Yehezkiel Barnet | Computer Science, 2012
From one of the first Haredi students to pursue Computer Science at JMC to a career at some of the world's leading technology companies, JMC alumnus Yehezkiel Barnet has spent more than a decade helping open new pathways for others—both in industry and in the classroom.
Raised in the Haredi community, Yehezkiel entered higher education at a time when academic studies were still relatively uncommon in his world. Yet after marrying, he decided he needed to find a way to enter the workforce in a meaningful career path. Yehezkiel chose to enroll in the Haredi academic framework at Campus Strauss, beginning with an intensive preparatory program that enabled him to complete five levels of mathematics and English in a single year before starting his degree.
The journey was demanding. Of the 60 students who began the program alongside him, only 20 completed the degree. Yet the challenges fostered a close-knit community in which students supported one another and built lasting friendships.
An unexpected turning point came during his second year, when fellow students struggled in a required course and turned to Yehezkiel for help. Having mastered the material on his own, he began leading supplemental lessons for his classmates. The sessions were so successful that the college soon invited him to join its teaching staff. Upon completing his degree in 2012, he was asked to teach a course of his own—a role he has continued ever since.
Today, Yehezkiel works at Microsoft. Prior to joining Microsoft, he spent seven years at Intel, contributing to major technology initiatives and building expertise in software development.
One of his proudest professional moments came while working at Intel, when he collaborated on a complex technical challenge with a former student from his very first semester as an instructor. Together, they quickly solved the problem. Today, that former student is a department head at Mobileye—a reminder of the impact that education and mentorship can have across generations.
Looking back, Yehezkiel sees higher education as having transformed the opportunities available to his family and community. Today, academic studies are far more accessible within the Haredi world, and he is proud that his own children will have even more options than he did. His oldest daughter is set to begin studying Computer Science at university next year. His oldest son has been learning programming concepts from him since the age of ten. At the same time, one of his other sons has little interest in academia and may choose a very different path centered on lifelong Torah study. Yehezkiel embraces each of these choices. "Each child according to his own way," he says.
That philosophy guides much of his life. Higher education opened new opportunities for him, and he believes his role as a father and educator is not to choose a path for others, but to help them discover their own. Whether mentoring students at JMC, teaching future software engineers, or supporting his children as they pursue different futures, he is committed to helping others build successful and meaningful lives on their own terms.
We are proud to spotlight Yehezkiel Barnet—a member of the JMC alumni community whose career reflects innovation, mentorship, and a commitment to helping others find their own path to success.
