Community Assistants are responsible for their residents, but the community assisting extends far beyond their floor.
CAs arrive on campus a couple of weeks ahead of their residents primarily for training and orientation, but Community Living also carves out time to allow these Saints a chance to do what Saints do. On August 22, the student leaders participated in Siena's annual CA Service Day. The community assistants and staff lended their time and passion across four different volunteer sites:
Albany Barn
The CAs repainted the theater area for an upcoming gala. They removed staples from canvases to either repurpose them or ship them to other artists around the country.
Capital Roots
The Saints cleaned out their green house and weeded the front lawn.
Patroon Land Farm
The CAs harvested their cabbage patch to provide food for the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York.
St. Bernardine of Siena Friary
Sixteen students worked with the Siena friars to clean up and harvest the garden at the friary. They laid mulch, built a compost bin, and weeded the garden.
"I think CA service day is important because we are giving back and engaging with our community. It shows us the value of work that each member puts into their role within the community. My favorite part of the experience was getting to spend time and build relationships with new people, while simultaneously seeing the hard work and dedication it takes to build a community."
Parker Thomas '26
"I think that Siena including a service day as part of CA training shows its commitment to the community and people around us, along with the importance of understanding the DORS (diversity, optimism, respect, service) values by experiencing them in action. Siena wants the CAs to believe in the mission as much as they do and become some of the best people to help carry it out in this college."
Stephen Heerey '26
"I honestly loved working with everybody. The Community Living family is the most supportive staff I've ever been a part of. It was super fun to be able to hang out with people that are not on your building staff, and use that time to better the community in addition to talking to those who run each site. I personally loved hearing from Fathers Bob and Greg about their work with the Friary garden and how it has grown."
Jessica Motta '25