The Inside Scoop
23
It’s been said that Siena Heights is one of higher education’s best kept secrets.
Let us be secretive no more! Here are just a few (of the many possible) examples of the outstanding accomplishments that emerge regularly from the classrooms and laboratories of our Adrian campus.
Prizewinning Enterprise
Six Siena business students defeated
36 colleges from five states to win the
regional Students In Free Enterprise
championship in April. The students
presented their outreach project on Siena’s Mexico educational study program
to a panel of 40 business leaders and entrepreneurs who rated the effectiveness
of each team’s efforts--and named Siena
Heights #1. As regional champions,
Siena joined 92 other college teams at
SIFE’s International Exposition in May,
where team members made valuable
job contacts. SIFE works in partnership
with business and higher education to
help students apply classroom business
learning to real-life situations. Team
members were: Cortney Ford ’97, Mirta
Carrello (an exchange student from
Cuernavaca, Mexico), Beth Elliot ’97,
Heather Hulbert ’98, Daniel Morris ’99
and Keith Rusie ’99. Roger Pae, associate professor of marketing, advises the
group.
Siena Songbird
Sophomore Choi Lim Palms-Cohen was
named best college vocalist at the 24th
annual Aquinas College Jazz Festival in
February, which showcased jazz ensembles from 24 Michigan high schools,
colleges and universities. In addition
to singing with the Siena Heights jazz
band, Choi is a member of the Madrigal
Singers and the Cecilian Choristers. She
is majoring in music business.
Adding Up Honors
Three mathematics students presented
research at this spring’s 14th Annual
Rose-Hulman Conference on Undergraduate Mathematics in Indiana. One
of the nation’s most prestigious undergraduate mathematics conferences, the
event showcases research from across
the country. Only 24 students were chosen to present research to the convention. “To have three students from one
school selected is an extreme honor,”
said math professor Rick Trujillo. “It
highlights the quality of the mathematics
program at Siena Heights.” Margaret
Jahnke ‘97 presented “Matrix Invertibility: A Graphical Approach with
Mathematica.” Maryann Herman ‘97
presented “Causes of War.” Angela
Root ’99 presented “Investigations of
Cyclic Quadrilaterals Using the Texas
Instrument-92 Graphing Calculator.”
Dramatic Diversity
Theatre Siena focused on two very
different American families this spring
in plays exploring Jewish and AfricanAmerican cultural experience. The
March production of A Shayna Maidel,
directed by Mark DiPietro ’83, focused
on a family reunited after World War II,
building a new life in the aftermath of
the Holocaust. The April show, August
Wilson’s Fences directed by Doug Miller ’75, portrayed a 1950s black family
in middle America before the civil rights
revolution, and was the first production
in memory at Siena to feature an all-African-American cast.
Women in Science: Academic Dean and chemist
Sharon Weber, OP ‘69 congratulates graduating
biologists and Beta Beta Beta members Amanda
Adams (left) and Mary O’Connor.
of Organismal Biology and Ecology
with her paper, “Early Developmental Experience and Mate Selection of
White-eyed Drosophila Melanogaster.”
This is the second straight year a Siena
Heights student has won the Brooks
award. Stewart Isley ’97 placed third
in oral research in Cell and Molecular
Biology for his study of heavy metal
accumulation in wild and ranch-raised
mink. Scott Ortsey ’97 took third in the
poster competition with his population
census of the least shrew.
Spread the Word
Research Recognition
Siena’s Xi Omega chapter of Beta Beta
Beta National Biological Honor Society
hosted the Region 4 District Convention
this spring. Student biologists from colleges and universities in Michigan, Ohio
and Indiana came to campus for the
oral research paper and research poster
competitions. Eleven Siena students
presented research at the conference and
three won awards. Mary O’Connor ’97
won the Frank Brooks Award for best
oral research presentation in the area
Don’t be shy: Tell the world where you
went to college and why. And remember: Any son or daughter of a Siena
Heights graduate who enrolls full-time
qualifies for a $1,000 annual alumni
scholarship. Spread the good news!