Thomas Giordano is a well known face on campus all year-round, but during December, he becomes even more memorable.
Major: International Business
Minor: Spanish
Year: Junior
Campus involvement: Treasurer of Alpha Phi Omega, Advisory council member for Proudly Assisting and Welcoming Students (P.A.W.S.), student assistant for the Valley Scholars program, and FROG
You wear a Santa hat everywhere you go Dec. 1-25. When and why did that start?
In high school, I was pretty big into Christmas. I decorated my locker and my room; my friend Vincent and I gave out candy. Then freshman year at JMU, I put my hat on, and I was like, “I’m gonna do this for 25 days.” I’ve kept up with the tradition everywhere I go–class, exams, the store, at home. Wherever I am, you’ll see me with this hat on.
Do you get any weird looks or are people on board?
The first few days of class, people are like, “OK, why are you wearing that?” and I tell them, “It’s December 1st, 25 more days! My professor the other day was like, “Are you going to keep it on until Christmas?” and I was like “No, I’m gonna take it off halfway through. Of course I’m keeping it on.” It’s funny watching people’s eyes go up when they notice the hat.
Is Christmas your favorite holiday?
It’s definitely Christmas or Halloween, but Christmas has more spirit so it trumps Halloween.
Favorite JMU memory?
Either being a FROG because my partner, the RA for my first years, and my first years were just amazing or getting into APO because that was a hella good day.
Favorite spots on campus
To eat: I love Top Dog. Go Top Dog.
To study: I used to be team Carrier, and then COB 300 changed me into team ECL, and it’s really sad.
To admire the scenery: Right outside ISAT looking over the mountains into the sunset.