Biography
Santiago T. Potes graduated from Columbia University in 2020 as the recipient of the David B. Truman Award for academic affairs. An Alexander Hamilton Scholar, Santiago was Prof. Brian Greene's (New York & Magdalen 1984) head teaching assistant, taught elements of Columbia's Core Curriculum on Rikers Island, and helped to create a new undergraduate concentration at Columbia in Justice Studies. Santiago has received acclaim for his national advocacy on behalf of undocumented immigrants and he and his writing were featured on an amicus brief in support of the successful DACA case before the Supreme Court. A prize-winning violinist, Santiago is also fluent or near fluent in nine languages including Mandarin. The City of Miami proclaimed June 7th, 2016 as Santiago Tobar Potes Day.