Rabbi Isabel de Koninck
Drexel Hillel Leadership Award Honoree
Rabbi Isabel de Koninck has served as Executive Director and Campus Rabbi for Hillel at Drexel University since 2010. Complementing her role as Drexel Hillel’s Executive Director, Rabbi de Koninck regularly serves as an adjunct University instructor, teaching courses such as Civic Engagement 101, the Contemporary Queer Jewish Experience, and Great Works: Harry Potter as a Sacred Text. A native of Montclair, New Jersey, Rabbi de Koninck is a graduate of Brandeis University, and received rabbinic ordination from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, where she also completed a graduate certificate in Jewish Gender and Women’s Studies in a joint program with Temple University. Rabbi de Koninck previously served as Director for Israel and Intercampus Initiatives at Hillel of Greater Philadelphia and as Rabbinic Advisor to Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges. She is a proud alumna of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship, and a member of the Mandel Foundation’s Executive Leadership Cohort IV. Beyond her work at Hillel, Rabbi de Koninck currently serves on the boards of Reconstructing Judaism and Tribe12.
Rabbi de Koninck’s passion for Jewish life starts with the belief that Judaism is a relevant and inspiring framework for engaging the daily opportunities and challenges of today’s world. While her personal roots are in progressive Jewish community, her experiences with Jewish pluralism as an undergraduate and as a part of the Wexner Graduate Fellowship have affirmed for her that there is a mode of Jewish practice and identity for each person who seeks one, and that the diversity of Jewish expression is an asset to Jewish community and the Jewish future.
At Drexel, Rabbi de Koninck is most excited by the start-up energy embodied by the University’s commitment to entrepreneurship, and by Drexel’s passion for using the talents and skills of all of its community members to solve today’s biggest civic challenges. She is eager to meet each Jewish student and stakeholder, learn their story, and help them to discover their own pathway into Jewish living, learning and leadership.
Student Exemplar of Excellence Awards
Student Exemplar of Excellence Zoe Kronish ’25
For the last two years, Zoe Kronish has overseen our inaugural prospective student recruitment program as our Drexel Hillel Admissions Ambassador. From coordinating tours to attending open houses to communicating with families, almost every new Jewish student who attends Drexel has spoken with Zoe. She is the first friendly face our prospective students see when they visit and a reassuring, welcoming asset to our current and future Hillel community.
Student Exemplar of Excellence Cameryn Thaler ’24
Even though her first term at Drexel was virtual due to COVID, Cam Thaler jumped into Drexel Hillel immediately through attending first-year Zoom programs and learning fellowships. She helped spearhead our newest prayer community at the time, “Soulful Shabbat,” and eventually became our Jewish Student Association Co-President in 2023. Her most memorable achievements were planning a Purim Prom, and her beautiful chanting of the kiddush during many Hillel Shabbat dinners. In her role, Cam has gone above and beyond in supporting the Drexel Hillel community over the past four years.
