This week on Siena’s campus, a wise and uplifting soul is uncovered.

Don Roberson is going on his sixth year at Siena. After two years of working general maintenance for Siena, he moved over to the Campus Village (CV) Apartments. That’s his building and he loves it there, if you ask him.

Students who know Don know he loves his job. Ever wondered why? For him, it’s the students.

“The students are the number one, by far,” he said. “It’s a thrill to be here because of the students. I feel every year that I meet more students and it’s priceless. I love the students.”

If you know Don, there’s bound to be two things with him at all times: A smile and his earbuds. He loves music. Music is like air to him; he would die without it, he said.

In his spare time, Don likes to create lip sync videos. His first video was unpremeditated, according to Don. However, after reading the first video’s comments from everyone and the students, he said he knew he had to continue.

“The feedback…it sparked something in me,” he said.

His first video was “Purple Rain” by Prince, and it surely will not be his last. Some of his videos have even gone “platinum,” according to him.

“That first video, I did what I felt and it went platinum on me. It actually inspired me.”

Don will be recording another lip sync video. The song will be “It’s Been Awhile” by Staind, and it will be “dropped this weekend,” he said.

Don said he has lots of favorite memories from Siena. However, when asked to pick a favorite, two came to mind. His second year the students threw him a surprise thank you party. It caught him off guard. Normally, Don said he is afraid of crowds, but in this case, he wanted to make sure he saw every single face to thank them.

“I was touched so deeply,” he said. “That was my second year at Siena. And that quick, I connected to so many students. It amplified who I was and who I am and enhanced my purpose because I’m here for the students. I will cherish it forever.”

He said another favorite memory for him was when Sister Mary Jones asked him to be a torchbearer for the Adrian Dominican Sisters. It really touched him that he was asked. His advice to students is to always put God first, make Jesus your Savior, and see yourself where you want to be.

Don talked a lot about his personal mission in life and how Siena has helped put a lot of things together for him.

“It amplified my mission and made me 95 percent stronger than I have ever been in my life, and that’s truly because of the students,” he said.

Don said he thinks that college students sometimes get a bad rap. However, he is here to state that college students, at least those at Siena, are some of the hardest workers. He doesn’t believe they get the recognition they deserve at times.

Students, staff, and faculty who haven’t met Don before, catch him over in CV, with his earbuds in, singing away.

When asked why Don loves Siena, he summed it up in a perfect quote to end with: “Siena is the greatest place I’ve ever been, and I’ve been to Cedar Point.”