KU Honors Chabad House With Two Recognition Awards

Each year, the Student Involvement and Leadership Center (SILC) at the University of Kansas curates a recognition program aimed at recognizing the hard work of student leaders and student organizations on-campus.

There are over 600 student organizations at the University of Kansas and many groups and programs were nominated for various different categories. From the many nominations, the award committee chooses each year the top Student organizations who are recognized as the student group of the year.

“I was told that Chabad was nominated for an award…I had no idea that we were nominated for two of the five awards,” Senior Suzi DeLay shared. “We won two of our nominations, and we were the only organization to take home two awards. Winning these awards made me not only feel proud that I am a part of the leadership committee at Chabad, but it made me proud to be Jewish. We earned these awards for going above and beyond with what we do and I couldn’t be more proud to call myself a Jewhawk!”

Out of the various awards given out, KU Chabad won two of them. The first award won was recognized as the Student Organization of the Year, acknowledging the positive impact that Chabad has on the entire student body. In addition, Rabbi Zalman Tiechtel was chosen as the KU Advisor of the Year, in recognition of his tireless efforts to support the needs of students and members of the KU community.

Spencer Gibbs, a KU Freshman from Houston, Texas was among those who nominated Rabbi Zalman for this award. “Rabbi Zalman has always committed himself to work above and beyond to enhance the success of all of our activities and is extremely invested in every single thing we do. We all know that whenever we have any struggles whether related to our groups’ activities or in our own personal lives, he is always there for us through thick and thin. So many students and faculty in the broader KU community have benefited from his leadership and presence on campus. We are so happy he can give him the recognition he deserves”.

It was very exciting for the entire KU Chabad family to have the honor to take home these two awards. This speaks as quite a testament, not only to the work of KU Chabad Co-directors Rabbi Zalman and Nechama Tiechtel, but more importantly this recognizes the achievements of the student leaders who work effortlessly to make KU Chabad the successful organization that it is.

“It was such a great experience representing Chabad in receiving the Rock Chalk Recognition Awards. This award shows that all the work and passion and dedication of Chabad at KU really pays off and has a big impact on the entire KU community”, Shared Shayna Weinstein, a KU Chabad Student Leader and freshman from Chicago, Illinois.

When news of the awards began to spread, many KU students, alumni and parents took to social media to express their excitement for this great achievement. As KU Parent Cindy Rosenberg from Overland Park, Kansas expressed: “Mazal Tov for this great award and thank you for the love KU Chabad shares for all the Jewhawks! Your leadership and programming are undeniably the best!”

Mrs. Nechama Tiechtel, Co-Director of KU Chabad shared her thoughts on this wonderful honor, “We are so appreciative of the outpouring of love and kind wishes for our awards. However, the real winners are every single one of our dear beloved students, parents, alumni, and amazing financial supporters. It is each and every student who walks through the doors or engages with Chabad, even for a brief touch point, that makes our vision become a reality. No doubt that this award is only the launch of even more incredible growth for Jewish Life at KU!”

KU Chabad will continue its efforts to make sure every Jewish student knows that they have a home on campus. Rabbi Zalman and Nechama will continue to inspire hundreds that walk through the doors. And most importantly, Chabad’s student leaders will continue to plan programming, engage with students, and keep up their lasting impact.

“I think these awards attest to the Chabad Leadership Committee and all of the work we have done. I’m so glad I could be a part of this and hope Chabad can continue to have a positive impact on the community,” Weinstein said.