Baseball is in his blood, and so is serving those less fortunate in his community

TALLAHASSEE, Florida – Javier Santana is the cook, so he doesn’t interact with the diners at the local Ronald McDonald House Charities. But every so often he pokes his head out of the kitchen to see who’s enjoying the pork chops or steak or pasta or whatever he whipped up for the evening meal.

Did they eat the salad?

Are they enjoying the chocolate cookies he made for dessert?

“It’s difficult what they’re going through,” he said. “Maybe the meal made them feel good. That’s something I believe in. I know food can change my mood quickly.”

Javier, 18, is a senior at St. John Paul II Catholic High School (JPII) in Tallahassee. He receives a Florida education choice scholarship managed by Step Up For Students.

The diocesan high school, he said, had a profound impact on him over the last four years. It helped deepen his faith, and the challenging academic workload helped reinforce the benefits of good study habits that’s led to a 4.3 GPA.

“I have friends who go to other schools who complain about homework or say they don’t get that much. I think it’s necessary,” Javier said. “This is a college preparatory school, and I've been taking dual enrollment courses. And, yeah, it's a lot of work. It's not easy. But I like challenging myself.”

JPII has also allowed him to make an impact in the community.

Two Sundays each month, Javier heads to the Ronald McDonald House Charities and cooks for the families who stay there while their child receives treatment at nearby Tallahassee Memorial Hospital.

“That’s my number one charity,” he said.

The Kearney Center, which serves the area’s homeless, is another. As president of JPII’s first-year Key Club, Javier organized a clothing drive and delivered sweaters and socks to the center in December, ahead of the cold weeks that followed. He’s currently organizing a drive that will deliver cleaning supplies to the Ronald McDonald House.

He also spends time each month Facetiming elementary school students in the Dominican Republic to help them learn English.

“He has a servant’s heart,” JPII Principal Luisa Zalzman said.

He also has a pretty good fastball.

A pitcher and third baseman, Javier earned a scholarship to Tallahassee State College and has drawn interest from several Major League Baseball teams.

Javier’s parents, Jose and Melissa, hail from the Dominican Republic.

Jose, an emergency room physician at HCA Florida Capital Hospital, moved his family to Tallahassee a year before Javier was born. He and Melissa wanted to raise their family – daughter Isabella is two years older than Javier – in a community where the children could grow roots and be surrounded by friends.

Javier and Isabella attended Trinity Catholic School, a pre-K-8 parochial school that almost serves as a feeder to JPII. Javier knew he was going to JPII long before the eighth grade. Isabella graduated from there in 2024. The family’s home is one block away from the campus.

Javier grew up on ball fields and basketball courts around Tallahassee. He played soccer and took taekwondo. He swam and participated in gymnastics.

He played three years of varsity basketball at JPII but served as the team’s manager during his senior year after suffering several injuries as a junior. He wanted to keep himself healthy for his first love – baseball.

“It’s in my blood,” Javier said. “I’m Dominican.”

He has attended showcase events where top high school prospects work out in front of major league scouts, and has played for a number of top-level travel teams.

A career in the major leagues would be awesome, but it’s not the end-all for Javier. He’s also interested in digital marketing.

“We’re very proud of him, academically, religiously, and obviously on the field,” Jose said.

When Principal Zalzman began the Key Club back in August, she needed to pick a student to be the president. She turned to Javier because, with more than 1,000 service hours during his time at JPII, he would set an example for other students.

“Nobody knows half the things he does,” she said. “He doesn’t advertise how many hours he has. He doesn’t do it for show or for recognition. He just does it, and I think that comes from his family. His mom, his dad, the whole family is a serving family.”

Javier said he learned to cook from his mom and his grandmother, Dolores Santana, who also lives in Tallahassee. He started when he was eight. He began making meals with his mom and delivering them to the Ronald McDonald House. But after the COVID pandemic, it was decided that all meals had to be cooked on-site.

So that’s where Javier heads twice a month for a few hours on a late Sunday afternoon. Lately, he has asked classmates to join him to help build their service hours, but also for the company, and what he called the “feel-good moment.”

“Occasionally, I'll see the families,” Javier said. “And when I see someone eat my food, and they really like it, and it puts a smile on their face, that makes it feel pretty good.”

Roger Mooney, manager, communications, can be reached at [email protected].