Meet the Summer Program Prefects: Anthony Santine (’25)

Our ongoing series profiling the prefects for the 2022 High School Summer Program in California continues with Anthony Santine, a rising sophomore.

Anthony comes from Macomb, Michigan, just north of Detroit. “I am, as a result, a suffering Detroit sports fan,” he admits. The youngest of five children, Anthony has watched all four of his older siblings find their way to Thomas Aquinas College. “My family heard about TAC through Mother of Divine Grace. My oldest sister attended the Summer Program and enrolled following her senior year, and the rest of my siblings followed suit.”

Despite the steady westward migration of his siblings, Anthony was not convinced. “My main hobby in high school was music, especially the violin and singing,” he says. Anthony saw his future in the light of that early and enduring love for music, and in that light TAC was left in shadow. “I was interested in going to a local university to get a degree in music,” he recalls. Those misgivings, though, did not stop him from following his siblings’ footsteps at least as far as the Summer Program.

“I attended the California Summer Program in 2020 and had a very positive experience,” Anthony says with a smile. “Even though it was a Covid year, and so not all the normal activities were possible, the most important parts of the program were still there. I greatly enjoyed all the reading and discussions, especially of Antigone, Fear and Trembling, and The Consolation of Philosophy; and, of course, I loved the community life.” The Summer Program was a comprehensively enjoyable and thought-provoking two weeks, and Anthony returned to Michigan with a new perspective on his future.

“After coming to the Summer Program and giving it a lot of thought, I decided that the education and community at the College would give me a formation that I could never get at a secular university,” he explains. “I also realized that coming here wouldn’t stop me from going into music.” That latter surmise has proven correct: Since enrolling as a freshman, Anthony has begun singing in the Sunday Mass choir and in the student choral group Chrysostomos. He played the role of the police sergeant in the Choir’s recent performance of Pirates of Penzance, and he volunteers his violin in the student orchestra.

Anthony is excited to provide more than his violin skills for the 2020 Summer Program — although his violin may still make an appearance! “Some of my favorite memories from my Summer Program were the conversations I had with the prefects,” he says. “I’m really looking forward to being on the other side of those interactions.” On top of discussing the readings and playing music, Anthony is a ready opponent in ping-pong. “This past year I’ve spent an arguably excessive amount of time playing ping-pong,” he laughs. “So I’m looking forward to testing my skills with the attendees this summer!”