Youth Movement

Willis Sowle III Begins Dominican Young Adults Chapter at SHU

Willis Sowle III ’15 is part of a youth move-
ment happening on the Siena Heights University campus.

The junior Religious Studies major from Toledo, Ohio, attended a Dominican preaching in action conference in Chicago in May 2012. Soon after that experience, he had a revelation.

“As I began to engage in campus ministry in the fall, it seemed like there was a missing piece in the faith community on campus,” Sowle said. “I came to realize that we are a Dominican university, and a vast majority of the students and faculty haven’t really embraced that idea. (This) led me to the conclusion that we need a student organization that enlightens students to the truth found in Dominican life.”

In October, Sowle helped form a chapter of the Dominican Young Adults on the Siena Heights campus. The DYA has replaced Sojourn, the campus ministry youth group that previously existed. He said the learning about the Dominican tradition and heritage has been a process.

From the Alumni Office:

My College, My University, My Siena!

Jennifer Hamlin ChurchAssociate VP for Advancement & Director of Alumni Relations

Homecoming 2013: What a weekend! Hundreds of alumni came back to campus, the rain stayed away, there were reunions of all kinds—classes, cheerleaders, sorority sisters, fellow semester-travelers to Italy, baseball players. Read all about it in this issue of Reflections.

We work all year on Homecoming and when it’s over, I’m always in a reflective mood. That was especially true this year, because I was honored to be one of your 2013 alumni award winners. Standing on the awards stage at the start of Homecoming gave me a new perspective on Siena. So this seems a good time to talk about my work and why I am so grateful to be at this place.

My job is all about building relationships: inviting friends and alumni (you!) to reconnect meaningfully with the school you once attended. Sometimes, alums are concerned that today’s University seems different from the college they attended 20, 30, 50—or 5—years ago. And it is different: There are new buildings. There are men. There are no uniforms or room inspections, no mandatory Mass. There are students who never set foot on campus. Depending on when you attended Siena, any or all of those differences might be jarring.

From the President:

Success Comes in Many Forms

What’s your definition of success? In higher education, it may depend on the person whom you ask.

If you’re asking those in government, then it may be about student outcomes and the educational value that a college or university provides its students. I’m happy to report that over the summer Siena Heights was listed in several surveys that cited SHU as being a good return-on-investment. I certainly count this as a success story and reaffirms what we are doing as an institution. You can read more details about these honors in this issue.

For our students, I’m sure the answers will be all over the board. Many gauge success on what kind of grades they receive in the classroom. Others on the success of their athletic or extracurricular endeavors. Of course, we hope all of our students measure success when they are holding their diplomas in their hands!

For our faculty, staff and administration, their success is directly tied to our students’ success. It is our mission to see our students become more competent, purposeful and ethical during their time at Siena Heights. We want our students to not only become successful in their future jobs and careers—but also in their lives. Our Catholic, Dominican tradition mandates that we prepare our students to be agents of change in the world. We want them to help transform the world for good. And that’s a success story by anyone’s definition.