Ursuline Academy is delighted to announce that Madeline Senay ’12 has been chosen as the 2021 Recipient of the Young Alumna Serviam Award.
Madeline was Nominated by her mother, Marie Senay.
From a young age, Madeline’s mother knew she was a kind and compassionate young woman and knew she would follow a path of service to others. As a high school student at UA, she played sports and was active in many activities, including leadership within her youth group and many looked up to her for her talks about faith, teen issues and values. Madeline also explored these issues through the Diversity Team and as she entered the University of Missouri studying social work. As a good student and active member of her sorority, she made time to volunteer at the Mid Missouri Crisis Line as an operator, fielding calls at night from people in crisis. Then as a volunteer with the MU Language Partners, she worked with a diverse group of international students, helping them with their conversational English skills. She took on the challenge at the St. Patrick’s Center as a Social Work Intake Specialist, listening to her clients’ heartbreaking stories and providing the social services guidance they needed. On spring breaks, Madeline worked hand-on with the inner city homeless in Atlanta and New Orleans using her organizational skills to manage these successful trips. While at Mizzou, Madeline leaned on her UA Diversity Team experience as she worked with patients of all socio-economic levels receiving cancer treatments at the Ellis Fischer Cancer Center. After her graduation, she worked as an Addiction Recovery Technician at Compass Health in Columbia until she began at the University of Michigan to receive her Masters in Social Work where she continued to serve as Psychiatric Social Work Intern. After graduation, Madeline applied to be a Peace Corps Youth Development Volunteer in Ukraine where she served for 27 months working with youth, particularly affected by its war with Russia in an area very near the armed conflicts. She learned Russian to speak with the students, gained approval to work with them, and even organized a camp for HIV-positive children to help educate and give volunteers the skills to run the camps after she returned to the States. Now back in St. Louis, Madeline sees a full caseload of teens and adults at Sound Mind Therapy as a Social Worker. She is earning her certificate in Cognitive Processing Therapy to be able to better support people with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Madeline has all of the qualities and accomplishments that an Ursuline Academy Young Alumna Serviam Award would possess and embodies the Serviam Spirit.