Meet the Straus Scholars of the Class of 2026 — headed to Oxford, Yale Law School and beyond
When Rebecca Guzman '26S arrived at 515Ö±²¥ as a first-year student and Straus Scholar, graduate studies at Oxford were not on her radar.
Now, this fall, the aspiring novelist is preparing to cross the Atlantic to begin the University of Oxford's MSt in Creative Writing, a highly competitive master's program for emerging writers that admits only 10 percent of its applicants.
Even more remarkably, Guzman will do so as a recipient of the prestigious John and Daria Barry Scholarship. While less widely known than the Rhodes or Marshall scholarships, the selective award provides full funding for graduate study at Oxford to a small number of outstanding American students each year.
This once-in-a-lifetime achievement is the culmination of Guzman's three years at the Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought, where she wrestled with big ideas in the classroom and honed her craft through a range of intellectual experiences beyond it, including internships with best-selling author Dara Horn at the Tell Institute and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Bret Stephens at SAPIR: A Journal of Jewish Conversations.
Guzman credits Rabbi Dr. Meir Soloveichik, director of the Center, with encouraging her to think bigger about what might be possible after graduation. In fact, it was Rabbi Soloveichik who nominated her for the prestigious John and Daria Barry Scholarship, setting in motion a process that ultimately led to both her selection as a Barry Scholar and acceptance at Oxford.
"Both he and my other mentors at Straus have empowered me to pursue opportunities I could not have dreamed of before," Guzman said.
When it comes to extraordinary next chapters, Guzman is hardly alone. She is one of 10 Straus Scholars in the Class of 2026, a cohort whose members are heading to prestigious graduate programs, fellowships, internships and careers across a range of fields in the United States, the United Kingdom and Israel.
A Microcosm of YU: Cultivating Exemplary Leaders
Founded in 2010 by the Moshael and Zahava Straus family, the Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought challenges students to engage deeply with both Jewish and Western thought, bringing Torah into conversation with philosophy, politics, law and literature. Its mission: to develop the next generation of Modern Orthodox thinkers and civic leaders.
"We founded the Straus Center to help students engage seriously with both Torah and the great ideas that have shaped Western civilization," Moshael Straus said. "The goal was never simply academic achievement. It was to cultivate thoughtful, principled leaders who are prepared to contribute to the Jewish community, American society and the broader world. Seeing these students chart such remarkable paths is deeply gratifying."
President Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman praised the Straus Scholars as a powerful example of 515Ö±²¥'s mission.
"In many ways, the Straus Center is a microcosm of what makes 515Ö±²¥ exceptional: a belief that serious Torah learning and engagement in the wider world are complementary pursuits and responsibilities. Its students leave prepared to pursue excellence in their chosen fields while remaining grounded in the values and traditions that shape their lives. The accomplishments of this graduating cohort are a powerful reflection of that mission."
A Path to the Law's Highest Halls
That mission can be seen in the path pursued by Sruli Friedman '26YC, who, like Guzman, will begin a new chapter this fall at a storied institution: Yale Law School.
As a high school student who listened to oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court, Friedman knew from an early age that he wanted to be a lawyer. He just never expected Yale Law School to be part of the plan.
The Straus Center helped make it happen.
In the summer of 2024, the philosophy and political science double major interned in the Washington, D.C., office of Congressman Mike Lawler before earning a fellowship with The Fund for American Studies, an organization dedicated to educating students about the principles of American democracy. The following summer, he interned with Judge Steven J. Menashi of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, one of the highest-ranking courts in the federal judiciary and just one step below the Supreme Court.
That experience would prove pivotal.
"My work with Judge Menashi exposed me to the essential role of the justice system in American government," Friedman said. "Given the strong commitment to the rule of law that permeates both the Jewish and Western intellectual traditions, the internship fit well with the mission of the Straus Center. I am incredibly grateful to Judge Menashi for the unparalleled opportunity to work for him."
Inside the Federal Judiciary
The connection between the Straus Center and Judge Menashi's chambers continues with Fayga Pinczower Soloveichik '26S. Like Friedman, Pinczower graduated summa cum laude and has her sights set on law school.
This summer, she will begin a yearlong internship in Judge Menashi's chambers, an uncommon distinction for a recent college graduate who has not yet entered law school. For Pinczower Soloveichik, who intends to apply during the coming admissions cycle, the position offers a rare opportunity to spend a year observing the federal judiciary from the inside before ever setting foot in a law school classroom.
A passionate student of law, public policy and political thought, she served as an editor of the 515Ö±²¥ Undergraduate Law Review, participated in the Tikvah Fund's Beren Summer Fellowship and Hertog Constitutional Studies Program, and contributed to The Wall Street Journal and the anthology Young Zionist Voices.
Those experiences reinforced a lesson she continues to carry with her: meaningful impact is often more attainable than one might imagine.
"When people take you seriously, you begin to take your own abilities seriously as well," Pinczower Soloveichik said. "I always knew I wanted to pursue a career in law, but the Straus Center helped me see a clear path forward, essentially providing a roadmap for turning that aspiration into a reality. Along the way, it taught me that ideas matter, that Torah can guide how we move through the world, and that we have a responsibility to develop the talents we've been given and put them to meaningful use."
Oxford. Yale Law School. The chambers of a federal appellate judge. The destinations may differ, but the trajectory is familiar: students challenged to think deeply, grapple with important ideas and carry those lessons into the wider world.
