Alumni News
At Siena Heights, she majored in humanities, minored in peace studies,
and served as president of Student Government. A resident of Chicago,
she has worked as an attorney, a Chicago police officer, and now a sociology/criminal justice professor at St. Xavier University.
Legacy Preserves, Memories to Last Forever—Meghan Vigeant ‘03
“Everyone has a story worth preserving,” says Meghan Vigeant of Hope,
ME. A former radio writer and producer, she helped a community save
its history after a fire by producing a book, exhibits and documentaries.
The experience inspired her to start a business, Legacy Preserves (legacypreserves.com), to help people and organizations share their stories
in memoirs, gift books and histories. “I’m a personal historian,” she says,
“not a ghostwriter.” She interviews people, transcribes their stories exactly,
then edits the disordered transcript into an engaging narrative that captures “the author’s voice and intention.” Although she does the work,
the words “belong to the storyteller. I am honored to help bring these
stories forth.” At SHU, Meghan brought stories to life on stage; as a senior
theater major, she played Anne in “The Diary of Anne Frank” and Sister
Albert Maria in “Tony and Tina’s Wedding.”
Being With Becky—Lisa Binkowski ’75, ‘77
Lisa Binkowski of Toledo, OH, wrote Being With Becky after years of
struggling to come to grips with the death of her youngest sister. When
Becky was tragically killed, the author wrestled with an emotional chaos
that threatened to cripple her spirit. In the book, Lisa tells the story of a
loving family making sense of life and loss of life; and shows how one
person can impact countless others, from family and friends to unknown
strangers. “No matter who you are, where you come from, or what you
do with your time, you can and will affect lives around you,” she says.
“Be mindful and be intentional. You never know what kind of legacy you
will create along the way.” In this memoir, Lisa celebrates her sister’s short
life and honors the girl who once called her “my hero.”Lisa graduated
from Siena with a degree in social work, then earned a master’s in counseling while assistant coaching the women’s basketball team.
Landscapes of the Heart: A Survivor’s Guide—Gregg Milligan ‘85
This 2014 book is the third in Gregg’s chronicle of surviving child abuse,
following A Beautiful World: One Son’s Escape from the Snares of Abuse
and Devotion (2009) and God Must Be Sleeping (2011). A successful IT
computer engineer, Gregg is also an internationally known human rights
advocate who recently became the first American to receive the Best of
Piety Award from Delmirror News in Thailand, honoring individuals who
have shown respect for humanity in the face of adversity. As the 2009
recipient of Siena’s Sister Ann Joachim Award, Gregg first shared his
harrowing journey from abuse and neglect with the SHU community in
2009 as that year’s Sister Ann Joachim Award winner, making the case
that coming to Siena was a critical step in that process. A subsequent
issue of Reflections carried his story, titled, “Siena Saved Me.”
Homecoming’s Literary Marketplace
Several Siena authors brought books to Homecoming last fall for the
SHU Library’s Literary Marketplace. Most books are available through
amazon.com and/or barnesandnoble.com.
Dr. Jun Tsuji (Biology Faculty)—The Soul of DNA, The True Story of
a Catholic Sister and Her Role in the Greatest Scientific Discovery of the
Twentieth Century. In the 1950s, as the male-dominated scientific establishment struggled to understand the genetic roots of cancer, it was an
Adrian Dominican chemist, Miriam Michael Stimson, OP ’38, who unlocked the structure of DNA’s double helix.
Kathleen Wagner Schuller ’88—How to Be a Hero for Boys—Inspiration from Classic Heroes; and How to Be a Hero for Girls—Inspiration
from Classic Heroes. The author showcases her favorite heroes from classics such as Little Women, Treasure Island, and Pride and Prejudice, offering suggestions to help girls and boys see the adventure around them
and become the heroes of their own lives.
Jennifer Hamlin Church Hon. ’13 (Alumni Office)—So Much to Live
For, A Memoir of Love, Loss and Living On. A mid-life love story about
optimism in the face of diabetes, this book also walks the “lonesome valley” of life after the death of a spouse. A narrative both heartbreaking and
joyous, the book explores subtleties of intimacy, faith, grief and survival.
Sister Pat Schnapp, RSM (English Faculty)—Alleluias and Amens
and Out of the Shadows: Prose Poems about Prisoners and Others We
Rarely See. These slim books invite readers into two of Sister Pat’s passions. In one, she re-interprets scripture through modern sensibilities,
empowering contemporary faith. In the other, she creates powerful portraits of hidden members of society—the homeless and incarcerated.
Geraldine Boykin ’81—Promises of God, a book of Christian poems,
and Healing, a compact disc about surviving tragedy. Geraldine’s poetry
and commentary reflect her own