSA presidents there with you will help. Once in each school we made cards for kids in the hospital, which they really enjoyed doing -- art therapy is a great stress reliever! They also always liked information on yoga and the fitness center, and really loved our stress cards. Make sure you find out from Jaime and Shannen when the law school activity fair is -- Hillel and JLSA usually share a table. I also tabled last year during the dental school orientation, early in the morning, but it was their first day and I think the students were overwhelmed -- talk to Dr. Freddie Jordan in the Dental School and she'll help you find a good time to make an appearance.
v Jewish Content: Like I mentioned above, the GAP participants are really looking to meet other Jewish people their own age; they are not necessarily looking to learn more about Judaism or for religious opportunities. The best time to incorporate Jewish content is around any major Holiday -- during the wine tasting in the Sukkah, for example, you can hang signs with little tidbits about the holiday. A Hanukkah party would be nice, maybe candle-lighting and gift exchange followed by drinks at a bar or club downtown.
v Columbus Young Adults: This year I sat on a committee of Jewish organizations in Columbus trying to re-design their young adult programming. I found these meetings to be futile as the Federation and local Synagogues define their young adult groups to be older than our GAP group ("young adult" to the Federation goes through early 40's, GAP participants tend to be below 30). But I still publicized all the GAP events on the Federation's weekly "What's Going on in Young Jewish Columbus" e-mail (WHOIYJC), so be sure you send each quarter's events to whoever is running that list next year (I think it's Cydney Singer, but check with the Federation).
