A Florida State University student is among one of 40 undergraduate students across the country to earn a highly competitive fellowship working to foster collaborations among collegiate student leaders for better international relations on college campuses.
Phoebe Zucker, a junior majoring in hospitality management and communications, has been named a 2025-2026 Geller International Fellow by the Israel on Campus Coalition (ICC). The fellowship began at the ICC’s National Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. in July 2025 and helps participants deepen their understanding of both the U.S.-Israel relationship and the Abraham Accords.
Through expert sessions, critical discussions and a 10-day immersive trip, participants explore themes such as culture, security and economics.
“Campus climates have heated up exponentially, and national anti-Semitism has jumped to an all-time high,” Zucker said. “I want to take my personal experience and put it to use on campus to open up dialogue about what it means to be Jewish and Israeli, as well as break down misconceptions.”
Zucker immigrated to Israel a month after graduating high school, with limited knowledge of the language. She served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) from 2020 to 2023, working in the aerial defense array unit and ultimately reaching the rank of staff sergeant. As a lone soldier with no immediate family in the country, she lived in a kibbutz farming community near the Lebanese border.
Her experience shaped her worldview and inspired her to educate others.
“I was able to come back to the United States and say, ‘This is the real picture. This is what it really means to live in Israel and to be a citizen of the only democratic nation in the Middle East,’” Zucker said.
While at FSU, Zucker has found a supportive community and campus environment that has given her the opportunity to learn from, interact with and educate others.
“Being on this campus has been the biggest privilege because I am able to walk around campus and feel safe,” she said. “We, as the Jewish community of Florida State, have the privilege of a campus that will listen to us, mourn with us and celebrate with us.”
She believes that the Geller Fellowship will provide a new platform for her to foster understanding and dialogue while providing unique opportunities to make an impact both on campus and beyond.
Upon completion of the fellowship, Zucker will join the ICC Senior Fellows network, gaining access to mentorship, professional development, and peer connections.
In the future, Zucker plans to pursue a career that integrates hospitality, communication, and advocacy. She is interested in the aspects of hospitality that focus on happiness and team cohesion while also considering a path in communications, potentially as a news anchor or writer with firsthand experience in the Middle East.
“I’m going into the two fields both of my grandmothers went into,” Zucker said. “Having that mirrored image of the two matriarchs of my family stood out to me.”
Her goal is to use her voice and experiences to educate, advocate, and inspire through media, public speaking, or institutional roles to bridge communities and build understanding.
“I don’t know what the next chapter is, but I know that I’m willing to test every door until I find one that opens,” she said. “The mission is done when I’ve educated people on this experience. And that’s an ongoing project.”