CAVOD Club Welcomed Guest Speaker Scott Fried

by Sara Rosenthal, SSLI '27

Yesterday, CAVOD Club welcomed guest speaker Scott Fried to speak to the high school. He has lived with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) for 36 years, and he addressed the idea of "being enough" while incorporating Jewish values.

High school students gathered in the gym, where CAVOD club co-presidents Shir Levenson and Micah Bidner introduced Fried. He delivered an engaging speech, asking questions and allowing students to participate and contribute to his message. He spoke about his experiences as a teenager and a student in college, struggling with ideas of not being enough and not being loved.

Levenson expressed, “His story of overcoming struggles and hardships was really inspiring and meaningful.” She continued that she loved “Scott’s idea of ‘C’mere people,’” which are people “who we can open up to and feel safe with,” which is “so important for each one of us to have.”

Fried incorporated many Jewish aspects into his program, creating another connection between his stories and the students. He said a few prayers that the high schoolers say daily, and he explained how they had helped him through rough times, and how they can help the current teenagers as well.

We are grateful that Scott Fried was able to speak to us and share his story. (S. Chernoff)

Mr. Pitt-Stoller, the advisor of CAVOD Club, remarked that Scott Fried’s program “was very effective, and he touched a lot of hearts in the room." Pitt Stoller added, “I appreciated the spiritual message underneath it all. It spoke to values that I hold dear, both Jewish values and universal human values."

Freshman Adira Berman said, “Having someone that talked about this certain aspect of their life for a living and not just talked about [it] one time … really made the difference of getting it through to people.” Berman, along with many other students, thought his message was very influential and impactful.

Pitt-Stoller mentioned that he "would love for [Fried] to come again" and that he “would love not only to have him back, but to have him do more."

Levenson agreed: “I think this kind of speaker is the right person to have at school every couple of years so that the students can learn about overcoming mental [and] physical health issues and the value of their lives.”

Sara Rosenthal is a writer for Paw Print Now. Sara is currently a freshman at the Schechter School of Long Island and can be reached at the following email address: srosenthal27@schechterli.org.