Organizers for the annual Day of Discovery are making final preparations for this year’s event, which takes place on Sunday, Aug. 18, at the Jewish Community Campus.
The day begins at 8:45 a.m. with registration and a light breakfast, and classes begin at 9:30 a.m.
Although pre-registration has closed, limited walk-in registration for sessions is still available. Interested walk-in participants should arrive by 9 a.m. to sign up for any in-person class offered. Information on the class offerings can be found at dayofdiscoverykc.org.
More than 20 classes for adult learners will be offered throughout the day on a wide range of topics, led by Jewish teachers, educators, professors and clergy located in Kansas City. This program provides the opportunity for the Jewish community to discover the breadth of Jewish learning in Kansas City.
Presenter Kim Kushner is looking forward to presenting for the first time after attending the event last year. Kushner’s session, “Examining Jewish Undergraduate Student Sense of Belonging in U.S. Higher Education,” is about her doctoral dissertation study and focuses specifically on the Generation Z population.
“I situate my research in literature related to U.S. Jewish identity, the history of Jewish students in U.S. higher education and studies related to Generation Z Jewish and non-Jewish students,” Kushner said. “I also position my research in literature related to SOB (sense of belonging) in postsecondary education and for historically underrepresented populations.”
As a current Ed.D. student at UMKC, Kushner has presented her findings at organizations across the United States, including at NASPA: Student Affairs in Higher Education (March 2023), the Jewish Emerging Adulthood: A Research Convening at Brandeis (May 2024) and the Network for Research in Jewish Education (NRJE) (June 2024).
In addition to sharing her research and knowledge, Kushner is looking forward to the conversation surrounding it.
“I hope that we can have a great discussion about how our community and higher education leaders can create actionable interventions to help Jewish college students, especially given the current campus climate on many of our U.S. colleges/universities,” Kushner said.
Day of Discovery, which is a partnership of Jewish Experiences, a collaboration of Jewish Federation at The J and the Rabbinical Association of Greater Kansas City, is a unique opportunity for the entire Jewish community to discover and explore the richness, diversity and joy of Jewish learning in Kansas City.
More information is available at dayofdiscovery.org or by contacting Megan Pener at or (913) 327-8163.
Editor’s note: Chronicle staff will be presenting “More than a Century of Community Coverage — How The Kansas City Jewish Chronicle Reported History” during the third session, 1:15 to 2:30 p.m.
