Tamar Schiller on Quality Over Quantity

Tamar Schiller, 30, thinks Detroit could learn a thing or two from Omaha, Nebraska, where she lives these days. The West Bloomfield native, who left for Chicago in 2006 and moved to Omaha in 2009, says she wants to see her hometown recognize that it's quality, not quantity that matters when it comes to community.

“Even with a small community you can still be active and involved,” she says of her experience as a young Jewish professional in Omaha. “You can still have a visible Jewish community with a tenth of the community that Detroit has.”

She says that while there's not as much to do Jewishly, there's still enough to keep busy, and a long history of Jewish families around town--some have lived there over 100 years, she says. “The funny thing about Omaha in general is that you can't say you're from here unless you were born here.”

The Michigan State University graduate is working as a claims attorney, and in her spare time sings in a choir, reads, travels, and participates in area activities. She especially enjoyed the Iowa State Fair this summer, she says.

She misses being close to Canada and the Franklin Cider Mill, driving 70 miles per hour down I-696, and her family, but says Detroit's a tough place to find work. It's also a changing Jewish scene, she says, noting especially the closing of Shaarey Zedek's B'nai Israel Center, which her family had been involved with since she was 12.

She says home's an interesting mix of people who grew up and stayed, like their parents did, and those passing through who left. “But it's always nice when I go back, and I see other kids who come back and say where they are now. We swap stories,” she says.

Bryan Lubaway Says, Try Yoga

Bryan Lubaway never expected to love yoga. But in August 2008, it brought him home. He had been living in East Lansing and moved back to West Bloomfield to become more involved in his cousins' yoga studio chain, the Yoga Shelter.

Now the 28-year-old Michigan State University graduate manages the West Bloomfield location and teaches five classes a week. "It's something that will not leave my life now," he says of yoga and the overall experience it brings with it. "It's a chance to really focus on yourself a little bit--usually I run around, I have three phones on and everything else in the world going on, but with yoga, you go into a room and it shuts everything else out."

Beyond offering classes, Lubaway says he values the kind of community the studio builds around yoga and its participants. Founded by Eric Paskel and his wife Lisa in November 2004, the studio has offered apple picking, yoga retreats in Costa Rica and Belize, and has an open mic night in the works.

Lubaway says he also enjoys the opportunity to challenge people to make their days and lives a little better. "It's a great thing to do physically, to do the most that we can, work as hard as we can in class," he said. "Maybe off the mat we can do a lot of the same things...to challenge yourself and grow."

As for being back home, Lubaway says he sees a real push toward building out social and professional opportunities for young people who want to stay in the metro Detroit area or move back. From social events to mixers at area synagogues to staffing BBYO retreats, he says he likes to stay involved. "I like to give back when I can, and AZA did give me a whole lot when I was growing up," said Lubaway, who has fond memories of Greenberg AZA and regional conventions. "It's a great thing to be able to pass on."