Name: Jordan LaPorta
Hometown: Hoover, Ala.
Major: History and Political Science
Relationship status: In a relationship
Favorite Book: Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
Favorite place to study on campus: First floor of Gorgas Library
Favorite place to eat in Tuscaloosa: Avenue Pub
What are you involved in at UA? Mock Trial Association (president), Pre-law Student Association (President), The Crimson White (News Editor)
What’s your favorite part about your majors? “The best thing about the humanities is the subjectivity of it. There are few other majors where you can openly disagree with source material and not be clearly wrong. I love having the ability to synthesize large amounts of information, and being able to come up with my own counter-arguments against the prevailing wisdom.”
What do you love most about politics? “It’s funny, because despite my involvement in politics, I don’t really care for it much. In fact, I don’t care for it at all. I involve myself in politics because I want to reduce the role it plays in people’s lives. Being a control freak, most people assume that I would be the type of person who’d want to manage things in government, but it’s actually the reverse. Because of my need for control, I want to be able to manage myself and allow others to do the same.”
What’s the best class you’ve taken at UA? History of the Conservative Intellectual Movement with Dr. George Hawley (PSC 321)
Who is your celebrity crush? Alison Brie
Describe myself in three words: Outspoken, intellectual, contrarian
What do you like to do in your free time? “I’m a huge sports fan – football especially. When I can’t make it to games in-person, I love to sit down with some friends and watch the best games on television.”
What do you think is your best quality? “My work ethic.”
The best advice I’ve ever gotten: “My grandfather told me when I was younger that there will always be people that are smarter and more talented out there. But only I can determine if there is someone else out there who works harder.”
Where I see myself in five years: “Hopefully in five years, I will have successfully graduated law school and working in a nice firm. I want to do some political commentary on the side if I have time, as I have done that throughout my time in undergrad.”