CATHOLIC VOICES

Forget about Red Bull, Siena College gives you wings. Emma Henderschedt, senior at Siena College in Loudonville, said that the college “has given me wings to soar.” Over her past four years, the social work major studied abroad in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, taught English in the rural fields of Carmen Pampa, Bolivia, volunteered at the Albany District Attorney’s Office, and took on numerous leadership positions within the college. Emily Benson from The Evangelist sits down with Henderschedt to talk about her work, her faith and the memories she’s made at the college she calls home.

TE: What was your upbringing like?

EH: I’m from a small town in Connecticut called Marlborough. I grew up there my whole entire life; my parents still live there. I’m the oldest of four siblings and we’re really close, and my mom and dad raised us all Catholic. That was a big part of who we were. We said grace before every meal and we were that family that when we were on vacation we would find a parish to go to, even at Disney World!

TE: Did you have a memorable religious experience growing up?

EH: In high school, I would go on these summer conferences, they’re called Steubenville Conferences, and I would go to one in New York City for a weekend every summer. I think being in an arena with thousands of high school students praying and being in adoration was super powerful, and that was when I realized the Church does have a huge young adult body.

TE: How did you end up attending Siena?

EH: I knew I wanted to go to Siena since I was very little. I loved the idea of Siena, and then when I was in high school I think I did 13 visits. I was always coming to visit because I just felt such a sense of home at this school, and I think that the Franciscan values were something that I was really inspired by. 

TE: How did it feel when you got accepted?

EH: I sobbed hysterically in my driveway. It was the best day ever.

TE: Tell me about your work as a Bonner Service Leader for Siena?

EH: It’s a national program where college students make a commitment to doing sustainable service with community partners, so for me, I have been serving at the Albany district attorney’s office. We serve eight to 10 hours a week at different non-profits in the area and we learn about community development, capacity build­ing and social justice. That’s been really cool to be involved in.

TE: What do you do as the Board Representative for the Spiritual Programming Committee?

EH: The Chaplain’s office has a leadership team called the Student Ministry Board and basically there’s different committees and representatives for each committee. Since my sophomore year I have been the board representative for Spiritual Programing, so we oversee all the weekly programming that takes place. Mondays we have bible study group; Tuesdays we have adoration; Wednesdays we have praise and worship; Thursday we have Rosary; and once a month we have Theology on Tap, where people who are 21 and up sit around the president’s house and talk about a topic of faith, eat pizza and drink beer. 

TE: Can you tell me about your study abroad experience? 

EH: Spring semester of my sophomore year I studied abroad in Vietnam. I had never left the country before so this was my first time. I lived with a family — a mom and her two sons — I took classes, I rode a motorbike to and from school everyday, and it was just an absolutely life-changing experience. I think to be so far away from home was super scary but I learned so much about myself, and also because Vietnam is a mainly Buddhist country, I found new ways of connecting with my faith. I’m so Type A (personality) and worry about everything, so the fact that I got in an airplane and left my family for that long was crazy, but I definitely think that because I had a strong faith I knew I’m not by myself, I can lean into my faith life. 

TE: What did you do abroad?

EH: (In Vietnam) I was taking classes and interned at an orphanage with children who were born with birth defects from Agent Orange — from the (Vietnam) War. And then this past summer I spent a month in Bolivia at a Catholic university and I was teaching English. That was really neat; it was very rural, Bolivia, so we had no cell service and it was a month of not wearing makeup, wearing the same outfits and washing them in the river. It was definitely out of my comfort zone, but I would go back in a heartbeat.

TE: What was the craziest experience from your travels?

EH: In Vietnam, I spent a weekend hiking through this mountain range called Sapa, which is on the border of Vietnam and China. I hiked with an indigenous tribe that lives in that mountain range, so we hiked into their village and they cooked us traditional meals and they taught us songs and dances and we stayed over. 

TE: What have your four years at Siena taught you?

EH:  One thing that I learned was the importance of human relationships. As a social work major, I have gotten to interact with a ton of people that I don’t think I would have had the opportunity to meet. I know I’m motivated everyday by the student leaders in the Chaplain’s Office, and I think that getting to grow not just academically alongside your peers but getting to be in a college where you get to grow spiritually with your peers is so beautiful.

TE: Do you have a life philosophy? 

EH: I say a lot, “God, wreck my plans.” I want to be someone who plans out the next 10 years, and from being in college for four years, I have learned that I am not in charge of this story. I am just living my life and doing His will. I think (I’m) recognizing that as I’m transitioning into post-grad, whatever is gonna happen is gonna happen.