Name: Bryn Siberski 

Graduation Year: December 2019 

Major: Business Management 

Minor: Sustainable Management  

 

ABOUT YOU:  

Where are you from?  

I grew up in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, but my parents now live in St. Louis. 

What do you like to do?  

When I am not working, I like to read, hang out with my roommates, workout, listen to music, and cook. 

 

MY COMMUNITY SERVICE & ACTION EXPERIENCE:  

Why do you engage in the Community? 

I engage in the community because I’ve always felt the need to give back. Many people talk about how good service makes them feel and while that is important, I want to stress that I believe everyone has an obligation to the community they are a part of. I will speak for myself when I say this, but I am a very lucky person. I feel that God has blessed me with this life so I can help others. I always encourage people to give back in any way they can for however long they can. Even a couple of hours a week can make a tremendous impact on someone’s life. You never know how one interaction can change the trajectory of one person.  

What is one of your favorite stories from your experiences of involvement with service and justice at Loyola? 

I participated in a program called Labre through the Water Tower Campus Ministry while at school. It’s a program where Loyola students have an opportunity to connect with people experiencing homelessness. We pass out food as a way to facilitate conversation. I had one gentleman that completely changed how I look at not only addiction, but many different scenarios. He was going through treatment, and while hearing his story, I realized that I unfairly judge people experiencing addiction. Ultimately, he humbled me. Only the person going through a situation knows the whole truth, and who am I to judge someone without listening to their story. That experience taught me to go into situations not with preconceived notions, but with compassion. It is now something I challenge everyone to do. 

How do you envision living out our mission of building the greater good as an alum? 

Recently, I was accepted into a post-graduation service program called MercyWorks through the nonprofit Mercy Home for Boys & Girls. The program is also part of the AmeriCorps network. I start this year-long program in August. I view this as my next step in my unknown career path. I have no idea what job I want to do, but I do know that I want to help people. MercyWorks for me is a wonderful way to get work experience, live in community, and explore the social justice issues that plague our society today. I encourage everyone to look into a year of service if they can especially if they don’t want to jump right into the corporate world or grad school. It’s a highly rewarding process that I am very excited to embark on.   

BEING A RAMBLER:  

What is your favorite place on campus? 

My favorite place on campus is located at the business school. On the 4th floor of Schreiber, there is a bench that overlooks a courtyard in the house next door. I used that spot to take important phone calls for job interviews and such so it holds a special place in my heart. Also, there is a huge tree that calmed me whenever I was on the phone.  

LIFE AFTER LOYOLA:  

Is there a moment from your time at Loyola that influences you now? 

I went on two different ABI’s during my freshman and sophomore years. The one I participated in freshman year is the reason why I choose to do a year of service. I loved the work we did learning from the community. One should not go into full-service immersion experiences with a savior mentality because, quite often, you will learn more from the people you help than they will learn from you. It opens you up to a world that you would never experience otherwise. I still think about that spring-break trip to Joppa Farms TN and without it, I don’t think I would be this committed to my year of service as I am right now.  

What do you miss about being a student? 

There’s a reason people tell you that college is the best four years of your life. I would like to amend that by saying college is the best four years of your life without responsibility. The typical college student has no mortgage payment, no loan payments, no children, no responsibility besides that part-time job and getting good grades. I oversimplified here, but in general, this is the freest we will ever be in our lives. I’ve only been out of school for two months and I miss that. However, what I miss the most is friendship. 16,000 people your age living near you and sharing the same experiences will never happen again. It’s so easy to run into people walking to class or make a new friendship by running into someone at a free food event (I met one of my best friends that way). That is not to say you cannot make friends when you graduate but the ease is gone resulting in me getting creative to meet new people.