Saints have a new place on campus to grab coffee or a bite to eat, and the whole operation is being run by students.
Siena is partnering with Saxbys, an education company that transforms campus operations into student-led businesses and high-impact learning environments, on an experiential learning café. Located in Casey’s in the Sarazen Student Union, the café had its grand opening on October 13 featuring Siena leadership, Saxbys representatives, and of course, free samples.
“The word ‘service’ appears throughout Saxbys' core values,” said Siena President Chuck Seifert, Ph.D., at the ribbon-cutting celebration. “That obviously resonates deeply at Siena.
“Our Franciscan tradition explicitly frames education around developing servant-leaders,” Seifert said. “We don’t just measure the value of our work in profit, but in our work’s potential to lift others up, and to positively impact those around us.”
A student was selected through a competitive process to serve as CEO of the operation. Jack Esposito ’28 is leading a team of 40+ student vice presidents and employees who are taking full responsibility for running the café. In addition to developing real business skills, they will be earning academic credit.
Rashmi Assudani, Ph.D., dean of Siena’s School of Business, said Siena strives to ensure that every single business student graduates with both excellent academic content and applied experience.
“The experience with Saxbys’ internships and job opportunities opens doors to develop entrepreneurial change-makers and socially conscious graduates,” said Assudani. “These experiences bolster our efforts to ensure student success.”
What business skills will the students be honing at Saxbys? Financial and operational responsibility, making decisions, solving problems, leading teams and serving customers are all on the agenda.
“These experiences are coveted by employers,” Assudani said. “They want to know how you can apply your academic knowledge. This is what experiential learning looks like at Siena: taking what happens in the classroom and putting it to work in the world.”
