Alumni
Our Alumni
Taylor Cohen, ‘11
Where do you live?
Miami, FL
What is your current profession and where do you work? How did you come to work in this field?
I currently work for myself as the co-founder and creator of Adashah, a soy-free, gluten-free, 100% organic lentil-based vegan protein alternative. With a background in organic farming and outdoor education, I took my culinary experience from my work teaching farm-to-table cooking and got a little creative in my own kitchen. I have always been passionate of achieving total health through nutrition, and wanted to create a vegan protein alternative without the soy, gluten, chemicals and preservatives, and be able to offer the world a clean, healthy and delicious protein source. After unveiling Adashah to the public at a vegan food festival in New York in 2016 and receiving extreme positive feedback, I started Adashah with the help of my siblings, Brandon Cohen (‘05) whose role grew into the role of business partner and Adashah co-founder, and my sister Stephanie (‘08) whose artistic expertise contributed to our designs and branding from day one.
What educational path did you follow? I attended seminary for one year at Baer Miriam Seminary in Jerusalem Israel. Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Yeshiva University Stern College for Women.
What is most rewarding about the work you do? What are the challenges? The most rewarding aspect of the work I do is that I am personally impacting people’s lives day by day by offering a food product that is completely clean, healthy and delicious…The biggest challenge is having to be accountable for my own self and putting in the gruesome work and hours every single day to make sure my passion project continues to grow.
What is one essential academic or life skill you honed at Scheck Hillel? In my time at Hillel, I always had the opportunity to be a part of something larger than academics alone. From sports teams to theater, my interests in what life and school had to offer were always growing which taught me to pivot in any scenario. Starting my own business was extremely unexpected, but knowing how to pivot from one life path to a new opportunity and step into a new role was something I learned throughout my 13 years as a Hillel student.
What is your advice for future Hillel students who might consider a career in your field? Don’t let anyone hold you back or tell you, you can’t. But most importantly, don’t ever tell yourself that you can’t. Do what you love, and work hard at it, because nothing worthwhile ever came without a hustle. And if you fall down, which you will, get back up and remind yourself that every minute is a new opportunity for success and happiness.
What is the last book you read/podcast you heard that taught you something you didn’t know before. The last book I read was The Four Agreements. The four agreements offered to live by are to be impeccable with your word, to never take anything personally, to never make assumptions and to always do your best. Self-development books have been my genre of choice, especially in a place in life where every day is a growing opportunity.
