News

As the fall semester concluded, economics major Felipe Rasmussen Petterle ’14 made history. He became the first student to graduate with a dual degree from Siena College and FAE Centro Universitario in Brazil.

As a promising high school student from New York City, Ben Velazquez ’93 had his choice of colleges to attend. He had offers from a number of schools, including Syracuse University, Rochester Institute of Technology and Siena College. During his trip to Loudonville, he met Carol Sandoval, director of Siena’s Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP), who interviewed him and toured him around campus.

When it comes to campus safety, Siena College makes the grade. According to the website SafeWise.com, Siena gets an “A.” The College was listed along with the University of Notre Dame, Colgate University and Juniata College as one of the safest college campuses on The SafeWise Report. SafeWise helps consumers gather information about safety and security products.

Students in Assistant Professor of Computer Science Sharon Small, Ph.D.’s computer science class gained hands-on experience creating robots that could perform tasks on command. Their creations were the stars of this year’s RoboShow, sponsored by the Computer Science Department and Institute for Artificial Intelligence.

The Noon Book Review at the Sanford Library in Colonie, New York provides a venue where local experts and members of the community can discuss and discover new books together. In the past, a number of Siena faculty members have participated in the program. Last week, Siena College history students made history themselves by becoming the Noon Book Review's first student guest speakers.

For days, Taryn Dwyer ’16 was uncertain if her family survived Typhoon Haiyan, the devastating storm that slammed the Philippines last month. According to the United Nations, it killed more than 5,230 people. Dwyer was worried about her grandmother and two uncles who live in San Carlos City and her cousins in Cebu City. Finally, her cousin DJ found Wi-Fi and sent a Facebook message to her sister Krista, saying that everyone in the family was okay.

For Siena students, living the Franciscan tradition means trying to make a difference in their world. For some, “making a difference” hardly scratches the surface. Students in the Peer Education and Empowerment Program, known as PEEPs, are committed to educating fellow students about sexual and relationship violence, which will enable them to become active bystanders in the College community.

Siena students studying business have been bolstering their resumes this semester by excelling at the National Sales Challenge, participating in finance competitions on Wall Street and selling hockey tickets. Their hard work and success is making employers take notice.

Old adages like “the truth shall set you free,” and “honesty is the best policy,” are common American phrases. Still, Siena College students have been learning that some countries will go to great lengths to keep the truth hidden. Students were given a first-hand account of the implications of those cover-up efforts from Eduardo Gonzalez, director of the Truth and Memory Program at the International Center for Transitional Justice.

Siena’s Pre-Law Society hosted "A Panel Discussion on Law and Justice" with two dynamic guest speakers: Albany County Assistant District Attorney David Rossi, and Siena’s Distinguished Jurist-in-Residence Hon. Patrick Monserrate, a retired Supreme Court Justice of New York and former Broome County District Attorney.