Siena mission statement- Father Ken

In my future experience with Bonner and in Siena college, I hope to commit to the Circles of Mercy women's center as my service site in hopes of creating a new community partnership with the rape crisis center that Circles of Mercy affiliates itself with. As a student, I entered the college as a psychology major in respect to studying an area that helps families, primarily women and children, with personable counseling to assist their difficult home lives, relationships, careers, financial status, etc. At Siena, I strive to use the knowledge that I learn from my professors to better help the women at Circles of Mercy from a professional stand point and to understand their personalities and the way in which they think. In addition, I plan to use the experiences that the women at Circles of Mercy went through and my understanding of each of their individual situations to look within myself and carry that understanding back to the Siena community. St. Francis was inspirational due to his bravery and leadership in leaving the walls of his city and exploring the surrounding land which was inhabited by sick and "less than human" individuals. As St. Francis realized by his service to the leppers that it was not their fault that they were deeply affected by the disease, I wish to plunge myself into the depressing, yet impressionable stories of these sexually abused women and use the knowledge learned from my psychology courses to help them see that it is not their fault that they were raped, and they should not be ashamed of themselves or outcasted from the community. I hope to see the beauty in watching the women rebuild their self confidence as I attempt to build up my expertise both in psychology from an academic standpoint and the hands on counseling that I will assist with at Circles of Mercy.
"...affirmation of the unique worth of each person, delight in diversity, appreciation for beauty..."
This is the most inspirational part of the mission statement. It is simple for an occasional volunteer to look at women that has been sexually abused, beaten, neglected, or poor and only feel pity for them. However, these women do not appreciate pity or sympathy; those in real need appreciate empathy...the ability to understand their situation by putting yourself in their own shoes rather than serving them. These women will have suffered far greater than I could imagine, but their situations will give me a deeper understanding of the diverse world around me and take me out of my comfort zone. I hope to help these women find their self worth once more and rebuild their self respect, as well as help the Siena community and other students become more aware of the tragedies that are common even in our surrounding city. I hope I can teach others just how sacred life is, no matter what your situation is, and be able to have other students and members of the Siena community learn from me as much as I will learn from the women at Circles of Mercy.

Chelsea Platt