---

Each year, dozens of students from Siena College in Loudonville have the chance to follow in the footsteps of St. Francis of Assisi, serving the poor at home and abroad through mission trips sponsored by the college's Franciscan Center for Service and Advocacy.

Students can also help with on-campus projects like blood drives, the Race Against Breast Cancer and a mentoring program for children from north Albany, said Rev. Mathias Doyle, OFM.

Father Doyle is director of the advocacy center. He noted its many "educational, spiritual and motivational opportunities," which "encourage students to make the commitment to service."

Students work in soup kitchens in Philadelphia, Boston and Wilmington, Delaware, during the academic year; between semesters and during spring break, they travel to Kingston, Jamaica, and Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic, to work alongside the needy there. The center also encourages Siena faculty to structure courses to include service projects for students.

"We want them to get some reflection on the problems in society and do something positive about them," Father Doyle said.

Created with the help of a grant from the Holy Name Province of the Franciscan friars who founded Siena College, the center promotes "life-changing experiences," according to Father Doyle.

This year, he hopes to sponsor more service trips in the U.S. and to engage students in leadership roles during these missions.

The center also sponsors academic seminars on the Franciscan model of service to others. During these seminars, students intern at a local non-profit agency to earn college credit.

It's a learning experience, said Father Doyle: The needy and homeless people the students are there to help are just as welcoming to the young interns in return.

(01/27/11) [[In-content Ad]]

---