Spotlight is a
new blog segment we are doing where we catch up with our alumni, find out about
their Mayanot experience in retrospect and see what current project they are
working on.
Here we joined up with Daniel
Kronovet to see what he was up to after finishing Mayanot 2 years ago.
This is what he had to say, “I
attended Mayanot for December and January, in the winter of 2012-2013.
I loved
everything. The classes were fascinating, the students were very friendly. It
was a very exciting place to be. I really enjoyed our trip to Tsfat. Walking
through the city with the other students was a very special experience”.
Currently Daniel is collaborating on a moving and revolutionary
project to bring adequate heating to welfare neighborhoods in New York City. At
27 degrees below freezing in New York last year, imagine if you didn’t have
heat. It’s a troubling thought, and it’s how the opening promotional video of
Heat Seek begins, a sensor that automatically takes the temperature and sends
the data back to a server. It is reforming the way heating regulations are
enforced so that people don’t freeze. Information is more accurate, and the
process is less bureaucratic.
Daniel was studying computer
programming in New York City this past winter, and two of his classmates
decided to start Heat Seek as a project for the class. A few months later, in
May, they decided to take the project further and started asking for people to
help improve Heat Seek and enter into a city wide contest. Daniel volunteered
to help build their hardware and software, and has been involved ever since.
He mentioned that, “this project helps those who are vulnerable
and unable to defend themselves. It helps them by giving them the tools and the
voice to advocate for themselves, to ensure adequate heating and a safe home.
As the welfare of these people increases so does the welfare of us all”.
When asked about how Mayanot
impacted his decision to get involved in this project he remarked, “I would say
that Mayanot helped show me the value of specialized, rigorous study, and
helped guide me along the path to engineering and working with technology, which
brought me to this”. Daniel also commented on how Mayanot impacted his values
to give generously and the importance of tzedaka.
Well, we’re proud of you Daniel
and we hope this project continues to impact the world positively. Want to
learn more about Heat Seek, please visit http://heatseeknyc.com/
If you are an alumni of Mayanot
and would like to tell us your story please email us at: [email protected] for
more information.