The Story of the Workum Legacy: Introducing the 2025 Workum Summer Interns

This week, the Workum Summer Internship program began and welcomed two very special guests: Roger (Workum) and Janet Ach, descendants of the family for whom the program is named. The couple joined this year’s cohort of college Workum Interns to share a powerful family story, one that spans continents, generations, and unimaginable loss. And, to reflect on the century-old legacy that continues to impact Jewish life in Cincinnati today.

Roger opened the conversation with a deeply personal account of his family’s history that included tracing the roots of the Workum name back to 65 Lomanstraat, a quiet street in 1930s Amsterdam. There, in a Jewish home marked by a wooden mezuzah on the doorway, Elizabeth and Samuel Workum built a life surrounded by family. But as the shadow of the Holocaust fell over Europe, that life was violently upended. Samuel died just before the 2nd World War and was spared from what was to come. Betrayed by a neighbor and deported to the concentration camps, Elizabeth and her relatives were murdered. Forty-five members of the Workum family were lost in Auschwitz and Sobibor.

Yet decades later, a small, silent survivor of that time returned. A wooden mezuzah removed in fear as danger crept ever closer, was discovered by the son of the very woman who had taken over the Workum home. In an extraordinary act of reconciliation, it was returned to a family member who emigrated to Australia to start a new life. That mezuzah, scarred yet whole, is now a symbol of resilience, remembrance, and reconnection. Holding up a picture of that wooden mezuzah, Roger reminded the interns that they are part of a much larger story, one of tragedy, survival, and, ultimately, legacy.

That legacy lives on through the Workum Fund, which celebrates more than 100 years of service to Cincinnati’s Jewish community. The fund was established in 1917 by a group of visionary Jewish women, including Therese Mayer Workum, to provide scholarships to students who might otherwise have had to leave school to support their families. Over the years, the fund evolved, supporting divorced women in need of workforce retraining, new immigrants from the Soviet Union, and eventually, in 1987, transitioning into a paid summer internship program in partnership with local Jewish agencies.

The internship program was created at a time when experiential learning was becoming vital to career development, but most internships remained unpaid, excluding students who needed summer income. The Workum Fund ensured that all students, regardless of financial circumstance, could participate and gain meaningful professional experience within the Jewish community. To this day, every intern is paid a competitive wage, thanks to the fund’s strong foundation and generous community support.

JVS Careers proudly administers the Workum Internship Program, providing professional development, supervision, and mentoring to each student throughout the summer. Through this partnership, the program continues to align with the Workum Fund’s mission: helping Jewish college students in the most meaningful and timely ways possible. This work is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati and The Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati, whose investments ensure that the next generation is equipped with the tools and experiences to lead. JVS Careers is honored to be part of stewarding this legacy forward.

Meet the 2025 Workum Interns

This year’s cohort of Workum Interns working across Cincinnati’s Jewish community, gaining hands-on experience, building professional skills and making a meaningful impact.

Lindsay Rosichan

Jewish Federation of Cincinnati (Jewish Community Relations Council)

• Providing strategic support for advocacy efforts

 Leora Stern

Jewish Family Service of Cincinnati

• Supporting programming and administrative efforts

 Lilah Ploetz 

The American Jewish Archives

• Assisting with archival and communications efforts

 Eden Kadosh

Temple Sholom

• Collaborating on religious school preparation and supporting nonprofit operations

 Yuval Jacobson

Jewish Family Service of Cincinnati (Barbash Family Vital Support Center)

• Supporting food security efforts

 Eli Zelvy

Isaac M. Wise Temple

• Assisting with communications and marketing efforts

 Helaina Fish

Jewish Federation of Cincinnati

• Participating in development efforts

 Owen Robenson

The Mayerson JCC

• Supporting marketing and community engagement efforts

Roger and Janet Ach, Workum Family Descendants

Rachel Marchese, Director of Student Services, JVS Careers