The founder of Siena’s Mentoring Program Jim Snyder died on Friday in Latham at the age of 78. Snyder’s program brought underprivileged children from the Albany area to Siena’s campus and paired them with volunteer Siena students.
Snyder arrived at Siena in 1964 and started the Mentoring Program, formerly named the Big Brothers and Sisters initiative, a year later.
Every Saturday during the school year, Snyder and Siena students spent one-on-one time with their “littles.” There is also a six-week, full-day summer program for elementary school students. The children, who arrive by bus, eat lunch in Serra Dining Hall. Then they set out as a group for activities such as roller skating, bowling and snow tubing.
“I see the impact the program has had on kids,” Snyder said in 2012. “When I see them going to Siena and other colleges I’m proud of them.”
J’Vanay Santos ’16 met Snyder when she joined the program as a 10-year-old student at St. Casimir School. She is now an accounting major at Siena and a coordinator for the Mentoring Program. She recalled Snyder’s sense of humor and his inclusive spirit.
“He was really kindhearted,” Santos said. “He had the roughest of kids with the biggest of attitudes, and I was one of them. He sought me out to go to Siena. He was an amazing mentor.”
One of Snyder’s closest friends at Siena College was assistant director of admissions and former basketball player Dale Taylor ’02. They met the summer before Taylor’s freshman year. Snyder offered Taylor a part-time job working with the Mentoring Program, which led to a 16-year friendship. Snyder welcomed Taylor into his family, inviting him to his home for holidays and birthdays.
“He contributed to the man I’ve become,” said Taylor who still volunteers with the Mentoring Program. “He embodied (Siena’s) Franciscan tradition. He just loved because.”
When the Mentoring Program was in danger of budget cuts during the recent recession, Snyder worked to secure a $250,000 U.S. Department of Justice grant to expand services to high school students and increase membership.
“Jim made it possible to not turn away interested youth who wished to spend their Saturday at Siena College,” said Alfredo Medina Jr., associate vice president for Academic Affairs. “I wonder, how different their lives would be if Jim were not part of it. Jim's commitment to diversity and helping the less fortunate will be enormously missed.”
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Thursday, March 6 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Mary of the Angels Chapel at Siena College. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited and may call Wednesday, March 5 from 4-7 p.m. at Lasak & Gigliotti Funeral Home at 208 North Allen St., Albany, N.Y.
