David Smajovits '00

Alum of the month : David Smajovits '00

Back in grade 8, if you were to have asked JPPS-Bialik Alum of the Month David Smajovits ’00 to name his biggest fear, the answer would have been, without a doubt, being called to the blackboard to complete a problem in front of the entire class.

Indeed, this graduate from the class of 2000 isn’t so timid about relaying his fear of math because, “I get paid to write today.” David also isn’t shy about what he has been up to since his high school graduation. He enrolled in the Commerce program at Dawson College without a real idea of what he wanted to do.

Following an uneventful first few semesters, he vividly remembers watching the aftermath of the attacks of September 11, 2001, at Place Alexis Nihon, right after a class ended. The events of that infamous day propelled him to abandon the commerce route pretty fast (a lack of great math skills also helped).

Following Dawson, David majored in political science at Concordia University, knowing full well what the political climate was there at the time. Taking a step further, he joined the Hillel student group and was eventually elected Co-President in 2005.

“I fed off of the anti-Israel sentiments there. The worse the other side was, the more driven I became to do something about it. It was a lot of fun, actually.”

After graduating Concordia in 2006, David attended a conference called the Intelligence Summit, which essentially was a get-together of current and former intelligence officers from around the world. He was instantly captivated by the world of espionage and intelligence, and pursued an internship with the Intelligence Summit in St. Petersburg, Florida, working side by side with the organization’s President, John Loftus. “I remember being at John’s house one afternoon when a CIA agent friend of his called to brief him about some listening devices that were planted in an office of a Chinese businessman in New York. I don’t know whatever became of that guy, but I’m sure he’s seen better days.”

When his brief stint in the intelligence community came to a close (he still moonlights however as the Director of Communications for the Intelligence Summit), David was fortunate to have been hired as Communications and Alumni Relations Officer for, you guessed it, JPPS-Bialik. After two years and a fair amount of newsletters later, David moved on, and is currently a Communications officer in the Jewish General Hospital’s Public Affairs & Communications department.

“My time in the JPPS-Bialik advancement department was instrumental for my development as a professional communicator. It was also a riot to work with my former teachers, and to revisit the days of Chanukah assemblies and Purim carnivals.”

Speaking of fond Bialik memories, as a student, there were many. First and foremost, very few people may say that their mother and uncle taught at their high school. Moreover, Jeff Karp, brother of Lainie Smajovits, was even David’s Jewish History teacher one year! And while the subject of teachers is addressed, David always stresses that the reason why a vast majority of Bialik graduates become productive members of society is due to the quality of the teaching.

“You always knew that the teachers cared about your progress. My math teachers were truly disappointed when I bombed a test, but were elated the odd time when I’d do well. Mr. (Leslie) Silverstein is another example. Have you ever seen one of his corrected essays? His corrections are almost as long as the length of the essay!”

JPPS-Bialik will forever hold a significant place in David’s heart. Besides the fact that he spent 13 years there as a student, his aforementioned familial connections, or even his spell as an employee, Bialik High School will always be the place where he met his fiancée, Rosalie Wolkowicz ‘00.

“Looking back at all of this, I suppose I made the right decision not to go to Royal West!”

Amy Finkelstein JPPS '78, Advancement Manager

(photo submitted by David Smajovits '00)

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