Our Writing Center is comprised of professional staff and current Saints to help you at any part of your writing journey! Click around to learn more about us, and see how you can join us!
Peer Tutoring Staff
Abby (she/her)
As a part of Siena’s School of Business, Abby is practiced in business writing and enjoys making proposals and presentations. However, she loves reading and writing of all genres, particularly trying new ideas and exploring new topics. She is also an animal lover, riding horses and sharing cuddles with cats, dogs, and chickens. She can regularly be found lost in a book on the couch with her cat. Abby enjoys almost any outdoor activity, and her interests include hiking, biking, kayaking, and gardening. She is currently training to pursue a career as an equestrian athlete, which takes up nearly all of her time outside of Siena. Most of all, Abby enjoys hearing about other students’ interests and goals and sharing their excitement.
Brenna (she/her)
Brenna LaHart is a junior English major at Siena, with minors in both writing and psychology. Living in upstate New York, specifically Plattsburg, Brenna has become very comfortable with the snow and chilly weather. Although she is not the biggest fan of winter itself she is always excited for a season of Skiing and snowboarding. Upon entering University Brenna was initially undecided, however that gave her a handful of amazing opportunities to explore a plethora of disciplines within Siena's curriculum. Her final choice to major in English was a result of her love for learning and understanding language. Brenna is thrilled to be working in the writing center and is especially excited to help students find their voice within their writing, she strongly believes that a student should always be able to hear themselves within their writing, not just the rigor of academia. When she’s not in the writing center you can find Brenna in the gym, spending time with her roommates, reconstructing her spotify and apple music playlists, or working her second on campus job as a peer tutor!
Caroline (she/her)
Caroline is a senior at Siena and uses she/her/hers pronouns. She is an English major, with minors in Writing and Communications and American Studies. Caroline has loved writing ever since she was 4 years old and attempted to write a short story called "I Love Books" in orange marker. She still considers this work to be her magnum opus. Caroline was born and raised in Westchester and she loves returning to visit her parents, two older siblings, and best friend. She loves learning and can often be found researching random topics in Standish Library. Caroline's favorite hobbies include playing the violin, baking, crocheting, and reading. The first book to change her life was The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo and she thinks everyone should read it even though it's meant for kids. If you see her, ask her to tell you a dad joke!
Gionni (he/him)
Gioncarlo, who goes by Gionni, is a Senior from Trumbull, Connecticut. Although he entered Siena undecided, he is now double-majoring in Communications: Marketing and Interdisciplinary Studies in Storytelling in Media, along with his minors in Italian and Writing. He discovered his diverse interests throughout his experiences at Siena, which often fall back to his passion for writing. He likes the creation of new stories in many formats, often creative, but he also enjoys working through many other subjects like journalistic writing, speech writing, legal writing, and more. He loves involving himself on campus by doing clubs and working for Student Activities and the Abroad Office. Outside of campus involvement, he enjoys spending time with his friends and family, playing soccer, writing, traveling, and doing music. Singing and playing the guitar are his favorite hobbies, and he often falls back on them and his writing to center himself. He is passionate about exploring new formats of writing and giving open-minded insight.
Jameson (she/her)
Jameson is excited to help further the Writing Center’s mission of offering everyone a comfortable, respectful, and compassionate environment to collaborate on their work. She is passionate about helping others express their ideas clearly and effectively. She looks forward to working alongside her peers, learning from their diverse perspectives, and collaborating to create a supportive writing environment where every writer can thrive. In her free time, she enjoys reading, going on walks with her dogs, spending time with family and friends, and watching any and every documentary she is recommended. As an English major, she spends much of her time dedicated to assigned readings and her favorite study spots on campus include the plant room in Morell and the quiet floor of the library. When she is not reading for class she is reading for enjoyment and some of her favorite books include “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” by V.E. Schwab, “Normal People” by Sally Rooney, and “Why Fish Don’t Exist” by Lulu Miller.
Juliana (she/her)
Juliana Catania is a current senior English major with a minor in Women's Gender and Sexuality Studies. Juliana uses she/her/hers pronouns and is from a small town called Hamilton, New York. Juliana is involved with the Writing Center, Office of Community Living, Chaotick Hip Hop Club, and Passion Dance Technique on campus. Juliana is a Community Assistant in the Townhouse Area and the president of Chaotick. Juliana enjoys getting to meet new people at the Writing Center and supporting learning through open dialogue. Juliana loves to spend her free time reading romantasy novels, watching Gilmore Girls, and playing Animal Crossing. A fun fact about Juliana is that she has a pet goldendoodle named Molly!
Kaitlyn (she/her)
Kaitlyn, who also goes by Katie, is a junior history major with a minor in writing and communication. Initially from Ballston Spa—where she lives with her parents and two black labs, Sparky and Cody—she spends most of her time in Loudonville, strolling around Siena's beautiful green and gold campus. Working in the Writing Center since the fall of 2023, Kaite strives to help students improve their writing abilities while helping them discover their unique writing voice. When she is not in the Writing Center, Katie can be found studying on Padua Beach, sitting in Saga, or welcoming families to Siena as a tour guide. Additionally, in her minimal spare time, Katie enjoys reading, writing stories, playing the Sims, and hanging out with friends. She also enjoys venturing off campus to The Edge in Clifton Park for rock climbing and Guptill's Roller Skating Arena in Cohoes for skating and ice cream.
Leah (She/her)
Leah is a junior Political Science major with a Writing and Communication minor and Pre-Law certificate. On top of working at the writing center, she currently runs a small crochet business and works as a telephone interviewer at the Siena Research Institute. In her free time, you can find her re-watching Friends, crocheting, drawing, playing video games, eating tasty food, or shopping with her friends. She hopes to pursue a career in law following her college years, and is excited to continue working at the Writing Center this semester!
Maddy
Maddy is a third year psychology major who minors in creative writing and behavioral knowledge. She's always loved writing and has been passionate about the community that it brings about since as long as she can remember. Her goal is to make the writing center a more comfortable place for each individual, and to embrace the fun — and not-so-fun — aspects of writing.
Maura Cahill (She/They)
Maura is an English major who uses she/they pronouns. She is from Cromwell, Connecticut, a small town just south of Hartford. She loves spending time with her four older siblings, engaging in fun, spur-of-the-moment adventures. During her spare time, she enjoys listening to music, hiking, rock climbing, driving, and reading. Some of her favorite music artists include Boygenius, Radiohead, The Greeting Committee, and Weyes Blood…just to name a few. Maura frequently enjoys kicking back to a good film as well, with some of her favorites being Dead Poets Society, Interstellar, Ladybird, and Inception. On campus, Maura is involved with Siena’s GSA and Double H club. Maura’s favorite colors are green and yellow, and her go-to drink order is an iced chai with oat milk and vanilla syrup (occasionally). On a nice day you’ll usually find her outside on her picnic blanket enjoying the sunshine with her friends.
Sarah (she/her)
You can often find Sarah studying in Casey’s or getting quesadillas with her friends in Massery. Sarah loves all things disney and has a passion for music. When she’s not in the writing center, you find her singing at mass with Psalm 150 or with her friends in aCapella or ChamberSingers. Although she lives locally, she is also an on-campus resident. When it comes to writing, Sarah is a grammar geek that loves to help organize ideas and format writing. She enjoys journaling, creative writing, writing in cursive and discovering new ideas in brainstorming sessions. She is also a big fan of handwriting to step away from the computer and believes that you can never have too many pens! Along with her major, Sarah is also pursuing a certificate in multimedia design and a minor in writing. You can also find Sarah working in the Student Activities office creating fun designs for t-shirts and instagram posts. Sarah is open to trying new things and helping in any way she can!
Sherrice
My name is Sherrice, and I am a junior English Education major. I studied abroad during the fall 2025 semester at Korea University in Anam-dong, Seoul, South Korea. I really enjoy Korean music and am continuing my Korean language studies, which makes this my third language. I grew up in Albany, so I am very local to the area.
On campus, I am involved in the Commuter Student Association, where I serve as an Event Coordinator for the monthly lunches. I also play multiple instruments, including the violin, cello, and saxophone. In my free time, I love reading and writing, and (perhaps unsurprisingly) making star origami.
This is my first year at the Writing Center, and I am very excited to be an asset to the Siena community.
Simon (he/him)
Simon is a junior Computer Science major who has always enjoyed writing both in and outside of school. He grew up in Niskayuna, New York — just a short drive from Siena. He has 2 cats, and his hobbies include playing guitar and piano, hiking, and rock climbing. He is very curious about many different subjects, and believes that asking questions and bouncing ideas back and forth is the best way to help other writers. This is his first year as a Writing Center tutor, and he can’t wait to meet new people and collaborate with students in the Siena community.
professional staff
Ryan Orr, MFA(he/him)
Ryan Orr has been teaching writing at the university level for more than fifteen years. His tutoring approach focuses on process-based perspectives and human connection. He lives in the capital region now, but he has traveled in four different countries and lived in eight different states. When he's not teaching or tutoring he's usually parenting his two kids, splitting firewood, reading, or running.
Meg Manchester, M.Ed. (she/her)
Meg Manchester has been working in education for the past 10 years at both the high school and university levels. She received her Bachelor's degree in History from Siena University in 2014 and went on to earn her Master's in Education in 2017. Meg's tutoring approach centers on helping students build confidence in their own voices while expanding their natural skills through constructive feedback, collaboration, and encouragement. By focusing on growth rather than perfection, she aims to empower students to become more independent, effective communicators both in and beyond the classroom. A lifelong Capital Region resident, Meg currently lives in downtown Albany. When she’s not working, you can find her playing golf, disc golf, or enjoying just about any outdoor activity.