From the Alumni Association:

Mary Small Poore, President—Alumni Association Board of Directors

Falling in Love All Over Again

I am very excited to be the newest President of the SHU Alumni Association. After graduation, I stayed connected to Siena for nearly a decade before drifting away…life just seemed to get in the way. But in 2006, I attended Sister Peg Albert’s presidential inauguration—and I have been drawn back ever since. You might say I fell in love with Siena all over again. The more time I spent on campus, the more I remembered what drew me here in the first place: the people and sense of community.

If you attended Homecoming 2013, you know about the excitement on campus and the incredible happenings that continue here. I consider myself blessed to be a part of this growing university. As I reflect on Homecoming, I can’t help but think it is the culmination of many small, meaningful connections that made the weekend so spectacular. And these connections, in turn, are what make this a spectacular university. Let me share a few observations:

From the Editor:

The Quest to Be Better

My old college baseball coach used to say, “You get better or you get worse; you don’t stay the same.” That phrase has stuck with me through my professional career, including my time at Siena Heights University.

After nearly eight years and 15 issues of being the editor of Reflections Magazine, it was time to take a fresh look at what we do with the magazine. It was not an easy decision. The reader feedback we have received on the magazine has been overwhelmingly positive. In fact, there has been no clear evidence that we need to do anything different with the magazine.

So, why did we change? We recognize the University has changed quite a bit over the past few years, and we want to be able to change with it. Our readership continues to change (and grow), and today’s readers have different preferences and patterns. For instance, last year we added an on-line version of the magazine to allow our more tech-savvy readers to access content in a more mobile and convenient way.

Rays of Hope

SHU Volunteers Help Camp Sunshine Shine a Little Brighter

Several Siena Heights students and staff members gave up part of their summer vacation to give others a needed break from the concerns of a life-threatening illness.

A dozen or so from Siena Heights traveled by minivan to Casco, Maine, in July to work at Camp Sunshine, a nonprofit operation that provides a retreat for children who are battling life-threatening illnesses and their families.

SHU Dean for Students Michael Orlando (photos below) learned about Camp Sunshine three years ago and involved Siena Heights through the Siena Serves volunteer program on campus. Orlando, his wife, Becky, and SHU Director of Counseling Sandy Morley joined nine SHU students from varying backgrounds on the weeklong experience.

“(Camp Sunshine) lets the families be treated as royalty and loves them as much as possible,” Orlando said. “It’s a way for everyone to come together with a sense of shared understanding.”