Perseverance paying off for Wright State economics student

After enrolling in Wright State for the third time, economics major Michael Santana is thriving in the classroom and as a campus leader. (Photo by Chris Snyder)

Michael Santana embodies the saying “Third time’s a charm.”

A combination of family issues, injury, a natural disaster and self-doubt cut short his first two stints at Wright State University. Now, he is on track to graduate with his bachelor’s degree this year while stepping up as a student leader.

Such is his perseverance.

Santana’s Wright State journey began after graduating from Stebbins High School in Riverside in 2011. He enrolled at Wright State as a mechanical engineering major.

“I was doing pretty well much of that year,” the Dayton native said.

Then life happened. His girlfriend became pregnant, and he weighed whether to stay in school or leave to get a full-time job to support his new family. He chose the latter, stopping out in 2012 and working in a local machine shop.

After a couple of years, he wanted to better himself, so he enlisted in the Army. Shortly after, Santana suffered a back injury, leading to his honorable discharge in 2015.

Santana went to work as a mechanic, a field in which he trained in the Army, but his back continued to bother him. So, in 2018, he re-enrolled at Wright State, this time in nursing “to help a lot of people and still provide a means for me to support my family.” He soon learned that the physical exertion of nursing was as extensive as his mechanic’s job, further aggravating his injured back.

Life took a turn for the worse. His marriage fell apart; the region’s Memorial Day tornadoes of 2019 destroyed his home, later followed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I stopped going to school, and I tried to pick up work,” Santana said.

“I was feeling a lack of purpose,” he recalled.

He said he was in a downward spiral, losing hope about the future.

At that time, his family grew to include two young daughters. To go forward, he drew courage from them.

“I didn’t want my daughters to introduce me to their friends as a disabled veteran who stayed at home,” Santana said. “I wanted to do something constructive so they could be proud of me as their dad.”

So for the third time he enrolled at Wright State, this time as an economics major.

He’s found his academic home. Santana is on track to graduate in the summer of 2025 with his bachelor’s degree in economics and a minor in mathematics.

Next step: pursuing a doctorate in economics. If he doesn’t get into a Ph.D. program right away, he plans to pursue a master’s degree in applied and social economics.

“This feels like it’s my last chance to make something of myself,” he said. “I want my children to say, ‘Here’s my dad, who helps people.’”

His back pain continues, but he has a plan for that, too: bariatric surgery to lose weight. “The pain is only going to get worse if I don’t lose weight,” he said.

Santana pushes through the pain to excel in his classes — with a GPA over 3.8 — and takes on several leadership roles, including serving as the Student Government Association senator for the Raj Soin College of Business.

“The idea of being able to help students who may or may not be able to find a way to represent themselves because they’re young really spoke to me,” he said of why he ran for the office. “I remember being 18 or 19 and how hard it was to talk to authority figures because I didn’t know what to do or say. Now I’m a 32-year-old man with life experience. I can express what needs to be done and maintain decorum.”

Santana is also president of Wright State’s chapter of Omicron Delta Epsilon, the international honor society for economics. He is responsible for recruiting and ensuring that members and meetings progress smoothly.

“My efforts help students feel comfortable participating in ODE activities,” he said. “By organizing the chapter here, it allows me to build my leadership skills and adds a nice accolade to my resume for future opportunities.”

His ultimate goal: “Professionally, I want to be able to find the connections between personal choice and obligation when it comes to financial literacy — being able to examine how people make decisions on the best use of their money and how they earn that money in the first place.”

Wright State and the Rajo Soin College of Business are helping Santana reach that goal.

“It’s nice to have all the positive support from professors and other students who speak well of me,” he said. “It helps me stay motivated.”

His still-growing family also helps keep him motivated. Along with his two daughters, Roselynn, 11, and Alexandra, 9, is his wife, Kim Meade, whom he married last October. This semester, she enrolled at Wright State as a history major.

“It’s nice to see that things are going in a good direction now,” Santana said.

Santana offers advice for others who, like him, have gone through tough times.

“Even if things are hard right now, suffering is temporary,” he said. “You will succeed if you keep pushing forward. Don’t give up.”