Lily Karofsky
Lily Karofsky is currently a senior at UC Santa Barbara, majoring in Communications with a focus on journalism. She is the creator and editor-in-chief of Fig and Vine Magazine, a student-run, Jewish magazine being published through the Santa Barbara Hillel.
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Fig & Vine aims to foster a nuanced understanding of Jewish life and community at UCSB and beyond. We are dedicated to cultivating a collection of work that reflects who we are as neighbors, friends, and scholars.​
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She is also a CAMERA on Campus Writing Fellow. The CAMERA Fellowship is for students from across North America, the UK, and Israel. They are selected based on their in-depth knowledge of the Arab-Israeli conflict, history of Israel, and current events, experience in Israel activism on campus, and portfolio of their published work.
My Story
Lily Karofsky grew up right outside of Boston in Massachusetts. She has been an avid writer her whole life, starting with short story fiction in fourth grade. After a journalism internship at her town's local paper during her junior year of high school, she knew it was her passion. Lily made learning about journalism a priority in college, taking every class available, from journalistic writing to digital journalism to magazine writing.
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However, her love for journalism didn't stop in the classroom. Lily is an active member of her Jewish community at UC Santa Barbara and started her own online Jewish magazine, for students by students, through her school's Hillel. Fig and Vine Magazine now has a team of over a dozen writers dedicated to representing the Jewish community at UC Santa Barbara, Jewish news around the world, art, and more.
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Lily's love for writing and reading extends beyond journalism to encompass book reviews, novels, short stories, academic essays, and more. With a passion for Holocaust history, she is currently working on a series of critical book reviews centered around Historical Fiction surrounding WWII and the Holocaust.
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Now in her senior year, Lily plans to continue her commitments to Fig and Vine, CAMERA on Campus, and her own academic and personal writing in preparation for life after college. With a love for writing beyond journalism, Lily is looking into a wide variety of jobs in local newspapers, online magazines, publication houses, and more!