If you’ve ever attended a Siena Basketball game, even just one, you’ve seen and know Chris Farrell. A Siena College alum, Chris is actively involved in the Siena community and is famous as director of the Siena College Pep Band. Chris’ energy and leadership in the Pep Band keep the Siena fans cheering and having fun at every game.
Having been a member of the Pep Band myself throughout my college career, I have been lucky to get to know Chris very well the past four years. Chris is a great mentor and friend, with a generous heart and love for Siena College. Get to know Chris Farrell, a true exemplar of the Siena spirit!
Name: Christopher Farrell
Class of: 2008
Major: Business and Marketing
Current Job: Commercial Real Estate Agent / Director- Siena Pep Band
HC: What was your favorite thing about Siena?
Chris: My favorite thing about Siena is the community. When you are a student at Siena, you hold doors open for someone when walking into a building. But when you graduate, we (Siena Grads) hold the doors open for opportunities in business and life. We look out for other Siena Grads because of the education we get, it’s ingrained in us to help our brothers and sisters of Siena.
HC: Who was your favorite professor?
Chris: The entire faculty and staff at Siena is amazing! But if I have to pick one, I had the privilege to have the Past President of Siena College, Fr. Kevin Mullen, as one of my professors while at Siena. I took his class Franciscan Service and Advocacy, where we studied the lives and teachings of St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi. Fr. Kevin has turned into a great friend, and just having him as a teacher and listening to him explain Service and Advocacy in the Franciscan Tradition has, and will, impact me for the rest of my life.
HC: What was your favorite class?
Chris: Business Communications.
HC: What clubs/extracurricular were you involved in on campus?
Chris: When at Siena, I was in the Pep Band, Orchestra, and I was also an RA.
HC: Why did you decide to become so involved with Siena after graduating?
Chris: I became involved as an Alumni because when I graduated I wanted to stay in contact with my friends, and I wanted Siena to hold more Young Alumni events. In doing so, we created G.O.L.D. (Graduates of The Last Decade). This Young Alumni group meets a few times a year and it is a great mix of other Alumni that are “recent” grads.
HC: What has Siena taught you?
Chris: Siena has taught me to give back to my community. I now give back time, energy, and money to different organizations within the Capital District. One in particular I was just put on the Board of Directors for is St. Catherine’s Center for Children. It’s a nonprofit in Albany, NY that provides a comprehensive range of human services designed to offer hope, and improve the lives of the children and families they serve.
HC: What is your favorite memory from Siena?
Chris: My favorite Siena memory is from 2008 when our Men’s Basketball team won the MAAC and I got to go to the NCAA’s with the Pep Band. I was a senior and the drummer in the Pep Band. I walked into the Tampa arena and saw my school’s name on the big screen, “SIENA COLLEGE.” We played that first game, which people said we could not win, and we won and got to stay overnight again in Florida. It was definitely a wow moment that I will never forget. I have since gone to the NCAA’s with our basketball team two other times and can’t wait for Jimmy Patsos to get us there again!
HC: Why did you decide to direct the Pep Band? What do you enjoy most about it?
Chris: Directing the Pep Band is by far the best and coolest job I think someone can have. I get paid to play music, have fun, and support the school that I love. You don’t find that in a lot of jobs.
There are several things that I enjoy about directing the Pep Band. First, my students. They are some of the most amazing people that Siena has to offer. I have the privilege of watching them grow from an 18-year-old kid, to a 21-year-old adult. When my seniors graduate every year I get so upset, I feel like I am losing a family member, we talk, practice, play, and cheer together for 4 years. I give them advice, they give me advice, and 4 years goes by in a blink of an eye.
The other thing I enjoy about directing the Pep Band is the friends I have made and continue to make in our outstanding Athletic Department. I get to meet and interact with some of the best coaches and staff in D1 Athletics. People like Dennis Bates, Jimmy Patsos, Ali Jaques, and John D’Argenio.
Siena College is definitely the “Education of a Lifetime” because what incoming Freshman, and current students don’t understand is, once you graduate from Siena College, you don’t leave the community of Siena. You become imbedded in it and you become the community. Once a Saint, always a Saint!