After six years at KU Hillel, Executive Director Suzy Sostrin is finishing her time there and moving to San Diego, California, where she will become the executive director of Camp Mountain Chai, a pluralistic Jewish summer camp.
“Over the last 15 years working for the Hillel movement in California, Oregon, Oklahoma and Kansas, I have had firsthand experience seeing the transformational power of Jewish summer camp,” Suzy Sostrin said. “So many of our students experienced their first sense of truly belonging at Jewish summer camp. They bring that ruach and joy to Hillel and beyond because of the impact camp made on them. Jewish summer camps and the Hillel movement are both grounded in investing in the future of the Jewish community.”
Over the last six years, Sostrin launched a variety of initiatives at KU Hillel. She piloted award-winning mental health and wellness work which started with a partnership between KU Hillel and Jewish Family Services of Kansas City, which provided free therapy appointments for any Jewish student who needed it. By bringing a licensed therapist to the Hillel each week, students had the opportunity to work on mindfulness exercises and stress-relieving techniques during Wellness Wednesday programs and seek out individual counseling.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, therapy went virtual, and many students were still able to have much-needed appointments and support. This helped students who struggled during the upheaval of the pandemic. Now, it has expanded further to include peer mentorship programs to help train the tightly knit student community on supporting other students.
“I felt so alone in a new town, but Suzy introduced me to other Jewish students,” Kate Jacobs, a recent graduate of KU, said. “Throughout my time at KU, even during a global pandemic, Suzy remained a constant for me. Her support and encouragement over the last four years will forever impact my life. I hope to one day emulate her kindness and empathy.”
Sostrin’s leadership at KU Hillel led to one of her biggest accomplishments to date: Moving KU Hillel to its new location steps from campus. The new location on the first-floor commercial space of the HERE apartments has led to increased engagement with students. Students drop by for coffee, work on homework between classes, and spend time together before and after weekly events. With over 3,000 square feet of programming space, staff has held numerous Shabbat dinners, Jewish learning classes, and creative social programs there.
“KU Hillel has been incredibly fortunate to have Suzy as a leader for these past years,” said Lon J. Lowenstein, KU Hillel board president. “Because of her leadership, KU Hillel is a strong and vibrant student organization, and she has set us up for success in our exciting new home.”
Her accomplishments are clear through the impact she has made on students. For freshman Evyn Gadd, Sostrin welcomed her on her very first day at KU and continued this entire year.
“She always made me feel welcomed, heard and special, and she will always have a place in my heart,” Gadd said. “I am beyond sad that she is leaving, but I know she will do incredible things at her new job. We will all miss her so much, and she has touched so many lives here at KU Hillel.”
As an intern at KU Hillel, Hannah Smuckler worked directly with Sostrin and the staff team every day. Smuckler feels lucky to have built a relationship with her.
“Every time I walk into Hillel, I know I’m about to be greeted by a huge smile and questions about my day — it’s why many of us call her ‘our matriarch,’” Smuckler said. “She has impacted us so positively, and I feel very fortunate to have gotten to know her during her time here.”
Many of KU Hillel’s alumni now work as Jewish professionals or lay leaders in Kansas City or across the globe, including Jake Niefeld, a first-year Springboard fellow at the University of Connecticut Hillel and recent graduate of KU.
Niefeld said that Sostrin made him feel like more than enough and expressed the intersectionality of his Korean and Jewish heritages while at KU Hillel.
“If I can be half the Hillel professional that Suzy is, my career will be an overwhelming success,” Niefeld said. “The kindness, dedication, and passion that she has shown for years is something that I admire and will miss — People say ‘surround yourself with people who make you the best version of yourself,’ and being around Suzy for the past four years has made me the absolute best version of myself.”
