Nicky Kolios, Public Policy

I shall not leave my city any less, but rather greater than I found it.

The Ephebic Oath, a part of his everyday life in high school, is what inspired Nicky Kolios to make the world a better place. "This had a profound effect on me in high school and later on I saw the oath through the lens of Zionism," he said. A graduate student in his final year of studies for a degree from the Harold Hartog School of Government and Policy, Nicky hopes to take what he has learned and implement change through working at the intersection of the public and private sectors.

Nicky credits his Taglit-Birthright trip during his freshman year at Binghamton University with getting him interested in Israel. He made Aliyah in 2009, served in the Golani infantry unit of the IDF as a combat non-comissioned officer, and went on to spend time learning in yeshiva, traveling in South America, working as a delegate of the Jewish Agency for Israel in Australia, and most recently working at the Ministry of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs. 

When Nicky started his studies at Tel Aviv University in 2013, he was certain that he would go into the public service or nonprofit field. However, during his course of studies Nicky decided that he could make a bigger impact working at the intersection of the public and private sectors. This is why he pursued his current internship at Energiya Global, an Israeli solar energy company, working on projects in the developing world. 

As a second year recipient of the Lotty Zucker Gutwirth and Charles Zucker Scholarship Fund for students who have made Aliyah from around the world, Nicky said, "I'm always amazed when I meet donors. They are people who decided to give of themselves for people they don't even know. They appreciate those of us who are following the dream of the Jewish people - to strive to create a model country - the State of Israel."

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