From the Alumni Association:

Be Part of this Incredible Time at Siena Heights!

Michael Lane ’05, President, Alumni Association Board of Directors

The night before I planned to write this column, I came home to my New York City apartment and found a card in the mail from SHU English professor Sr. Pat Schnapp, reflecting on what it meant to her to become an Honorary Alumna of Siena Heights at last year’s Homecoming.

Nothing in recent memory has brought such a smile to my face. How appropriate it was—since I was already planning to write about Siena’s effect on me over the past 13 years—to find this card from a long-time faculty member and recent alumni award winner in my mail.

It says so much about the Siena community that, almost 10 years after my graduation, I received a letter from Sister Pat. And that I had dinner recently with Doug Miller ‘74, another recent alumni award winner and chair of the theatre department, while he was in New York. And that, for the past few years I have had a constant online Scrabble game going with my acting mentor, professor and friend Mark DiPietro ’83.

In New York, I meet many people who have had great training in whatever they studied; but when I tell them about my experience at Siena, they grow jealous. Siena Heights is unique in the sense of community it provides, even long after graduation. Years, or decades, after you walked across the commencement stage, you still have a home at Siena. Even if the faces in the halls have changed, you can always stop in or pick up the phone and find someone ready to welcome you with open arms. No matter when you enter Siena, you will, for life, be a member of the community.

From the President:

The Siena Way

This year has been somewhat of a somber one so far at Siena Heights.

In 2013, we have experienced an unusual amount of deaths in the extended Siena family. Some have hit very close to home, like the passing of longtime art faculty member John Wittersheim, who lost his fight with cancer in March. Before that was the tragic loss of custodian Linda Guzman, who was killed in a freak automobile accident. Both were fixtures on the Siena campus, and we still are mourning their loss.

There have also been a string of passings to family members and friends in the Siena community. Most seem to have occurred one right after the other. Factor in the chill of winter lasting a bit longer than usual, and it wasn’t hard to see why many were struggling to find the “silver lining” in the gray clouds that seemed to be hovering over campus.

From the Editor:

It’s All the Way for Ray

Though my waistline tells a different story, I like to think of myself as a regular visitor to the Dawson Fitness Center on campus. One of the job perks is using our fitness facilities to work out the stresses of the day.

Most of the time I share the space with many of our student-athletes, who (hopefully) tolerate my presence. I’m sure they often wonder why I waste my time. Oh well. However, I do get a chance to even talk to a few of them from time to time. One of the things I’ve learned is I don’t call our 6-foot-9, 250-plus pound basketballer “Vinny.” It’s “Vince.” Yes sir, Mr. Schantz.

But most of the time, I silently observe our student-athletes go through the process of maximizing their potential. There was one in particular who caught my attention a couple of summers ago. He was a big guy, probably a football player, I thought. His name was Ray.