Welcome back to The Legacy Family Spotlight, a monthly feature celebrating Siena families whose connections to the University continue across generations. For the Belak-Salvi family, Siena has become more than just a school; it has been a shared experience that strengthened their bond as brothers, friends and cousins.
Brothers Logan Belak ’23 and Cole Belak ’27 along with their cousin Jake Salvi ’25 each found their own path at Siena, yet their stories are tightly intertwined. What makes Siena so special to them is the way it brought their family even closer. “Siena gave us shared memories outside of family gatherings,” Logan said. “It gave us a chance to spend time together in a different environment, meet new people who became mutual friends, and build a deeper friendship between us while still being close to home.”
Those shared experiences extended beyond campus life and into the classroom. All three of them studied Latin in high school, and continued that journey together at Siena by taking Latin Literature in Translation. Even more special, their professor was a familiar face for Logan and Cole, Jennifer Armstrong, who also taught them Latin as freshmen in high school. “It was great to reconnect with a teacher we both knew and have that unique shared experience,” Logan said.
For Logan, the academic and professional mentorship he found in Siena’s Computer Science Department defined his time on campus. “I was lucky to work closely with almost every professor in my department,” he said. “During my senior year, I worked with Dr. Teresco and Dr. Flatland on my honors thesis. That one-on-one collaboration made my experience, and especially my senior year, really meaningful.”
After graduating with a major in Computer Science and a minor in Business, Logan now works as a test engineer at Knolls Atomic in Schenectady, NY. Jake, who graduated with a Communications major and a Marketing minor, is a Financial Representative at Northwestern Mutual in Albany. Cole, the youngest, is currently a junior at Siena pursuing a double major in Communications and Forensics with a Business minor.
For the family, Siena has been the backdrop to new friendships, shared academic passions, and countless memories that continue to connect them. It is a place where their individual journeys overlap and where family bonds grow even stronger.