Today, Passages alumna Morgan Miller is helping equip the next generation of leaders to recognize and confront antisemitism through her work at the Ayaan Hirsi Ali Foundation (AHA Foundation).
But ten years ago, Morgan was a college student at Ashland University in Ohio, preparing for an experience that would fundamentally change how she understood the world.
Growing up in a small, rural community in Ohio, Morgan had never met a Jewish person. Much of her understanding of Israel and the Jewish people came from reading the Bible, and she had yet to experience the region's rich history, culture, and contemporary realities firsthand.
When she joined Passages' second-ever cohort to Israel in 2016, it wasn't just her first trip to Israel. It was her first time on an airplane.
What began as an opportunity to explore a new country would become an experience that continued to shape her faith, worldview, and professional work over the next decade.
For Morgan, one of the most memorable moments came during a visit to the Western Wall in Jerusalem.
Having grown up with little exposure to Jewish life and traditions, the experience offered an entirely new perspective. She also remembers visiting King David's Tomb and sharing a Shabbat dinner with a Jewish family.
These encounters helped Morgan begin to understand Israel as more than simply the setting of the biblical stories she had grown up reading. She developed a deeper appreciation for Jewish history, culture, and identity, as well as the shared religious heritage connecting Christians and Jews.
"I think it's because of that trip that the world became so much bigger to me, and I realized there are just so many different perspectives," Morgan reflected. "Judaism deserves respect, and the state of Israel has a special place in the world and a special place with the Jews."
What initially seemed like an exciting opportunity to travel abroad had become something much more meaningful.
Over the following years, Morgan's appreciation for her Passages experience continued to deepen. Raised in an evangelical Christian tradition, she later became Catholic, bringing a new perspective to her memories of visiting Israel.
"Through different phases of life, you know, thinking back on the trip, it means more to me now than I think it did when I was there," she shared.
That perspective would eventually find a new expression in her professional work, particularly as she began developing educational opportunities for young people confronting some of today's most pressing challenges.
Today, Morgan serves as Donor Relations Director at the AHA Foundation, an organization that works to defend individual freedom and confront practices and ideologies that threaten fundamental human rights.
Following the October 7, 2023, terrorist attacks against Israel, the AHA Foundation expanded its efforts to combat antisemitism, launching a multi-year campaign to address antisemitism across different communities.
When Morgan joined the foundation in 2025, she was tasked with developing an educational fellowship for college students focused on understanding and confronting antisemitism. As she began designing the program, she found herself drawing on lessons from her own time in Israel.
The fellowship welcomed ten students from nine universities to New York City for an educational program designed to deepen their understanding of antisemitism and equip them to respond to it.
The program combined educational discussions with practical exercises, including opportunities for students to practice de-escalation strategies during simulated confrontations.
For Morgan, the goal extended beyond sharing information. She wanted participants to understand why confronting antisemitism mattered and how they could apply what they learned in their own communities.
"I had the Passages fellowship in mind," she explained, reflecting on how she approached the program.
Just as Morgan had arrived in Israel ten years earlier with limited knowledge of Jewish life and history, she recognized that some of the students were encountering these issues in a meaningful way for the first time.
One student even changed their college major following the fellowship, an encouraging indication of the program's potential to influence the next generation.
But Morgan knows firsthand that the lasting impact of an experience can take years to unfold.
"I hope that in 10 years, they can be as grateful to have had that seed planted as I was," she said.
For Morgan, the journey that began with her first airplane ride to Israel has come full circle. What started as a chance to explore a new country became a formative experience that deepened her appreciation for Jewish-Christian relations and helped shape her work educating others.
Ten years later, Morgan's story is a reminder that the impact of a Passages experience doesn't end when students return home. Sometimes, it's only the beginning.
