The first verse of Lauren Alaina's 2021 song "Run" ends like this: "...Like the blood in our veins, yeah we're all the same. We - Run." That song changed Kristian Fields' '27 life. He discovered we are, down to the blood in our veins, all the same. And Kristian wants to inspire us all to run.
In late summer 2023, days before his freshman orientation at Siena, Kristian tucked a note into his pocket, grabbed his cowboy hat, and headed to the Saratoga Performing Arts Center. Pentatonix was the headliner that night, but Kristian was there to see Lauren Alaina, a singer, songwriter and runner-up on the 10th season of American Idol. It would have been improbable to think he'd actually be able to deliver the note, but on the off chance, he wanted her to know this (excerpt from the note):
"In the future, I will use your music to inspire everyone to chase their dreams. In your words, no matter where I am going, or where I'm from, I'm born to run towards my challenges."
Before the concert, by sheer luck or perhaps cosmic interference, Alaina's guitarist, Adam Hernandez, stopped Kristian to compliment his shirt. Kristian, with an unexpected opening, asked Hernandez to pass along a note to his boss. Later, after their set, Hernandez spotted Kristian about 11 rows deep and hopped down off the stage. He wanted to let Kristian know that Alaina read the note and she was touched. Kristian says he used to shy away from people and social situations because of his autism. But he found courage in Alaina's encouragement, and days after the concert, Kristian walked onto Siena's campus a different person.
"I realized that being friends and starting conversations has its benefits. Siena is a very special place. It's easy to make friends here."
Kristian might be the most popular sophomore on campus. He's got a fist bump for anyone and seems to know everyone. But he doesn't want to just be known, he wants to inspire. Kristian's never taken a voice lesson in his life, but the self-taught singer, emboldened by his interaction with Alaina's guitarist, recently performed the national anthem at both a Siena women's and men's (above) basketball game.
"My first time performing the anthem at MVP Arena was amazing. After my performance, all of my friends, especially from the women's soccer team, the women's lacrosse team, the women's swim and dive team, and the water polo team, they were all applauding for me."
Music has the power to inspire, but policy can affect the greatest change. That's Kristian's next frontier. The political science major is the senator at large on the Student Senate, and he hopes to pursue a career as a public servant. In fact, he'd like to be president of the United States one day. He's gaining an education in leadership through his work study job in President Seifert's office.
"The staff is very courteous and helpful. I'm learning a lot and the experience has been amazing.
I'm very concerned about the country's path. I want to do something for everyone. I have friends with conflicting political beliefs. In my eyes, it doesn't matter. What matters is the quality of the person. Elected leaders should be solving problems in their communities that make the lives of everyone better. That's what I want to do."
But to be elected, the first thing you need to do is... Run.
"Kristian has an enormous heart and an incredible talent – and I’m so glad he’s sharing both with the Siena community. He’s a tremendous asset to my office, and I have no doubt he’ll make a huge difference someday in his community and beyond. In fact, he’s already making an impact at Siena as a friend to everyone and an advocate on the Student Senate. As for his musical talents, the crowds at both basketball games, myself included, were blown away by his singing."
Chuck Seifert, Ph.D., President