When you've loved something yourself, the enthusiasm can be catching. That has been the wind under Jennifer Hamilton's wings as she takes on her new role as youth adviser for Congregation B'nai Israel, the Conservative synagogue in Basking Ridge, a position she started on Sept. 1.

Working with CBI's 200-plus teenagers, this lawyer-turned-youth worker will oversee the development and strengthening of its Kadima and United Synagogue Youth chapters.

Kadima caters to sixth- through eighth-graders; USY serves teens in ninth through 12th grade.

As a teen living in south Florida, Hamilton was very involved in USY, serving on her chapter board. She went to Israel when she was 16 for eight unforgettable weeks with USY High, to participate in the Alexander Muss High School program.

She said she loved it all, and getting involved with the CBI youth has felt almost like coming home. "The place might be different, but the situation is essentially the same. These kids are exactly like I was in high school," she said, chatting by phone last week from the home she shares with her husband, Ian, in Lake Hopatcong.

She had just returned from a brief visit with her family in Florida, so the comparison was extra fresh, but in any case, her USY days aren't all that far behind her; Hamilton is just 25, though she has done a lot since then.

She came north to college, and after graduating from Rutgers University in 2003 with a BA in Jewish studies, she went on to earn her law degree from Northeastern University School of Law in Boston. Ten days before graduating from Rutgers, she was introduced to Ian, a fellow student and now a computer engineer with the United States Defense Department. The two got married a few months before she completed her law degree in 2006, and they are expecting their first child next spring.

After graduating from Northeastern, she worked as a certified legal intern at the Public Defender's Office Juvenile Division, and most recently, as a substitute teacher at the middle and high school levels.

During her interviews for the CBI job this past summer, a number of people asked her why, with a law degree, she wanted the job as youth adviser.

Hamilton's response was: "Why wouldn't I?"

More seriously, she said she enjoyed working in the Public Defender's Office, but with plans to start a family, she felt that working as a criminal defense lawyer would be too emotionally and physically draining. Eventually, she would like to teach criminal justice at the high school or college level.

"I wouldn't want to teach law students," she declared. "They're a pain in the butt. I remember what we were like."

The youth adviser position was just what she was looking for — a part-time position doing something she regards as really useful. "I'm excited about doing this," she said. "I like working with kids and having a good time with them."

It suits her, too, she said, that CBI's Kadima and USY programs, begun last year, are so new. "When I started with USY in Florida, our synagogue had only had the program for about five years. I know what is involved in helping a small group get bigger."

Hamilton is determined to see that her young charges have fun. Last week, just after her return from Florida, she took a contingent of 10 USYers to Madison Square Garden in Manhattan to see the Israeli basketball team Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv play the New York Knicks. The Israelis lost, but that didn't dampen the enthusiasm of the huge crowd of pro-Israel supporters.

"Jennifer Hamilton is a terrific addition to our staff," said CBI president Shari Lapa in a statement. "Her focus on teaching and creating a community for the children of this congregation will positively reinforce the importance of Jewish education, solidifying the future of CBI."