- I am originally from Long Island and grew up in Levittown. If that sounds familiar, it's because you may have learned about it in high school social studies as one of America's original postwar suburbs. It's also one town over from the birthplace of Billy Joel (he technically grew up in a Levitt house so we get partial credit too). For my role in Admissions, I have been able to return to my high school a few times for college fairs and parent info nights, which means I no longer have to say that my last time in the school was Thursday March 12, 2020. Yes, I was part of the infamous Class of 2020, and I am still not over it!
- For about five years starting at the end of junior year of high school, I worked at Fred's Deli in Levittown, which has been open since 1967. We joked that they could bring a camera crew behind the counter and make a new rendition of The Office based on what went on there. FCC guidelines would've definitely required quite a few "bleeps," especially during busy summer days, but it would've been very entertaining. I'll be the first to admit that I am far from the best cook in the world, however, if provided with the proper ingredients and preparation, I can make a mean hero for you. Yes you read that right I said hero not sub, it's a Long Island thing! Some of my personal favorites from our menu were The Godfather, Bavarian Bomber, Buffalo Bill and Chicken Cutlet Classic. If you're interested in trying any of these, I'd be more than happy to share what they are!
- Something unique about me is that I am left-handed (aka one of the coolest people in the world). This unfortunately complicated things with baseball when I was no longer allowed to play the position of catcher as a lefty. At the time, the extra second it took me to turn my entire body to throw to third base seemed like such a lame excuse for making me move to the outfield. However, as I got older and the games became more important, I understood why this was an issue and embraced my new role. I eventually ended up developing a love for the outfield too! As an added bonus, giving up catching early on likely saved me from a lot of future knee and back issues as well!
- For a New York sports fan, I have one of the more unusual combinations of favorite teams: Yankees, Islanders, Giants, Knicks. Since I was born, I have seen them win... three championships, while losing in the playoffs in heartbreaking fashion about 30 times in that span, yet I still keep coming back for more. Meanwhile, my friends that root for the Boston teams have gotten to see parade after parade (13 if we're counting). I am also a big Ohio State football fan because they were my uncle's favorite team. Before you accuse me of being a traitor, Siena doesn't have a football team so it is technically not considered cheating. One of my earliest experiences with Siena was watching in disbelief as they eliminated Ohio State from March Madness in 2009. If you told that sad seven year old that he'd eventually be a Siena Saint, I think he would've stormed out of the room!
- I have one sister Kate, and she is two years younger than me. She is currently a senior in the nursing program at Mount Saint Mary's College in Newburgh, NY (not the one that our athletic teams compete against). She is the president of the Student Nurse Association and works in the Admissions office there. She did a virtual tour with Siena but after spending two years in high school with me, she needed a break from having all the same teachers I had and being "Tim's younger sister." She ended up getting the last laugh because now whenever I meet an admissions counselor from MSMC at a college fair they know me as "Kate's older brother" before I can even introduce myself.
- I have always had an interest in photography. Whenever my friends and I would drive to the beach for the sunset, I would constantly find myself stopping and then needing to catch up because I saw the sun shining through the trees or the colors of the sunset reflected in the waves and thought it would make for a good picture. Before going to Ireland, I was given an actual camera because my Mom wanted a picture of the Cliffs of Moher that was "better quality" than my iPhone camera. She was definitely right about that! I had an instagram account where I posted my pictures but I ended up deleting the few posts on it to eventually start it back up when I can put more effort into it. It was appropriately named "Timscameraroll" due to around 90% of my storage likely being used up by pictures I've taken. One of my goals for this year is to explore more and take more pictures so maybe I'll bring it back one day!
- I consider myself a fairly competitive person. Ever since I stopped playing sports, I've wanted to start coaching. I think because it all ended so abruptly for me just four days into the 2020 baseball season there's definitely some unfinished business there. This is why I take things like Name That Tune at our Enrollment Christmas party so seriously and proudly display my little first place trophy on my desk. I participated in almost every intramural sport offered at Siena and our softball team won the championship twice! Just throwing it out there, if anyone is ever in need of an extra person for trivia, please let me know and I'd be happy to assist (especially with sports, music, movies, history or geography).
- When I first arrived at Siena, my plan was to graduate a year early. This was still the plan throughout freshman year, when I spent the spring semester at home with my classes fully online due to the pandemic. It wasn't until I returned in August (10 months after I had last been on campus) to be an orientation leader for the first time that I decided to stay all four years. After a challenging first year, getting to finally experience the Siena community at full force reminded me exactly why I chose Siena in the first place! In October, I convinced my parents (with some help from Jen Pendleton) to let me stay at Siena all four years. I would end up being part of the SAINTS orientation program for three years, meeting so many amazing people along the way. I got to reconnect with many of them at Chowderfest in Saratoga a few weeks ago, which shows how prevalent the Siena community still is after graduation (even with a wind chill of 20 below zero)!
- In May 2022, I was part of the Ireland travel course taught by Dr. Karen Sonnelitter and Dr. Lara Whelan. This was truly an unforgettable experience and we were able to see so much in just 10 days! I've been wanting to go back ever since and I am always asking Dr. Sonnelitter if they need chaperones for their next trip there. While 99.9% of the trip was incredible, I did unfortunately sprain my ankle on the Aran Islands. If you've ever been there, then you know that there are rocks EVERYWHERE. Due to my height, I have a tendency to be a bit clumsy at times so the uneven landscape was something that I definitely struggled with. I'm hoping to eventually go back to explore more of County Clare and meet family that still lives there. My great grandmother was the youngest of 14 and 12 of her siblings stayed in Ireland. Before I left, my mom said, "If you end up in the town of Ennis in County Clare and meet someone with the last name Kelly, you're probably related to them."
- Senior year, I completed my student teaching at Averill Park High School. I taught three classes of 10th grade honors global history, while also occasionally filling in for the 11th grade AP U.S. history classes. When my time there ended in late April, I did not stay away for long. I came back the next day because one of my students chose to recognize me for their teacher appreciation baseball game. I have also attended lacrosse and basketball games, as well as the science research symposium to support my students in their interests outside of the classroom. I made a promise to my 10th graders that I would attend their graduation and I fully intend on keeping it. I already have the date blocked off in my calendar! Some of the 11th graders I taught just began their journey at Siena in September, so my recruiting efforts really began months before I officially joined the Admissions team!
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