Come and See (And Experience) Siena Heights!

Faith and belief.

As an Adrian Dominican Sister, that was what I arrived with when I stepped on campus for the first time as President of Siena Heights University a decade ago.

My faith in God. My belief in the goodness of people and in the Siena Heights mission. What else did I really need?

Well, as you might imagine, it wasn’t as easy as just praying and waiting for good things to happen. Our faith demands action, demands hard work, demands a commitment to doing what is right, then believing that God will work through you and others to accomplish your goals—and, of course, God’s.

The last 10 years at Siena Heights have been an incredible journey. The story a few pages over in this issue documents much of that journey, and all of the wonderful and amazing things that have happened during that time. However, allow me to use this column to offer some of my personal reflections:

• As President, sometimes I would lay awake at night, asking if we had bit off more than we could chew on some of these projects. I would wonder sometimes if we were going to be able to sustain it. However, I never doubted the direction. I know it’s a good direction. I believed it was going to happen. A little bit of anxiety is good. It helps us move on and do good things.
• You have to stick with what you believe in, to keep the course. And you have to stick to your mission. You don’t give up who you are and you don’t lose the sense of where you want to go and who you want to be. That’s why we are/were able to maintain the focus here at Siena Heights.
• People believe in our mission, and people believe in our students. We just tell the story. Some of our students have situations where they really have to struggle to get through school. They don’t have the kind of family who would be very supportive if you were going through hard times. We become their family in a lot of ways. I’ve had students in this office, just encouraging them. You can never give up hope and, thank God, many have succeeded.
• When we build something, everybody has done their best to give. The board has really stepped up with their giving, too. It all comes down to faith and belief. If you believe, it can happen. And we try to find the people who believe in us and who are willing to share the mission with us. I hope you are one of those people.
• For those who haven’t experienced Siena Heights in the past 10 years, you would be amazed. Come back and see! You will see new buildings on campus, a larger student body, new academic programs, many more activities, but, most importantly, you will see that the Mission is the same. It has been the continuity of Mission that has allowed us to grow and deepen as a community of believers in this wonderful University. Come and see; you deserve to have that experience. Cherish the education you have had, because so few in our world have the opportunity to pursue a higher education degree. We have been blessed, and it is always my hope that we now, in turn, will be a blessing to others.

Thank you for allowing me to serve as your President these past 10 years, and I look forward to a future filled with hope and promise.

Sister Peg Albert, OP, PhD
President