Campus Celebrity: James Santana
If you have ever seen someone dressed in dapper attire, or sporting the letters INK, always with a huge smile on his face, you have probably crossed paths with this week’s campus celeb, James Santana.
James is extremely involved with the University both with academics and with extracurricular activities. There is no resting for this guy, and all of his accomplishments can prove it.
Raised by his mother and father in Vienna, Maine, James was adopted and is one of four children. He attended Pine Tree Academy in Freeport and graduated in 2008. He started his college life at University of Maine at Farmington, and one short year later; he transferred to University of Maine and realized this was his home.
James is a fourth year Psychology student with two minors: economics and business administration. He has high aspirations for graduate school, with his top choice being Stanford. He will go on to receive his doctorate in psychology and plans to be a pediatric psychologist.
Some of us don’t look at our clocks until at least 9am but for Mr. Santana, it is 7:30am every day. He is up and ready to take on his day which usually doesn’t end until 8pm. James is taking 15 credit hours, and is also a certified nursing assistant at Orono Commons, where he works a total of 36 hours per week.
James has numerous accomplishments, the biggest one being one of the fourteen founding fathers and proud brother of, Iota Nu Kappa Multicultural Fraternity Inc. He is currently the President and has been for the past 3 semesters. In addition to heading a fraternity of twenty-five brothers, James is also part of the Fraternity Council where he is the General Standards Executive. He is also a Teaching Assistant for Greek Peer Education, part of Order of Omega; National Honor Society and through the fraternity involved in many intramural sports.
James lives life everyday being led by his two role models: Jesus and Martin Luther King Jr. He says, “It is the way in which he went about change [MLK] in the world. And not just for African American’s, (he says with a huge grin) but for all people in general, equality for all is really important to me.”
After graduating in the spring, James will be moving on to graduate school where he can leave more positive influences on students and faculty. James has been an inspiration of perseverance and discipline to many people and when he leaves, his impression will last a lifetime.