1. I graduated from St. Lawrence in 2006 with a B.A. in history and Canadian studies. Yes, Canadian studies really is a major. I stumbled into it because of my First Year Program (similar to FYS at Siena!) which was a Canadian History & Economics course. At the end of my first year, I already had eight credits for a Canadian studies major so said "why not?” It's still a great conversation starter since people can't believe you can major in hockey & Labatt Blue!
2. My original plan was to be a high school history teacher... until my student teaching semester when I realized I wanted more than 40 minutes per day with my students. My mentor encouraged me to think about Student Life as a career field and from that moment, I've never looked back and have never regretted this career move.
3. I didn't get my first cell phone until I moved to Virginia in 2006. My friends at St. Lawrence used to tease me terribly about never being able to find me since if I wasn't in my residence hall room (with a landline phone!) there was no way to contact me. They used to prank me by calling my room phone and leaving up to 25 voicemails at a time to clog my messages. I was a CA at SLU, so I always had to listen to the messages to make sure it wasn't a resident trying to reach me.
4. Although I make it seem like I was a victim of pranks (see #3), I also was, and still am, a bit of a prankster. I got the guys who clogged my voicemail back in a few memorable ways, including moving a friend’s car to an off-campus parking lot, rearranging the furniture in another friend's room while he was away for the weekend (including taping his mattress to the ceiling), and changing a friends Facebook page (and password) to be a Baby Spice tribute page. There were other pranks I probably shouldn't share here!
5. I'm a big fan of routines/traditions. Every Friday night during my senior year of college, a group of friends and I would have dinner and drinks together off-campus to catch up on the week's events and gossip from campus, since I was gone every day for student teaching. Those weekly dinners became the foundation of friendships that have lasted for the past 15 years and have included vacations, weddings, babies, and all of the highs and lows that life has brought our way.
6. My four closest friends and I have made it a point to try to see each other in person every year since 2006. We're an eclectic bunch (a senior staffer for Sen. Chuck Schumer, a biochemist for a major research facility for neurological diseases, a city planner/designer, a college counselor for an international school and myself) and have had some amazing adventures in Boston, Cleveland, New York City, Washington, D.C., and other destinations over the years.
7. I love to travel. I've visited 29 states and have been to seven Major League Baseball parks and hope to visit a few more this year (once we get through COVID-19!). In addition to that, I traveled to France for three weeks while in high school for a foreign exchange program, I’ve been to Canada too many times to count, and I traveled to Nicaragua in 2018 as part of a Siena Serves immersion trip. I chickened out of studying abroad while at St. Lawrence, and it remains my only regret from my undergrad experiences.
8. Being on or near water is my form of relaxation. My parents have a summer place on Piseco Lake (near Speculator, NY) in the Adirondacks, and I spend most weekends in the summer there. Whether it's kayaking, jet-skiing, or going out on our boat, it remains the place where I go to recharge and escape. The fact that there is no cell phone service is an added bonus for relaxation!
9. The CAs on campus would call me out if I didn't include this one. My favorite movie is "Mean Girls." It remains both a comedy AND a documentary in my eyes. Unsurprisingly to those of you who know me, Damian is the character I relate to AND was the name of the first car I bought on my own.
10. I never expected to be at Siena for more than two to three years. I thought I would work for a couple of years as an RD and then move on to a new institution. Fortunately for me, I was at the right time and right place to be able to advance in my career. After my first year at Siena, the Assistant Director of Residential Life (now Community Living) opened up, and I was fortunate to be hired for that position. In 2014, the Director of Community Living job became available and again, I found myself in the right place at the right time. I am so grateful for all this community has given me over the past 12 years. From working with amazing colleagues, to being able to grow as a professional, to working with our amazing student leaders, Siena truly has become my home, and I couldn't imagine being a part of any other community.
