Excelling on and off the field
LHS senior named county's top scholar athlete
The essay topic that Lawrence High School senior Joel Santisteban selected for his college applications this fall was time management, and with his heavy involvement playing football, taking part in the jazz band and serving as a volunteer firefighter — all while excelling in the classroom — this is subject he has certainly mastered.
The National Football Foundation agrees and recognized Santisteban on Sunday for his success on and off the field as Nassau County's top scholar athlete. The Meadowmere Park resident was selected from a pool of 42 student-athletes and received the prestigious award at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury. He is the second Lawrence High School football player to receive the award, following in the footsteps of 2006 winner Bryan DiSabato, who now plays strong safety at Gettysburg College.
"His time-management skills for a high school student are outstanding," said Lawrence head football coach Lou Andre. "His loyalty to whatever he partakes in is amazing."
Santisteban, who started as an offensive lineman and middle linebacker for Lawrence, helped lead Golden Tornadoes to the Nassau County football title last month. His excellence in the classroom includes posting a 98 average, 1400 SATs and being a member of the National Honor Society. He plays in the Lawrence High School jazz band and is a volunteer junior firefighter in Meadowmere Park.
"I always end up falling asleep on my books," said Santisteban of how many activities he takes part in. "I make sacrifices when I need to."
Santisteban is planning to continue his football career in college and is considering some of the nation's top academic schools such as Harvard, MIT and Washington University in St. Louis. His first choice is MIT, where he applied early-action because of their top-notch engineering program and having the chance to play for a solid Division III football program.
"He is totally self motivated, so it is all his inner drive," said Joel Santisteban Sr., a former star football player at Valley Stream South, of his son's athletic and academic accomplishments. "You can't tell him that he can't do something."
