A graduate student at Fordham University is reshaping the way we look at Jewish history with their new research project.

The Bronx Jewish History Project started as Sophia Maier's undergraduate senior thesis, but has now blossomed into a research initiative on campus. Maier is now the co-founder of the initiative and says this work hits very close to home.

"My dad's family was in the Bronx for as long as they had been in this country. He moved as a child and my mom grew up in the Bronx as well," Maier says. "I wanted to really capture what that experience was like and also why people left. The Bronx used to be the most Jewish borough in New York City, and now it's the least."

The research initiative aims to preserve the rich stories of Jewish people and their experiences in the Bronx.

"It's a predominantly elderly population, so capturing these stories now and holding them in perpetuity is just so important," Maier explains.

Maier is passing the torch of knowledge of Jewish history to the future generation of leaders as part of the university's annual summer programming. For Maier, the work has just begun.