Each new beginning is an adventure for Rabbi Seth Mandell.

Whether hitchhiking across Europe, operating a ski lift in New Mexico or living on an Israeli kibbutz 70 miles from the Lebanese border, his past reflects the adventurous nature of the University's new director of the B'nai B'rith Hillel Foundation.

While attending school at the University of Connecticut, Mandell says his identity as a Jew was almost non-existent. It was not until after he graduated with a bachelor's degree in sociology in 1973 and visited Israel for the first time that his ties to the religion grew stronger, he said.

Then, in 1976, after three years of travel, he returned to Israel where he stayed for the next 12 years.

During this time, he was editor of a magazine for tourists and public relations director for some of the largest schools for adult Jewish learning in the world.

Aside from his busy work schedule, Mandell said he spent at least half of each day in religious study. Three years ago he decided to become a rabbi.

After completing his ordination about a year ago, Mandell and his wife, Sherry, decided to pack up their young sons, Koby and Daniel, and move back to the United States where they could be closer to their families.

"We arrived here on July 11 with no car, no jobs, and no place to live," said Mandell. "Five weeks later, we were at Penn State with all these things."

Mandell said he is very excited about what he hopes to accomplish in his new job.

"Being a rabbi in Israel is like being an actor in New York. I feel I can do much more for the Jewish community here in State College than in Jerusalem," he said.

Members of Hillel, an on-campus Jewish organization, are as excited about having Mandell here as he is to be here.

Amy Fishman, president of Hillel, said she was impressed by Mandell's dynamic personality.

"He's brought a new life to Hillel that wasn't there before," she said.

She said she also supports the approach he took to recent events, such as the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity and Transfer Junction incidents, that affected the Jewish community on campus.

On Friday Sept. 29 -- the first day of the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashana -- the fraternity hosted a social with a Rosh Hashana theme. During the first week of October, Terrell Jones, associate director of the University's Division of Campus Life, used his own funds to purchase Nazi-related paraphernalia.

Mandell approached Jones about the items after the owner of the store offered to sell them to Mandell at cost.

"I think it's very good that he got involved and acted when these events occurred. If we don't speak out, who will?" she asked.

Speaking as a member of Hillel, Bill Novick, vice president of the Undergraduate Student Government, said he is pleased Mandell brought with him to campus a pro-active stance on Jewish concerns.

"I expect to see a lot more good things from him in the future," Novick said.

Mandell said his job description is varied because it ranges from counseling individual students to setting up and running high holiday services for 500 people.

Although his work keeps him busy, Mandell remains a devoted husband and father. During the week, visitors to his office may find him babysitting his youngest son while his wife teaches an English 15 class.

Mandell has many goals he hopes to achieve at the University.

"My major goal at Hillel is to raise the profile of our organization and the entire Jewish presence within the University community," he said. "A parallel goal is to raise the Jewish consciousness and awareness of the Jewish student population at PSU," he added.

He said he is working on various projects to accomplish these goals, including a new Jewish student newspaper and a human relations workshop to present to interested groups on campus.

"There has been a benign neglect of Jewish interests on this campus, most clearly indicated by what I believe is an innocent scheduling of parent's weekend the day before Yom Kippur, the most important day of the Jewish year," Mandell said.

He said although he sees a change in the climate of the University as a result of the commitment to diversity, the administration is not doing as much as it could.

"They want people to blend in -- to have a homogeneous, trouble-free community. As a result, there is no programming geared to the specific interests of the Jewish population," he said.

He said the University could help to remedy the situation by backing a Jewish Awareness Week, offering more Jewish studies courses and providing an option of kosher meals in the dining halls, especially during Passover.

He said he would also like to see an orientation program for Jewish and non-Jewish students about what it is like to be a Jew at the University.

"It's a big shock for students who come from a big-city, structured Jewish community to adjust to Penn State," he said.

On a broader level, Mandell said he would like to see a program implemented for students in the College of Education that would inform prospective teachers about special challenges facing Jewish children growing up in a Christian environment.

Hillel, as the official Jewish presence on campus, plays a key role in the quest for diversity, because along with providing religious, cultural, social and political services to students, it also presents Jewish concerns to the administration, Mandell said.

"I want the Jewish students to be proud of their heritage, proud of their role in history and proud of their role of adding to the diversity of this campus," he said.

"I'm really pleased to be at Penn State because I think there's a tremendous potential to build this Hillel and the Jewish community into a thriving, exciting and meaningful enterprise," he said.

As for Mandell, he said, "There is a saying in the Talmud that all beginnings are hard. I think that all beginnings are adventurous. To me, it isn't a difficulty."