Shane Cronin Participates in Siena College's "Mr. Siena" 2013 Competition

2013 Feb 15

A standing-room-only crowd in the Sarazen Student Union cheered on contestants participating in Siena College's "Mr. Siena 2013." Shane Cronin, a freshman science major, was one of eight contestants.

The annual contest, a beauty pageant of sorts, gives eight men from Siena College a chance to show off their talent to benefit Habit for Humanity, an organization that has helped to build or repair more than 600,000 affordable houses for low-income people. The international organization was founded in 1976 and has served more than three million people worldwide.

Along with a talent portion, the Mr. Siena pageant includes a "Habitat" and a fashion runway section. In the Habitat section, competitors create short, generally less showy, skits of ways to demonstrate the international group's mission. During the fashion runway, contestants don formal wear and are accompanied on stage by a dress-clad woman of their choosing.

In true pageant fashion, each contestant was then questioned by the emcees, Director of the Franciscan Center for Service and Advocacy Fr. Russel Murray, O.F.M., Ph.D. and Mr. Siena 2012 Ryan Murphy '14. Answers to questions like "What made you choose Siena?" and "What do you think about Habitat for Humanity's mission?" ranged from "the food" to "heartwarming," respectively.

The Habitat for Humanity Club's annual fundraiser quickly sold out as it has done consistently in previous years. All of the money from ticket sales supports Siena's Habitat for Humanity service trips and the Capital District Habitat for Humanity affiliate. A Siena group traveled to Haiti in January and four more trips are planned for Spring Break. Students and volunteers will work on Habitat sites in Kentucky, South Carolina and two locations in North Carolina.

Video from the show can be viewed here.

Photos from the show can be viewed here.

Siena College is a learning community advancing the ideals of a liberal arts education, rooted in its identity as a Franciscan and Catholic college. Located in Loudonville, N.Y., two miles north of the state capital, the 176-acre beautiful, suburban campus is home to 3,000 undergraduates. Siena offers over 1,200 program combinations from 27 majors and 49 minor and certificate programs. Siena College: Celebrating 75 years of providing the education of a lifetime.