By Heidi Mae Bratt
Sometimes it takes the encouragement of just one person who believes in you and helps you envision your big and bright future to take your life from one place to another—a grand and spectacular vista.
Professor Dr. Esther David, an AMIT alumna, is the Deputy Director of the Department of Computer Science at Ashkelon Academic College. She has accomplished an enormous amount in her life thus far. At 48, she holds a prestigious academic position, has three advanced degrees—a bachelor’s, master’s, doctorate, and has completed a post-doctorate, all in computer science—is a mother of eight children, and a new grandmother. And, as a Torah-observant Jew, she has done it all while working five-and-a-half days a week.
But when asked, Dr. David, in her modest way, says that she simply made the most of her time and opportunities, and as a professor in a college located in Israel’s periphery, she tries to encourage her students to do the same.
“Life is not easy,” Dr. David told AMIT magazine. “When you become an adult and you have children and responsibilities, everything becomes much, much harder. Now, when students are free of these responsibilities, is the time for them to work and to put in the effort for their future.”
Dr. David got her first opportunity when she was 14 years old.
Growing up on Moshav Yad Rambam, located near Ramle, one of five children of parents who came to Israel from Morocco, Dr. David couldn’t have imagined the direction and trajectory of her life. Upon entering AMIT Ramle Lod High School, which no longer exists, she took an entrance exam and scored impressively high, especially in math, which was always a subject that she enjoyed.
“I always loved math and was very good in it,” she said. “I found it easy, although it wasn’t hard to be the best in the class in our area,” she said self-effacingly. “We had our entrance exams. The school had a new principal, David Kab. He was from Petach Tikvah. He called my parents to tell them that my score was very high on the exams, and that they should encourage me to go to a special program.”
“My father said, ‘Okay. I am happy, but where is the program?’ “
The program was at Bar-Ilan University, close to Petach Tikvah but distant from Ramle.
But Kab was confident that David’s parents would assent. “Esther comes from a very loving and supportive family. I know her parents well; their devotion to their children is outstanding,” he said.
“So, my principal volunteered to take me and three other students to the University. It was on his way back to Petach Tikvah. He actually exposed us to this program,” said David.
Explained Kab, “Towards the end of her time in middle school, I noticed that Esther was blessed with mathematical talent. I thought it would be a pity if she would need to wait and waste precious time in order to fulfill her potential. I knew there was a program for gifted students in Bar-Ilan, and I referred her there.”
There were 80 students who began the high school math enrichment program during their 9th grade year in high school. At Bar-Ilan, they took classes in pure algebra. The two years of preparation enabled them during their last years of high school, 11th and 12 grades, to take university-level courses. From the 80 students who began the program, Dr. David was among the six who completed it. What’s more, she was nearly halfway to getting her bachelor’s degree in computer science before she even graduated from high school.
Principal Kab, and his personal interest
and effort, made all the difference for Dr. David. “I remember Esther as a very good student academically. She also showed her good nature when interacting with her friends and teachers,” said Kab.
Explained David, “All the kids who live in Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan, or in the center of the country have many more opportunities than the other kids around the county. This is one example. He was from Petach Tikvah and he knew about the program, so he exposed me to it. Otherwise, I would have never known about it because I was from the periphery.”
When Dr. David graduated high school, she returned to Ramle Lod High School to volunteer there as her national service. Initially, she was set to tutor students, but wound up doing administrative work with her principal, helping with analysis for Bagrut and other logistical and technical work that was needed at the school. At the same time, she continued her studies at Bar-Ilan University. After high school was dismissed, she took three buses to get to Bar-Ilan. It was during this period that she completed her bachelor’s degree by the time her two years of national service was done. She was ready for her master’s degree and continued at Bar-Ilan for both her master’s and doctorate.
Dr. David also moved ahead on the personal front. She got married to Shlomo David, an accountant, and they began having a family.
“My husband was the one who encouraged me to get a master’s degree and a Ph.D.,” she said.
Her learning and advancement in computer science didn’t stop there.
Dr. David was offered a post-doctorate as a senior research fellow at the University of Southampton in England. With five young children in tow, she and her husband moved to England for three years, from 2003 to 2006, where she did research for her post-doctorate. At the time, her husband became a tremendous support, taking care of the children while she worked a 9-to-5-day with an additional two hours tacked on for commuting.
“When I went to the post-doc position in the UK, Shlomo left his work to stay home and take care of the children. He left accounting and is now learning in Kollel (advanced Torah studies). He got semicha (a rabbinical degree) and is now a rav.”
Their children include six daughters and two sons: Mevaseret, 24; Ahavatya, 22; Kitov, 21; Iska, 20; Aviya, 18; Tzofiya, 15; Oriya, 11; Pinhas, 9.
Five of their daughters are pursuing computer science or are already working in the field.
Is it genetic? Or is Dr. David just a great role model to her daughters?
“I think they are very determined and dedicated, work hard, and don’t give up,” she said.
Today, Dr. David is trying to pay it forward.
She began a program at her college to encourage high school students to take computer science and other classes at the college while still in high school. The effort has been challenging. Her largest recruitment was a group of seven students, and her daughter was among them.
“I try to tell the students, now is a great time,” she said. “You are so smart. Begin your academic studies now, before you even get into the Army. That way, when you go into the Army, you will have more opportunity and experience, and you will be qualified for a higher level position.”
She is not discouraged or giving up, even though the students are not rushing to take advantage of pushing their academic careers forward.
“Now, I am going to target the parents,” she said. “I am going to convince them to convince the students.”
As with computer science and math, Dr. David is committed to finding the right answer.
It was 34 years ago that a principal from an AMIT school took students from the periphery and gave them an opportunity that would determine their future. Today, AMIT does the same, bringing opportunities to students who live in the periphery. AMIT is still leveling the playing field.
Said school principal David Kab, “I enjoy keeping in touch with my former students who have become lovely grownups. I am proud of my students and what they have become, just like
Esther David.”
