When JC Santamaria ’23 was 13 years old, he hopped online and searched “how rich people make money.” One of the top hits was the stock market, so he threw himself into research to learn how to invest.
By this point in his life, he had lived for three years with his mother and 10 other family members in a small house in San Francisco.
He and his mom shared a bedroom with a bunk bed.
His father was back home in the Philippines.
As parents, they wanted their son to start anew in a different country that would afford him greater opportunities. His mother gave up her career and personal life, moved across the globe, and joined family in California where she worked second shift in a retail store.
It didn’t matter that she had a college degree – a Filipino diploma meant nothing in America.
Santamaria would see his dad in the summer, but the majority of his relationship occurred over the phone.
As he grew up over the next five years, little in the routine changed. He studied numbers, his mom worked retail, they shared a bedroom, and he visited his father each summer.
Then the opportunities his parents positioned him for began to appear.
"I was actually able to do something that truly was for me and my soul. I really found the more artistic side of myself and am extremely grateful for it."
First was the Posse Foundation, a nonprofit organization that partners young leaders with select colleges and universities. Santamaria was a candidate and began the rigorous process.
He was accepted, which granted him a full tuition scholarship.
Second was interest from Lehigh.
“I knew nothing about the East Coast or seasons,” he said. “I had never been away from my family.”
But passing up on this opportunity was not an option.
He doesn’t regret the choice at all, despite only living on campus three semesters. COVID-19 kept him home (and unable to visit his father) for two years, and he took advantage of a semester at University College London in England.
While there, he took a break from his finance major (with a concentration in real estate) and instead studied Slavonic cinema, classic literature, and ethics. He also started a coffee blog on Instagram called @cappuccinerino where he reviewed London's most notable coffee shops.
“This was the first time in my whole life that I wasn’t focused on my goals as a first-generation college student,” he said. “It was a dream of mine to visit London, let alone live and study there. I was actually able to do something that truly was for me and my soul. I really found the more artistic side of myself and am extremely grateful for it. Even halfway across the world, Lehigh's support for me was so strong, and I always knew I was not alone, that I had people to rely on if anything went wrong.”
While there, he was able to meet one of his favorite musicians, Aurora, which allowed him to tap into a few of the music courses he’d taken at Lehigh. London also brought out a new passion: snooker. He now finds time to chalk his cue and rack up a few games each day – both on and off campus. He hopes to form a snooker team on campus before he graduates.
“I have learned so much in the classroom and about myself,” he said. “The sense of community at Lehigh and support system here for me is powerful.”
“As a first-generation student, there are days that will be hard, so you need to know the reasons why you are enduring those hardships and draw on them during tough times,” he said. “My mom is my main motivator. I have to come through this for her. I have reaped the benefits from all of her sacrifices. She let go of all of her dreams to focus on me. In that spirit, being successful here is the least I can do for her.”
He does have plans for her. First is to get her out of the tiny room they share and one day, hopefully, into a house of their own.
“I took this risk and tried things I never thought I could try,” he said. “I, like all first-generation students, lose who I thought I was in order to create the person I could become.”
Discover More
