What Does Student Support Really Look Like? Meet Kearen Benary

Sometimes it’s academic guidance. Sometimes it’s helping make sense of bureaucracy. And sometimes it’s simply a friendly face and a granola bar between classes, or a chat about that guy you met at the gym.

By: Ayelet Greenberg

Walk into Kearen Benary’s office at Ono International School and a few things will greet you. First, a calm, relaxed atmosphere, a world away from the hectic student halls outside. A bowl of healthy snacks always within easy reach. A chair pulled up, welcoming whoever walks in next. And, of course, Kearen’s warm smile. On the wall behind her hangs an Outstanding Lecturer Award, one she’s deeply proud of, earned gratefully after 22 years of teaching at Ono. It’s a fitting symbol for someone whose real work happens far outside any classroom, as the Academic Advisor students tend to find their way to, whatever they need.

A Door That’s Always Open

Kearen’s relationship with students often begins even before registration. She meets prospective students on Zoom, sometimes together with their parents, welcomes them for personal campus tours, and answers questions as they work through the registration process. “I want our prospective students to know from the beginning that there is someone here they can talk to,” she says.

That becomes even more important once they arrive. Before the academic year begins, Kearen meets individually with every new international student, undergraduate and graduate alike, to get to know their academic background, their expectations and concerns, and a little about their life in Israel, from where they’re living to whether they have family nearby. A few weeks into the semester, she follows up with anyone who may need further support.

New Country, New System

Sometimes the challenge is academic. A student may need an exemption for a course completed abroad, help understanding exam procedures, or guidance on how to handle a particular situation in class. “One of the biggest challenges at first is simply getting to know the system,” Kearen explains. “The academic culture is different. Students are sometimes surprised, for example, that they can email a lecturer directly. Things in Israel tend to be less formal, and that can take some getting used to.”

When students need extra support, Kearen connects them with the right people and resources, from time-management and learning-strategy workshops through Ono’s MATANA Center to language mentors and Hebrew tutoring.

Above and Beyond

But some of the best examples of Kearen’s role aren’t found in any official job description. Take the student who needed medical paperwork after surgery and casually mentioned he’d take care of it the next day – not realizing the next day was Friday, when many services in Israel close early. “I told him, ‘There is no tomorrow!'” she laughs. So she drove him there on Thursday to get everything sorted before the weekend.

Or the student who came to her worried about an urgent scholarship application. Kearen invited her into the office, sat down beside her, and helped her polish it on the spot.

And then there are the students who stop by simply because they want to talk. “There are always snacks in my office,” Kearen says. Students pop in for a granola bar, a boost of energy, or a conversation about whatever happens to be going on in their lives – engagements, weddings, dating advice, and yes, occasionally, whether Kearen happens to know that guy they spotted at the campus gym. Apparently, the gym is quite the meeting place.

Someone Who Has Been There

Part of why students open up to Kearen so easily is that she’s stood exactly where they’re standing. At 11, she left Israel with her family. At 21, she came back alone, fresh out of her studies abroad, with no one to show her how things worked. She had to figure it all out herself: the paperwork, the different rhythm of daily life, the small culture shocks that no one warns you about.

Support, Not Hand-Holding

For all her warmth and willingness to help, Kearen is clear about one thing: supporting students doesn’t mean doing everything for them. “My job is to show them what’s available, connect them with the right people, and help them find their way,” she says. “But ultimately, they have to take responsibility.”

Perhaps that’s the best way to describe Kearen’s open-door approach: guidance when you need it, encouragement along the way, and a familiar face you know you can always come back to.

And yes, there will probably be granola bars.