From the President:

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:

From the President:

Becoming Our Authentic Selves

Heartfelt greetings from Siena Heights University!

The theme chosen for this academic year was authenticity. The freshmen read for the summer was “My Orange Duffel Bag: A Journey to Radical Change,” by Sam Bracken and Echo Garrett.

The theme of authenticity was quite prevalent throughout the book. Basically, a young man from challenging beginnings decides to be and become his true self through his own reflections, persistence and the aid of others. The students loved the book and could relate to it well. We also had some great presentations on authenticity at our Common Dialogue Day in late September. Students, faculty and staff all participated as presenters and/or participants.

When I think about authenticity, I tend to go to a spirituality of authenticity.
I ask myself many questions:

Is becoming authentic a process?
Who did God create me to be?
Am I striving to become who God created me to be?
Can I live in this world that calls all of us to be so many things and remain authentic?
How does prayer assist me in being authentic, and how does my membership in a community (in this case, the Siena Heights community) assist me in being authentic?

Rewriting the Menu

Jackie Corser Helps Open Farm-to-Table Restaurant in Monroe

After owning two Big Boy restaurants in the Monroe, Mich., area for many years, Jackie Corser ’14 and her husband, Fred, decided it was time to “rewrite the menu” of their business.

“We knew two years before (making a change) that we were going to change the concept into a more personalized owner-
ship without a franchise,” Corser said.

Before that change happened, however, she went back to school. She completed her associate’s degree from the culinary program at Monroe County Community College, then went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Siena Heights University’s MCCC campus. The Corsers sold one Big Boy franchise, remodeled the other, and partnered with George and Maria Darany to open the Public House Food & Drink in downtown Monroe. The revamped Big Boy is now a farm-to-table restaurant and bar that serves locally grown and sourced food.

“The concept was well-accepted by our community, as well as the outside community,” said Corser, who serves as chef as well as co-owner of Public House. “It was something in our hearts that we wanted to do, and so we were going to try it. … Because of all our experiences, we have the ability and all the restaurant experience to do something cool and creative. That’s how Public House was conceived.”