Lisa C. Foligno ’08
Student

Sports have always played a significant role in Lisa C. Foligno’s life. In fact, the Class of 2008 marketing major hails from a family of professional athletes.  Her great uncle, Eddie Giacomin, was a popular goaltender for the NHL’s New York Rangers during the 1960s and early 1970s. Many Buffalonians remember her father, Mike Foligno, a feisty forward for the Buffalo Sabres from 1982-1991. Foligno’s two brothers also play hockey: Nick for the Ottawa Senators and Marcus for the Ontario Hockey Leagues’ Sudbury Wolves. 

As a young child and throughout high school, Foligno competed in ice hockey and softball. When she came to Canisius, Foligno took up lacrosse. Because she was new to the game, Foligno spent a lot of extra time on drills to improve her stick-handling skills. She not only made the women’s lacrosse team but grew to become a key contributor, a team captain and an award-winning player. 

But Foligno’s leadership and enthusiasm is not limited to the lacrosse field.  As president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), she organized and led two new community service initiatives for athletes between the departments of Athletics and Campus Ministry. Foligno also participated in many of the college’s outreach projects and charity fund raisers, and in a service-learning project at the Niagara Lutheran Church Home, where she played bingo, sewed quilts and kept the elderly residents company. 

Foligno plans to pursue a career in sports marketing and athletic promotion. Certainly, she will distinguish herself just as she did at Canisius.  The 2008 graduate is a recipient of the Department of Marketing Academic Excellence Award.  

Although Foligno chose Canisius mainly because she was familiar with the Western New York region, she found the college’s Jesuit ideals to be a perfect fit with those of her family.

“Canisius reinforces many of the values my parents instilled in me and my siblings from an early age. I feel a personal need to perform service work because it fulfills me and helps me to grow in my Catholic faith. Service work helps you to cherish what you have, and teaches you about the person that you are, as well as the person you want to become.”