DEEP Service Magazine Spring/Summer 2014 | Page 12

UNDERGRADUATENEWS

Senior Leaders Present their
Capstones During the Siena College
Academic Excellence Celebration
By Jazmin Tejada ’15, Bonner Service Leader

ACE students working toward their
through Community Engagement” aims to understand the
Certificate in Community Development
multifaceted ideologies of what exactly the purpose of
must do a Senior Capstone, a research
college is. Through a mixed method research approach,
project conducted during their senior year,
Nicholas sought to understand its purpose through the
and present the results of their research at
voices of Siena’s population. In his capstone, he argues that
Siena’s annual Academic Excellence Celebration in May.
community engagement is not an extracurricular activity,
Siena faculty, staff, and students are invited to walk around
but rather a meaningful practice that fulfills the purpose of
the Maloney Great Room, view the posters, and pose
college and advances the development of students.
questions to the student researchers. This year’s Senior
Capstone presenters included Jonathan Catrona ‘14,
Claudia Congemi’s capstone “Studying Different Processes
Nicholas Ramundo ‘14, Claudia Congemi ‘14, Lydie
of Development for Women in Indigenous Cultures” looks
Kengne ‘14, Ryan Gonnelly ‘14,
at the model of the nonprofit
Laura Priest ‘14, Stephen Jensen
organization Caritas Coroico and
‘14, Kevin Schafer ‘14, Lexys
how their programs and processes
“ACE students working toward their
Martinez ’14, and Ayesha Ropri
positively affect women of
Certificate in Community
‘14.
indigenous Bolivian culture.
Development must do a Senior
Caritas aims to empower women
Capstone, a research project
Jonathan Catrona’s capstone
by giving them the skills and
“Evaluation of the Home
knowledge to become effective
conducted during their senior year,
Delivered Meals Program of
leaders within their communities.
and present the results of their
Albany County” analyzes The
Once Caritas identifies strong
research at Siena’s annual Academic leaders they then pass on their
Home Delivered Meals Program
Excellence Celebration in May.”
by Peter Young Housing,
information to further educate
Industries, and Treatment. This
both the women and men in the
program aims to increase the
community. During her research,
nutrition of elderly individuals who cannot get the proper
Claudia observed that the Caritas model positively changes
nutrition themselves. As a part of his research, Jonathan
the lives of the women, their families, and their
evaluated the program’s areas of opportunities, researched
communities.
ways it could be improved, and identified solutions to key
challenges. He hopes his attention to the program will
Lydie Kengne’s capstone “Intercultural Dialogue for a Better
increase the effectiveness of the service and ensure its
Integration” hypothesizes that intercultural dialogue allows
sustainability for years to come.
individuals of different backgrounds to better understand
one another.
Nicholas Ramundo’s capstone “Why Are We in College and
continued on next page →
Where Can it Lead? Enhancing Student Development
DEEP Service Magazine | Page 12