Editorial
visit our alumni website at www.sienaheights.edu
from the alumni office
But letters, written and received, kept you close,
even from afar.
These days, there’s plenty inside the mailbox,
but most of it involves buying, selling or paying.
With electronics providing so many choices for
instant communication, handwritten notes are
practically extinct. Personal letters have become
a rare pleasure, enjoyed by a dwindling few.
You’ve Got Mail
Alumni of a certain age remember when a letter
from home was a big event.
The letter arrived on stationery, written in pen
or perhaps pencil, folded into an envelope, then
signed, sealed, stamped, and delivered with the
postmark of the town you’d left behind.
After the excitement of finding an envelope
behind the window of your mailbox came the
unmatched pleasure of reading the letter. For a
few minutes, you were far away in a silent conversation with someone, seeing that face in the
distinctive handwriting, hearing that voice behind the written words. Depending on who
that someone was, you might immediately
return to your room to write back.
Only a few decades ago, that was how we all
stayed in touch.
There was no email, no text messaging, nothing
like a cell phone, not even a phone in your dorm
room. Maybe there was a phone booth in your
hallway for special-occasion long-distance calls.
18
2008 Annual President’s Report
I’m one of the few, and proud of it. I enjoy writing letters, and receiving a letter is still a big event.
Nothing makes my day at work like a letter from
an alumna or alumnus—whether writing with
regrets about being unable to attend Alumni
Weekend (thank you, Fran Bock Nowakowski
’48), excitement about having been here for the
weekend (thank you, Sr. Barbara Hengesbach
’50), a cheery update on family (thank you,
Kathy Forner ’73), or a comment on class notes
(thanks, Dick Nelson ’84).
Gone are the mailbox doors through which
Siena students peered for 40 years, looking for
letters from home.
Gone from Sage, but not gone gone…now they
are in boxes in the Alumni Office. We can’t send
you one of those old letters from home—but
we can send the brass-and-glass mailbox cover.
If you’re interested, write to me! (Okay, you can
call or email if you prefer.) Buy one for yourself
and one as a gift for a Siena friend, perhaps?!
Most of my letters to alumni include a thank
you—for sharing your knowledge of Siena
Heights with me, for contributing your time or
talent to a successful alumni event, or for generously supporting the University with a financial
gift. I do live in the 21st century, so I use the
phone and email, too; but as often as I can, I
say thanks with pen and paper.
Whether you’re ordering a mailbox, looking
for a lost friend, reminiscing, or sending your
annual gift, we’d love to hear from you. And let
us know when you move, so we can send mail
to you. One way or another, stay in touch!
Just recently I sent notes to everyone on the
Alumni Association Board of Directors, thanking them—every one of them—for supporting
SHU this year with both time and financial
resources. Kudos for that 100% participation!
Jennifer A. Hamlin Church
Associate VP for Advancement &
Director of Alumni Relations
(517) 264-7143
[email protected]
I got to thinking about letters this fall when the
student mailboxes in Sage Union came down.
Sage (aka, Walsh Hall) has been beautifully renovated; but student postal deliveries now go to
a bank of modern mail slots in Ledwidge Hall.
IS THERE A LETTER FOR ME?
Order a memento of days gone by! Get your Siena mailbox cover from the Alumni Office for $15 ($10 for each
additional cover) plus $10 for shipping and handling
of up to six covers.