Vivienne Gilliar-Smith
Vivienne Gilliar-Smith is an 11th-grader from Port Washington, N.Y., who loves reading, figure skating and studying history. Gilliar-Smith is the winner of the 2025 Hadassah Magazine and jGirls+ Magazine teen essay contest, which asked: Share an experience of Jewish joy and/or pride.
Discovering Jewish Joy in My Grandmother’s Closet
This dress I was wearing at twelve years old had been my great-grandmother's. That dress, just a dress, suddenly turned her memory into a presence.