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Iranian Jewish Life in Los Angeles: Past and Present

Saba Soomekh, Author

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Elaine Daneshrad: Contributing to the community


Daneshrad believes that by increasing her influence online and working with well-known American-based brands and companies, she has helped to advance the idea among general society that Iranian Jews are not limited, in terms of their career opportunities, to professions such as medicine, law, or dentistry. Across the nation, Fashionlaine followers of different cultural backgrounds look to Daneshrad as a fashion icon and consider her blog a major part of their lives.
While she did not have formal mentors in the community she could approach for job-specific advice, Daneshrad has also become a mentor among young and aspiring bloggers. Although the field of public relations and social media can be a difficult business in which to flourish, Daneshrad has encouraged the people she mentors to “go for it, do not overthink it, do not let anyone’s opinion affect you. You are your number one supporter and once you believe in yourself, everyone else will as well.” Moreover, she has emphasized the need for newcomers to maintain a support system, much like the one she found in her friends and family, who told her to persist with her media work even when business was slow.
Daneshrad hopes to continue to spread her message of loving oneself in the future. “I want to make my blog…[more] inspirational for people…not about fashion, necessarily, but more so [a blog] to inspire people about anything they are feeling lost about.” She also hopes to share that message with college students offline because, as she describes, “When I was at UCLA I felt very lost. I hope that in the five, ten [or] fifteen years, I can be speaking at different schools…and making my career more of an inspirational [one].”
Even as her career has blossomed, Daneshrad remained committed to her Iranian Jewish heritage and values. In college, she was a student leader at Hillel and also worked there for some time. She continues to observe the Sabbath, along with her family, refraining from work for a day in accordance with Jewish tradition. Daneshrad’s family has maintained this custom for decades, yet her workplace has often found it difficult to imagine someone taking a daylong break in an industry that seems to never cease working. She often captures her religious observances on camera and includes them in her social media updates, thus fusing her two passions and helping colleagues and followers understand the centrality of religion in Daneshrad’s day-to-day life.
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