Thanks to a schedule loaded with volunteer activities and community outreach – not to mention outstanding work in the classroom – Jonathan Limey ’24 has received a state award for his dedication to helping others.
Limey, a social work/religious studies double major, accepted the award for Social Work BSW Student of the Year on October 19 at the annual conference of the New York State Social Work Education Association (NYSSWEA) held in Saratoga Springs.
While at the conference, Limey and other social work students and faculty from across New York state attended sessions on topics such as anti-racist pedagogy, self-reflection as a means of helping others, facing racial injustice in the social work practicum, and research as a tool of activism.
He was nominated for the state award by Siena’s social work department, who praised his hard work and dedication to social and economic justice.
Cynthia Bott, Ph.D. associate professor of social work, has worked with Limey as his advisor and professor since he entered the social work program as a freshman.
“He is one of the most warm-hearted persons I have ever met and genuinely cares about others and the world we live in,” said Bott. “He gives me hope for the future.”
Elisa Martin, Ph.D., associate professor, said of her student, “Jonathan is committed to his studies and also dedicated to important causes on campus. He embodies social work and Franciscan values in all that he does.”
Davina Mayo-Dunham, MSW, program coordinator of the social work department, worked with Limey last year to oversee his internship placement at Schenectady Inner City Ministry (SiCM).
“His supervisor, Thomas Schofield, who is the manager of food justice initiatives and pantry operations, sang Jonathan's praises as Jonathan passionately brainstormed, created and implemented different mechanisms to meet the needs of their clients,” said Mayo-Dunham. “It was through this work that Jonathan had expanded his passion for spreading awareness of food insecurity and organized a panel event and food drive on Siena's Campus. Jonathan has a strong commitment and dedication to helping others and will be an amazing advocate in the field of social work.”
Limey originally heard about Siena’s social work program from a friend; it appealed to him because of its broad scope including clinical work, administration and policy.
“It’s a great general degree,” he explained. “You learn about working one-on-one with clients, about developing policy and getting laws passed that can help people, and about running agencies and departments. It’s important to remember overall that social work is not about numbers; it’s about people, real people who are impacted by what you advocate for.”
He added, “I am beyond grateful for the social work program and for Siena. It feels like a home to me; somewhere I am supposed to be.”
Limey’s list of extracurricular activities is lengthy and impressive. As vice president of the Siena chapter of Active Minds, Limey has helped organize events like Send Silence Packing, suicide awareness workshops, and small but special projects like posting a motivational quote in every classroom. As Peace Action treasurer, he has focused on raising awareness about global peace and international relations. He has served as a community assistant for three years, offering support to students in crisis and organizing community-building programs, drawing on his training as an emergency mental health first responder.
Together with his friends Parker Taft ’24 and Zach MacCollum ’24, Limey co-founded the Food Committee to give Siena students a voice in their own food and dining experience. This has led to amendments to meal plans, and a wider availability of the types of food served on campus. He is also a director of music in the chaplain's office, assisting in music selection, and leading the congregation in song weekly.
Off campus, he has worked with numerous local non-profits, including with state government to document the way schools handled child care during COVID-19, and with the Food Pharmacy for Catholic Charities. He also assisted the West Hill Refugee Welcome Center in forming a coalition of nonprofits; and volunteers with the American Prison Writing Archive of Hamilton College.
One of his most involved outreach efforts has been working with the food service programs of the Schenectady Inner City Mission (SiCM) to create a dietary restriction-focused bag program, conduct warehouse inventory, serve food to those in need, document nutritional information and organize a successful food drive at Siena. He hosted an educational panel that featured local leaders from the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York, SiCM, the Free Food Fridge Initiative, and more. This led to increased awareness of food insecurity and drew attention to partnerships between different non-profits in the area.
At his field placement this academic year, Limey has been working with students at Columbia High School in East Greenbush. He connects with special needs students to help them develop life skills, and reaches out to the larger student body to help them work through personal issues through goal-focused conversation.
After graduating from Siena next May, Limey plans to go on to earn his master’s degree in social work (he’s currently exploring possible programs) and hopes for career in social work policy writing or administration, possibly at the national level.
“The social work faculty here at Siena have been amazing in helping me prepare for a career by emphasizing a person-centered approach to social work and the importance of self care. They help students understand their motivation for pursuing this kind of selfless work, and for learning to acknowledge that although you may not be able to understand exactly where someone is coming from because you don’t have the exact same life experience, you can certainly understand their feelings so you can help them through their situation.”