Mai-Linh Le is an influential and active member inside and out of the Siena community. Currently a sophomore student here at Siena College, Mai-Linh is preparing to be a biology major, although she says that may change. Commuting from Glenville, NY, nearly forty-five minutes away, Mai-Linh finds wonderful ways to stay involved and make a difference.
When I asked Mai-Linh what it was like to be a commuter, she responded with, “At first, I never planned on being a commuter. However, I absolutely love it! I get the best of both worlds of college and being at home. Although living forty-five minutes away, it has its perk. Let’s just say I’m a carpool karaoke champ!”
This perfectly sums up Mai-Linh’s optimistic outlook on life. She recognizes the fact that commuting has its challenges, and is not usually everyone’s first choice, but you can always make something good out of it. I think this is how a lot of commuters feel, where things don’t go their way at first, not being able to live on campus, but then they take a turn for a better. But how does this happen? Getting involved!
So how exactly did she get involved? Well, like for everyone, she says it was hard at first, but then CSA contacted her and everything got better from there! Now Mai-Linh is the President of CSA, plays intramural sports, and works in the library. She’s also involved with a few other events and activities. CSA changed her life, and because of her active involvement within it and representing it on the Student Senate, she has made many dear friends that are still close to her today. As you can see by Mai-Linh’s experience, getting involved isn’t always going to be easy at first, but something will find you or you will find it, and once you begin your journey there, new ones will arise everywhere. One thing leads to another, and soon you’ll be one of the most active and influential members on campus! You can find Mai-Linh in the library, where she says to “Stop by and say hi!”
Don’t let Mai-Linh’s involvement on campus allow you to think that’s all that she does! She is also a very active community member outside of Siena. She is the assistant track and field coach at her old high school, where she specializes in throwing events. She excels so greatly at her work that she even sent one of her throwers to states this year! She also serves as a mentor in a program through the Catalyst Foundation, wat she says is “a humanitarian organization that helps build communities in Vietnam to fight human trafficking.” She attends a culture camp once a year to help people celebrate Vietnamese culture. Mai-Linh is very passionate about making the world a better place through helping student athletes and anyone involved in Vietnamese culture. We could definitely use more people like her.
Although Mai-Linh is certainly a hard worker, work isn’t all that she does! A few fun facts about her are that her favorite food is sushi, she loves photography, and she is a comedian—which I can absolutely back up. She used to do stand-up comedy, and could have fooled me by saying she doesn’t do it much anymore. Mai-Linh is someone who is very easy to get along with, because she’s simply just too funny. Whenever I talk to her, I always end up laughing.
In terms of photography, she’s always been passionate about it and intrigued by it. Mai-Linh says, “I take many photos of Siena’s beautiful scenery but also love portrait work. I am currently trying to produce a start-up called LeSolution Photography. Please give it a follow on Instagram and see my adventures coming up!”
Mai-Linh absolutely loves Siena and couldn’t be any happier with her choice of attending here. She says that, “Siena is a really close community. Everyone is caring and compassionate…here is a strong family community presence. Although I go home every day, there’s a sense of home at Siena with friends, faculty, and administration.”
I think anyone who has ever attended Siena can agree with this. That’s why most people choose it in the first place—its a close and small community. But even though Siena is wonderful, we all have to leave sooner or later. Mai-Linh realizes this and already has some plans for the future. She plans on taking a gap year after graduation, where she’ll be traveling, fine dining, spending time with her family, and working. She intends on going back to school to be a Physician Assistant or Physical Therapist.
No matter what is thrown at her in life, Mai-Linh knows how to handle it, accepting it with a big heart, warm smile, and motivated attitude. For all that she’s done, and all that she will do, the Siena community thanks Mai-Linh for her hard work and community service!