Leticia Santiago Joins PHS Alumni Honor Roll

Leticia Santiago

Blogger's Note: The following was provided by the Foundation for Pottstown Education.
On Friday Oct. 18, the Pottstown School District Alumni Honor Roll Committee will induct three alumni in to the District’s Alumni Honor Roll at the 34th annual event.

The Alumni Honor Roll was established in 1986 as a way to recognize outstanding Pottstown High School Alumni who has made significant contributions to their community and profession. With the addition of this year’s honorees, 132 alumni will have been recognized with this honor.

The three 2019 honorees represent Pottstown High School Classes of 1953, 1990, and 1999. Aram Ecker, chair of the Alumni Honor Roll Committee placed the names of Robert G. Sutton, Leticia J. Santiago and LaTanya White-Springfield as the nominees for this year’s class to the Pottstown School Board on Thursday April 23, 2019.

They will be recognized at the Annual Alumni Honor Roll event on Oct. 18. 

The event will begin with a continental breakfast at the Pottstown High School followed by a tour of the Alumni Gallery. The recognition ceremony will be held during an assembly in the High School’s Stanley Davenport Auditorium. The induction ceremony will be followed by a luncheon at the Brookside Country Club. 

Members of the community as well as all Pottstown High School Alumni are welcome to the event and can purchase tickets for $50 per person which includes admission to all of the events listed above. A portion of the ticket price is tax deductible and will support the Alumni Honor Roll. 

Tickets for the luncheon are on sale and can be reserved by contacting Diane Nash in the Superintendent’s Office 610-970-6601. 

Here is the second profile of an inductee.

Leticia J. Santiago

Representing the Pottstown High School Class of 1990 is Leticia J. Santiago. While a student at Pottstown High School, she was captain of the twirling squad, basketball cheerleaders and the Lacrosse team. She was also the recipient of the London Leisure Scholarship

After high school Ms. Santiago attended Howard University majoring in Political Sciences. While at Howard University she was awarded the United States Attorney General’s Special Achievement Award while interning in the Department of Justice. 

After receiving her Bachelor of Arts degree, she enrolled in Howard University’s School of Law and received her Juris Doctor Degree in 1997.

Santiago is the Associate Managing Attorney for Travelers. In 2004, she was awarded the Edith Spivack Special Recognition Award and presented this award from New York City Mayor, Micheal Bloomberg. She was also presented the 2013 Staff Counsel Award as well as the 2013 In-synch Service award presented by the CEO of Travelers.

When asked about what the phrase “Proud to be from Pottstown “ meant to her, Ms. Santiago responded: 

"For me, the phrase “Proud to be from Pottstown” represents the gratitude I feel having been born and raised in Pottstown. Pottstown is where the majority of my family resides; it is where I developed my first friendships, all of which are still maintained today; it is the sense of community, in thought and deed, which during my most impressionable years as a child and teenager, provided me with support and encouragement I needed to succeed in life," she said in a press release issued by the Foundation for Pottstown Education.

Being inducted in to the Pottstown High School Alumni Honor Roll is a distinguished honor for our alumni. When asked what this recognition means, Santiago replied:

My maternal grandparents had 9 children, all of whom graduated from Pottstown High. The first to graduate, my Aunt Berwindale (Glenn) Whitehurst, graduated in 1951, 68 years ago. My Uncle Gregory Glenn, the youngest, graduated in 1966 (my mother, Melvenna (Glenn) Santiago graduated in 1962). When my Uncle Gregory was set to graduate, the Mercury published an article on June 6, 1966 about the Glenn family entitled “Ninth Member of Glenn Family To Graduate from Pottstown High.” The article, which includes a picture of my grandparents, mother, aunts, and uncles, states “[t]he Glenn family probably created school history for the number of brothers and sisters to graduate from any one area high school.” This is my legacy, which is inextricably intertwined with Pottstown High. I am who I am today, in part, because of the four years I spent at Pottstown High; critical years of self-development and purpose. My heart is full with this extraordinary honor. I am proud to be from Pottstown and I am proud to be a Trojan! 

When asked what one piece of advice that he would give to the current students of the Pottstown High School, Santiago replied: "My advice is to be loving and kind to others, be positive, find your passion; recognize that you have the power and everything within you to succeed. Be confident, listen carefully, seek counsel from trustworthy adults; understand that challenges and difficulties will arise in life – it is your mindset that makes the difference."