100 Alumni We Love

Reflections on My Time at Hebrew University

By Gary Lenett, Vancouver

I left Vancouver to study at Hebrew University in 1978 as a 20-year-old with a very narrow world view. In some ways, that boy never came home, which is to say I was never the same again.

Upon arriving in Jerusalem, my roommate for the first few months was a Nigerian student studying agriculture. We had more than 21 other nationalities living in our dorm on the Givat Ram campus. We regularly discussed culture, religion and politics in and out of school.

My worldview became rich, complex and global which has served me in so many ways, particularly in business. Perhaps even more importantly, the people I met there on the Rothberg program 40 years ago remain some of my closest friends to this day.

I look back now and realize that my decision to go to Hebrew U was one of the most influential and positive decisions of my life.

  • Gary is the Founder and CEO of the Dish and Duer brands, distributed in 52 countries including Israel.
Gary Lenett