Lambda Chi has been a Hallmark in John Santeiu's Life

If you take a glance back on John Santeiu’s college career, it becomes clear that he took the more non-traditional route to earn his degree. Originally coming to Michigan State to study Veterinary Medicine, which at the time was the only university in the state offering that major, John soon discovered that this was not the career path he wanted to pursue after all.
   
He attended MSU for freshman and sophomore years, but John soon came to the realization that not only did he not want to become a vet but that his desired profession was taking after his dad. “My father was a funeral director,” John said. “After two years, I thought ‘I always wanted to be a funeral director, what am I doing here?’”
   
John proceeded to enroll at Wayne State where he attained his associates degree in mortuary science. Even with his newly discovered career, John’s father insisted he return to Michigan State to complete his bachelors degree and graduate. Upon his return, the school had developed the humanities college which suited John’s interests much more and he became a comparative religion major.
   
Despite all of the crazy turns John’s life was taking during this time, he managed to find a group at MSU with which he really felt at home and that was among the brothers of Lambda Chi Alpha. “I went through the rush and I just liked the mix of individuals that were involved in it,” John said. “It seemed to be more of a mix rather than with some other fraternities that had one orientation or one background.”
   
Pledging back then was quite different than today for a number of reasons. “At that point the pledge classes were quite large and so we had a real variety of people involved,” he said, “…everybody from people like me who were 18 years old and just starting to guys in our class who were Korean War vets.” 
   
As with any time you gather large amounts of young men in one house, there are bound to be crazy antics that take place from time to time. Some that John can recall include a large amount of small animals running all over the fraternity.

“Somebody’s grandfather had a hatchery and they turned loose 100 baby chicks in the house," John said. While it is still up for debate how they successfully rounded up the small chicks, it sure makes for a great story from days past.     Fun was never in short amounts for the brothers of Lambda Chi, but when it came to taking care of business the brothers were up for the challenge. One of the biggest life lessons John took away from the fraternity was involvement which was a strength the brothers possessed and took pride in. Any time a position would need filled or a task completed, the men of Lambda Chi would rise to the occasion. “It was sort of advancing the fraternity through community involvement,” John said. “A lot of the things we did were really putting into practice things that we were learning but without the economic consequences if there was a problem.”
   
One very successful event that drew five to six-thousand spectators was a push car race called the Junior 500. Lambda Chi brothers organized all facets of the day from public relations to crowd control. “It was a funny mess but when you looked back at it, it was really giving us experience doing these things,” John said.
   
Many other skills, even if they appeared very minor in the grand scheme of things, carried over to more recent years. John mentions learning about silk-screening during his MSU days which he put to use many time after college including one instance when he helped friends print political posters.
   
The involvement that John learned at Lambda Chi has been a hallmark in his life and the list of organizations and boards that has participated in the past or still does is remarkable.  Some of those include a hospital board, foundation board as a local community college, downtown development authority, the Historical Museum and United Foundation just to name a few.

While keeping up with so many positions comes from John’s driven personality, he does give credit to the fraternity for instilling that in him from the start. “It helped emphasize that you were there not just for your own benefit but for the people you chose to associate with,” he said.

Today John is married to his wife, Judy, who was an Alpha Chi Omega at Michigan State. Together they run a funeral home ten miles away from his father’s original location and under the same name. They have expanded quite a bit starting with just the two of them and a few part-time employees to now boasting a staff of 36. The Santeius are also lucky enough to work with their children every single day. Their sons are licensed funeral directors for the business and their daughter is the chief counselor of pre-needs.

While volunteering and running his business are passions that John dedicates much of his time to, he also is busy keeping up with grandchildren. He is quick to brag about their lengthy lists of accomplishments that range from his granddaughter on her way to becoming a successful severe weather meteorologist to his grandson receiving a full ride to Auburn University next year.

There is much that can be learned from John’s life and his courage to pursue what would truly make him happy. The advice he would like to leave for the undergraduate chapter is to “take pride in what you do and do the best you can.”

Reconnect with John at mosujohn@sbcglobal.net.