Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Debates!

Those of you keeping up with the news realize what an intense presidential election we've got in front of us this year! I've been reading the news and trying to keep up with what's happening with the economy and the presidential candidates. Last Friday, I watched the presidential debate between McCain and Obama. They actually showed the debate on a projector screen in a room on the side of the dining hall. They had some snacks and chair set up. I went with a few of my friends. When I got there, I was surprised to see so many people I knew showed up. A lot of people were even watching it in their rooms and you could hear it on when you walked up and down the halls in the residential dorms.

It makes me happy to know that so many young people are taking advantage of their right to vote and are keeping themselves informed. There's another debate this upcoming week between the vice-presidential candidates which I'm also looking forward to.

Siena has also been providing students with forms in order to register to vote or to obtain an absentee ballot. I'm really glad the school is making it easier for students to vote and have their voice heard. I'm actually keeping an extra eye out for my own absentee ballot which should arrive soon in my mailbox. I made sure to stop by my town hall before I came to Siena and put myself on their mailing list.

So for those of you who are old enough to vote, I say go out and do it! Take advantage of your rights and help make America a country you can be proud of. And for those of you who cannot vote, make an effort to be knowledgeable about the candidates. I strongly believe this is an election which people will be talking about for years, especially with the state of our economy.



until next time,
Indira

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Something about the Author

Hi everyone,

I hope my blog finds you all in high spirits. So aside from my first blog and my introduction, what do you really know about me?

I figure if your going to be reading my blog, you should all get to know me. As you probably already know I am Patrick Creegan and I am a sophomore finance major here at school. I applied to Siena by using their fast forward application and found out about my acceptance in early November of my senior year. I was accepted to numerous schools but I just knew Siena was for me. I love it all, from the picturesque landscape of the campus to how every student holds the door for one another. I just felt that sense of community that I was looking for.

My favorite movie is the Godfather. And in the Godfather, Don Corleone says, "Do you spend time with your family? Good, because a man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man." I have always considered myself as a family man and as you may have guessed, freshman year I became very homesick. I made three awesome friends freshman year who I consider brothers. I'll never forget this one night we had together. We were all homesick and just wanted to be home. We all sat on the floor of my room and ate ice cream out of the carton and just talked about home. Those three friends are now brothers and my current roommates.

I was so nervous about moving into college and about making friends. But why do we go to college? Aside from advancing education, we go for a new beginning, a fresh start. We begin again. My new beginning has gone even better than I could possibly fathom.

And I know wherever your road leads you, you will find the same.

Until next week and to all of your success,

Patrick

Friday, September 26, 2008

Debating in the Rain

Well things are finally starting to settle into a routine thank goodness. Tonight I'm heading over to watch the presidential debate at our dining hall, affectionately known as "Saga." The political science faculty will be there to discuss the outcome of the debate and the issues relevant to the campaign. Speaking of elections, a new effort is underway at Siena to get everyone registered to vote. Whether or not that happens I don't know but its definitely a worthy goal. Our professors, particularly the political science professors, stress the importance of participation. So, if your 18, register and vote...or else...8O)

Looks like there's some rain in the forecast for this weekend. Sometimes that's a good thing, especially when work starts to pile up. Rainy weather is perfect for heading to the library on campus and getting caught up.

One opportunity I had this past week was to sit in on a law school class at Albany Law School. The class was constitutional law, one of my favorite topics. It was nice to get a look at what law school is from the inside. Its amazing how much information you cover in just one class period. In terms of workload the jump from undergraduate school to law school is said to be even greater than the jump between high school and undergraduate school. Another opportunity kids looking into law school have is a trip to New York City to talk to admissions counselors for various law schools in the Northeast. Being a junior its definitely time to start considering, even if you don't want to, life after Siena.

Until next time...

Mike DiSiena

"Angels can fly because they can take themselves lightly." ~G.K. Chesterton

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Ciao, Italia!!

So my big accomplishment of the week is that I finally finalized and submitted my study-abroad application for the Spring. I will be spending the semester in Siena, Italy. It's only appropriate that students of Siena College (in the US) would return to the motherland--Siena, Italy. This is the city where the visions of St. Bernadine and St. Clare of Siena laid the foundation for the founding of our College here in the US hundreds of years later.
Siena, Italy, is a small medieval city in the Tuscany region, about 3 hours north of Italy's capital, Rome. It is known for the signature style of architecture and traditional sienese food and wine. Siena is also known for the famous horserace, il Palio, held twice each year in the city center.
I will be living there for the semester with a Family (definitely kind of nervous about that) and attending classes taught in Italian (hmm...also kind of nervous about that, as well) but I am so excited and know its going to be an amazing experience.
Tons of Siena students study abroad during their college career. The Siena Office of International Programs is affiliated with universities all over from the world and students can choose from a variety or programs like London, Ireland, Spain, Russia, France, South Africa.....all over.

How is everyone doing with their college search process? Remember I am always here to answer not only questions you might have about Siena, but about the college search process as well (we all went through it!). I definitely recommend meeting with your guidance counselor (if you haven’t already) and work out a plan: identify your reach, match, and safety schools and start visiting and filling out applications!
Always feel free to leave me comments if you have any questions =)

“Ci Parliamo!”
(talk to you soon)

Greg

Foundations Trip

Hey everyone,

This last weekend was a blast. For all incoming freshmen, ya'll will have to take a required "Foundation Sequence" course for both semesters of your freshman year. Each Foundations class goes on a field trip, and depending on which teacher you get, you could be going to places like Montreal, Boston, NYC, etc... When i first caught wind of this I was so excited for our trip. I was pumped to take part in our little excursion; however, when i heard that our class was only going 40 minutes up the road to a farm and attending a harvest festival, all of my positive energy turned into a lame outlook. Why would i want to go to a farm when I live in Vermont? I practically live on one. Going into the trip my attitude was, not going to lie, terrible! I felt like I was wasting my perfectly good Saturday on a useless school function. However, little did I know the pointless afternoon I expected to be a part of turned into a wonderful experience. Yah, some of the things we talked about I already knew, mainly involving the animals around the farm, but the crops were very interesting. We were able to sample some of the veggies being grown. I tried veggies from cabbage to hot peppers, from sweet corn to broccoli. On top of learning about the plants and animals that are harvested each year upon the farm, we got to attend the Van Burren harvest festival. I know it sounds really lame, but there was a lot of neat stands and demos set up for us to learn about. Most kids decided to sit around and pout the day away, but I decided to look around. It was interesting to witness some of the displays. I learned about the process of making indigo, how to make alcohol, as well as butter, and I even got to see a cool duck herding demo done by dogs. (I know it sounds corny, but I love dogs so it was right up my alley =]) My experiences this past weekend taught me, in a way, not to be close minded toward new experiences. Just because you may think something will be lame or stupid, sometimes you simply have to give it a chance, and hey, you might even enjoy yourself!

Alright everyone, it looks like its time for me to head out. Talk to ya'll later. Keep it real!....

Josh Baillargeon

Sunday, September 21, 2008

whew!

Wowzers did this week fly! Sorry I'm late with the post guys, I've been super busy. This week was ridiculous with work, and this weekend has been even busier! The big event for the weekend is tomorrow though, which is Open House! Ambassadors, (the club run by Admissions which gives tours and things :o) ), is going to be in full swing tomorrow. Rumor has it over 500 families are coming to visit Siena! That's AMAZING! I can't wait to meet and greet all these new people, and try to show them that Siena is the school for them. (Hey, maybe one of those families is yours!) Anyway, so tomorrow is going to be a big day.
The work is starting to pile up, which is always a GREAT thing...NOT. Boo on work! Oh well, there is time to play, but the work must get done!
Both of my friends left to go abroad, and they both are LOVING IT! I really really REALLY want to go to the study abroad office soon and start getting information/applying. I really want to go to London, so hopefully all my hard work will pay off. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Okay bed time. Got to be up bright and early to do laundry...considering I'm running out of clothes. :-P Tootles!

PS- do you like the color/font? I wanna start changing it up a bit! Let me know!
PSS- if your by chance one of those families that come to open house (and your reading this), drop me a comment! I'd love to hear about your experience!

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Who doesn't love to dance?

Here at Siena, we have a Bhangra Team, which is a North Indian based dance team which competes. As of right now, I believe we're ranked #1 in the Albany region. I love to dance and have always wanted to join the team. However, I've always been worried about balancing dance practices with everything else that I do. But this year, I decided its now or never.

Last Friday I tried out for the Bhangra Team and guess what... I MADE IT! I was so happy when I found out. We have our first meeting this upcoming Monday. I've got a lot of friends who are already on the team, so I'm really excited. I think its going to be a great semester.

Here's a picture of the Bhangra team from last year.


- Until next time, Indira

Friday, September 19, 2008

This week I got to see some folks that I spent a large part of last semester with. This last Thursday were Mock Trial tryouts. Judge King, who carries the title of Siena Jurist in Residence, and Sonia Smelyanski, a local lawyer, both of whom are our coaches, came to campus to help the team out in recruiting new members so as to assemble this years team. After the tryouts some members of the team went to the local Olive Garden with our coaches to reminisce about last year. Earlier on Wednsday I went to 10:00 Mass in Hennepin Hall and caught up with one of my favorite friars here at Siena, Father Dennis Tamburello.

Along with catching up with some old friends I am, even in my junior year, meeting new ones. One club I have been asked to be a part of is Saintly Speakers. The Saintly Speakers is designed, in part, to help build up various student's oratory skills. This is especially important to me given that I am considering law school.

Speaking of law school I attended the semester's first pre-law society meeting. There, Peter Gormanly, a former District Attorney, spoke with the club about preparation for taking the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT). Anyone who plans on going to law school has to do very well on the LSAT. I think I'll go and study now.

Adventures at Siena

Whats going on ladys and gentes?,

Another week gone bye. Where does the time go? The beautiful aspect of college is that your always kept busy. Between classes, sports, clubs, chillen with the friends, eating and sleeping there isn't really much time to think. Don't get me wrong, there is certainly down time; however, there is always something to get done. Much of my days throughout the week are preoccupied by three courses, sometimes four in a day, followed by hockey at 8 30 at night. Most of the time i have only a few minutes in between classes for a bite to eat, then onto the next class. I don't mind it though. I'd rather be on the go than be bored and lying in my room all day. I need to be motivated because I'm easily distracted, on top of being the worlds greatest procrastinator! As a science major my time is designated to homework, homework, homework. Once I'm out of practice, it's straight to the books, which in most cases means late nights/early mornings. Even though you would think hockey would impede my performance in school, being on the team has actually improved my ability to do better in the classroom. Our coach is awesome. He keeps on top of us. If we add, drop or are struggling in certain classes, he is willing to help out and get us tutoring. He knows that grades are more important in the end than hockey. He values that we succeed both on and off the ice. The hockey team so far has taught me teamwork, time management, and allowed me the opportunity to meet thirty other great guys that go to school at Siena. It should be a fun hockey season and a great school year. It's already looking like a blast two weeks into school! Alright everyone, its about time for me to head out. Keep it real ya'll. Talk to you later.

Josh

busy busyyyy =O

Whats goin everyone. Hope you had a good week. My week was extremely busy. Between Delta Sigma Pi events, meetings for the College Audit Committee that I serve on, and the Career Fair on Wednesday, I’ve had to wear my suit like 4/5 days this week…intense. The career fair by the way was excellent; It was sponsored by the Accounting Students Association. About 15 accounting firms were here recruiting students for internships and jobs. I submitted my resume to a bunch of firms, and I have a few interviews pending-- so I’m very excited about that. My friend just accepted an offer for a full-time position after interning for the summer at PricewaterhouseCoopers, one of the “Big 4” accounting firms. I’m really excited for him, I’m hoping my combination of technical/educational training and relevant work experience will lead me to the same. The Career Center is a great resource on campus and they have been so helpful with critiquing my resume and providing some great interview and strategy techniques. One of my friends who graduated last year from another college was telling me he paid a service $200 to have his resume evaluated and critiqued. I was shocked…Siena kids get this service (and more) for free from the career center. They also have this awesome website called CareerSaint which is like Siena’s job and internship database. I can view open positions, submit my resume, and schedule an interview without going in for an appointment, right from my computer…pretty cool.
Anyways, I am definitely looking forward to relaxing a little bit this weekend despite the massive amount of homework I have lined up……good times (??)
Hopefully you will all get some time to chill out as well.
Have a good one-

Greg

Thursday, September 18, 2008

The Stars at Night are Big and Bright in the Heart of Texas

Hey everybody,

How are you? I hope this message finds you in all in high spirits. I am so sorry that I wasn't able to blog last week. I know you were all thinking of me haha. I was not able to post because I was away on vacation. HaHa, I know school just started and I took a vacation. My cousin got married and some of our family lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She is a news anchor for NBC in Tulsa. Her wedding was incredible however I am afraid I cannot get into to much detail on a Siena site haha. After the wedding, My older brother John and I went to Dallas, Texas to see some sights. It was an amazing weekend and just for the record, the stars are night were very big and bright in the heart of Texas. 

Anyway, classes are fully back into session. I am so happy to be back at school. My schedule is great this semester. I only have one class on wednesdays and none on fridays. I am very excited about one class in-particular. Recently. Pope Benedict declared this as the year of St. Paul. I am going on a Biblical Studies Tour to Greece over Christmas break. We are going for 19 days and we are going to see Greece the way St. Paul saw and wrote it. I am so pumped to go. 

I actually have to run, I have class in 10 minutes and I have to get ready. The perfect thing about Siena is that my class starts at 2:30 and I can leave my room and 2:25. I can't wait to talk to you guys again next week. 

Please pray that I get out of class early haha.

Love,

Patrick

Monday, September 15, 2008

First week recap

Hey everyone! This first week of school has been crazy, but a blast. All of the pre-college jitters are out of my stomach and I'm enjoying the whole realm of the college world. I was worried before school started that I wouldn't fit in, everyone would be in clicks, and being that I'm from way up in Vermont, I didn't think anyone would have much in common with me, but all my worries and anxieties came to an end quickly. My dorm is AMAZING! Our whole floor is made up of some of the nicest guys that you'll ever meet. We do everything together: chill in each others rooms, play football, even eat dinner as a group. I've found that as long as you make the effort to talk and get to know people, the social aspect of college will be cake. Homework on the other hand is a different story. Being that I'm a Biochemistry major, getting work done isn't as easy as making friends. A lot of time and devotion is spent trying to finish up assignments. I'm kind of jealous of my roommates being that their business majors (with little homework) and they're enjoying themselves while I'm learning states of matter, grinding out numbers, you know the whole bit. As you can tell I'm bit of a nerd. Along with meeting new friends and getting homework done, I've been searching for new clubs to join. Siena offers such a wide variety of them its tough to choose just one or two. I'm thinking of joining the Outdoors club since they plan to go white water rafting, hiking, and camping, all the things I love to do back home, as well as joining the Biology club. I was stoked to have made the hockey team this past week. I'm looking forward to a long season ahead! Well, I have to hit the books as we speak, so till next week. Keep it real.

-Josh-

Friday, September 12, 2008

heyyo..

So I can’t believe it’s the end of the second week. I am so busy; it feels like I never left in May..! This semester I am taking Cost Accounting, Taxation, Intermediate Accounting II, Operations Management, and Philosophy. I have tons of work for every class so time management is critical for me this semester. When I first started college I remember it took me a while to learn how to balance schoolwork, clubs, and friends. Anyways, in addition to all my classes I am actively involved with the business fraternity, Delta Sigma Pi. I am the head of marketing/promo so the first few weeks are always crazy busy for me recruiting new pledges. There are so many opportunities to get involved on campus and I think its so important. Last week at the annual first Friday block party in the Quad we had a club fair where every club and organization on campus was represented and had a booth to talk to interested students. Between clubs & organizations, sports, volunteering, student senate, student events board, there are so many opportunities for getting involved!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

AMC Picnic

As you may or may not know, I am a part of the Albany Medical Program here at Siena and today we had our annual picnic. It is a time where all students of the AMC program can gather for a meal, both students at Siena and at the Medical college.

As a junior, I am still getting used to the idea of last year's seniors being first year medical students. I miss seeing them around campus, (granted I still see them all the time because many of them choose to come back to Siena to study). I loved hearing about their first exam that they had at medical school. It is very reassuring that they are all doing so well. I'm so scared to start medical school, but excited as well. They won't let me forget that in two more years, that will be me.

We also got a chance to meet the freshmen in the program. They all seem really nice. Its certainly going to take some time for me to remember all their faces and names, but its a start. I can't wait to see how the semester turns out.

I'm so lucky to be in the AMC program here at Siena. It has given me a whole network of people who support me and can advise me. Even students who have graduated two years ago when I was a freshman still keep in touch. It really is like an alternate family.

Below is a picture from the banquet they held my freshman year.



-Indira

A Fun and Busy Week

So its already been over a week since I first arrived on campus September 1st. Its always great to see your friends again. I hardly can go outside without stopping to talk to somebody I know to catch up.

This year I'm living in Padua Hall. In my opinion its the nicest residence hall on campus. There's air conditioning, you get your own bathroom and, for those of us who are musically inclined, there is a grand piano in the lobby.

This semester I signed up for a hefty course load. I'm taking three political science courses: The U.S. Congress, Civil Liberties, and course on U.S policy regarding the War on Terror. I'm also taking two philosophy courses: Basic Logic and Philosophies of Love. Lastly, I'm taking macroeconomics. I've found all of the classes really interesting so far.

Aside from that we had the Club Fair last Friday. At the Club Fair most all of our clubs set up tables where incoming freshman and even some upperclassmen can sign up to be a part of the club. I was asked to sit at the Mock Trial club table and was excited to see so many people sign up. On top of that, today, we have the Volunteer Fair where students sign up with various organizations throughout the community to, you guessed it, volunteer. Volunteering is especially important to those of us in the honors program seeing how one of the requirements for completing the program are performing 100 hours of community service.

All in all its been a fun and busy week and I'm glad to be back in the swing of things.

Hello Everyone!

So, the first week of classes is already over!  I still can't even believe its sophomore year already...it's just crazy how fast time flies.  Anyway, the classes I'm taking this semester include: Survey of English Literature, Micro Economics, Spanish I, Acting I, and Religion and the Environment.  All of them seem to be pretty good, so I'm excited and hopeful for a good year! :o)

My friend Kevin came to visit this weekend, which was a lot of fun.  He is actually a student at Siena, but he's going abroad to Ireland.  He leaves the 18th, so it was really nice to see him before he left!  He will be missed A LOT though :o(  Ah whatever, more of a reason for me and all my friends to go to Ireland! :-P  

Speaking of going abroad, that is something I need to start seriously concentrating on.  I really want to go to England.  As of now, I have the grades, (and definitely the personality :-P)  so all I need is the "OK" to go!  Oh and I need to declare a major. BOO!  Ha-ha, oh well.  Coincidentally, my friend Liz is in England right now.  She is absolutely LOVING it!  Which is so awesome.  Ahhh I'm getting excited just thinking about it!

Alright kids, time for me to go and do some work, YAY! 
...not.  Ha-ha, talk to you later!

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Hey there!



Hey there! My name is Michael DiSiena, so it only seems appropriate that I would go to Siena College. I am from the tiny city of Mechanicville, located several miles north of Siena. I’ve really enjoyed my experience here so far. I am a junior pursuing a degree in political science and philosophy and plan on attending law school upon my graduation here. I am a member of the college-wide Honors Program which offers a range of educational opportunities and regularly participate in the Siena Mock Trial Team. I hope my time spent describing what Siena is for me will be beneficial to you!

Welcome!

Welcome! As your personal Siena blogger, I fervently anticipate spending time with you on a weekly basis so we can discuss my life at Siena College. I promise to share it all; the good, the bad, and the ugly. My name is Patrick and I am a sophomore and member of the graduating class of 2011. I am a Finance major who also follows the pre-law curriculum and I am from Long Island, NY. I am a very involved individual on campus. Currently, I am a member of the Student Conduct Review Board. I also serve on the Human Rights Committee; I am an Ambassador, Pre-Law society member and a Siena Saintly Student Speaker. I am your personal liaison into the college world. Come with me, and we will build a relationship that is much more than a current student to prospective student interaction. If there is anything I can do for you, please do not hesitate to contact me.
To your success in all your future endeavors,
Patrick

And will you succeed? Yes indeed, yes indeed! Ninety-eight and three-quarters percent guaranteed.
-Dr. Seuss

Hey guys and gals!



Hey guys and gals, my name is Josh and I am heading into my freshman year at Siena College. This summer has been filled with excitement and anxiety knowing that I’m leaving to be on my own in the fall. Currently I am an undecided science major; however, my gut is telling me that biochemistry will be my impending career. At Siena, I plan to play hockey, the game I’ve loved to be around since I was three. Huge Canadiens fan! “Go Habs Go!” I aim to become involved once again with student government as I was in high school, along with any other clubs or groups that seem appealing. I love to be active. I’m hoping my freshman year goes smoothly; the roommates and I get along, I stay focused on school, and get to know some of the stunning ladies on campus. I can’t wait to share my trials and tribulations at Siena, so you can have a better idea of some of the thrilling experiences Siena can provide you.

Excited for another year!


Hi everyone! My name is Lauren and I am a returning sophomore this year at Siena. I grew up in Huntington, on Long Island, but Siena is truly like a home away from home for me. I am currently Undeclared as far as my major, but am beginning to lean toward English. I am also involved in a wide variety of things on campus, some of which include the Ambassador's club, Dog Pound, and The Promethean (our school newspaper). I am so excited to start my sophomore year at Siena, and I’m so glad I will be able to share it with you!

Hey Everyone!


Hey everyone, my name is Greg and I am a junior Accounting major from Westchester County, New York. It’s hard to believe I am in my 3rd year here already. Siena has become a second home to me and I have thoroughly enjoyed my college experience thus far. I'm so excited to be back this fall for part 3. Aside from academics, I am involved in a plethora of clubs and organizations, one of which is Delta Sigma Pi, Siena's professional business fraternity. In the Spring I will be spending the semester abroad in Siena, Italy. I am so excited for this and I know its going to be an amazing experience. I’m excited and enthusiastic to be blogging for Siena this year and sharing with you my experiences as a Siena student.