Tewksbury Resident Overcomes Adversity to Earn Top Marks at Shawsheen

We're running a new feature spotlighting various Tewksbury students who have achieved success in their educational career, some who have even overcome great adversity to do so. We will continue this on a weekly basis once school resumes in September.

Ricky Santiago is a junior in the electrical engineering program at Shawsheen Valley Technical High School and is the Class of 2015 President, a student council member, has received honors or high honors all eight quarters he's been in high school and received the President's Award for 2011 at Wynn Middle School. 
Santiago wasn't always on track to be at the top of his class, but several teachers at the Wynn Middle School in Tewksbury helped him improve his academic career. 
"I received an enormous amount of help and support from the staff at the Wynn Middle School, particularly Kara Murray, Cindy Ramaska, Carol Navetta and Kate Nicholson," Santiago said.
In middle school, Santiago was on an Individualized Education Plan, and the educators at the Wynn School played a large part in helping Santiago improve his study skills and test taking. 
"Those teachers are the reason that I was able to acquire proper studying skills, improve my test taking and have an increase in my self-confidence and self-esteem," Santiago said. "At the end of eighth grade it was decided that I no longer required an IEP, and I guess based on my success the last two years, the teachers were right!"

Santiago said he has develop his study habits to the point where he devotes two to three hours per night and an additional one to two hours each weekend to homework. 

"I want to develop a routine in high school and be able to carry that right into college," Santiago said. "I quickly realized that I need to work hard every day to make sure that happens."

Santiago has set goals for himself including going to a four-year college, improving his class rank from 33 and raising money to travel to Italy with his Shawsheen classmates in April 2014. 

You can donate to Santiago's class trip to Italy here.

If you know of a student in elementary, middle or high school who you feel deserves to be commended for their hard work , please submit information to christopher.gambon@patch.com.