WELLcome Home, Dana Isenstein!
We're excited to bring you our monthly feature highlighting someone awesome who has recently moved back to Metro Detroit after adventures away!
This month, we'd like to (re)introduce you to Dana Isenstein!
TW: You recently returned to Metro Detroit after spending some time away. What brought you back?
DI: I always used to say I would never move back, not because Metro Detroit isn’t a great place, but because I just have an extreme dislike toward winter. As fate would have it though, my boyfriend, who is not from here, matched into a residency program here, so the return felt serendipitous. As they say, we plan and G-d laughs.
TW: Where did life take you before you returned home?
DI: After college at the University of Michigan, I attended law school at the University of Miami in Florida (I really meant what I said about winter). After graduating, I practiced in southeast Florida for a year, then moved to Atlanta for four fantastic years. I still work for a law firm in Atlanta, so it feels like my second home. But it’s great to be back in my original home.
TW: What fictional place would you most like to travel to (and why?)
DI: The Land of Oz - I loved The Wizard of Oz as a kid and would love to have the chance to follow the yellow brick road.
TW: What is your ideal Saturday?
DI: That depends on the season! Winter: Brunch and a movie. Spring: A hike or a bike ride. Summer: Up north on the lake. Fall: A Michigan football game. All with family or friends!
TW: What's your favorite game?
DI: I’m not much of a game player, but I do love Heads Up…partially because it’s Ellen DeGeneres’ game.
TW: As a kid, what did you want to be when you "grew up?”
DI: I've wanted to be a lawyer since middle school when I started watching The Practice on ABC. My particular legal interests and beliefs have certainly changed, but the career path stuck.
TW: What is your most frequently used emoji?
DI: That’s a toss up - either the laughing/crying face, which to me says LOL…but really...I’m laughing out loud, or the face with all the teeth for any awkward moment.
TW: What do you look for in your Jewish community?
DI: A sense of welcoming and togetherness. I’ve had different experiences in each of the many different Jewish communities in which I’ve lived, but no matter where I was, it felt comforting to have a sense of belonging to use as a foundation to meet new people and find new opportunities.
TW: Finish the sentence: When I go to The Well…
DI: I feel proud to be from Jewish Detroit. It makes me happy to see and be a part of The Well bringing people together and doing great things for our Jewish community and Metro Detroit. Keep up the good work!
