What's Up with the Wildcats Jordan Pina
Full Name: Jordan Michael Pina
Sport: Basketball
Birthday: January 1, 1990
Hometown: New Bedford, MA
High School: New Bedford
Year: Senior
Major: Communications major with a minor in juvenile justice and sports-based youth development. What made you choose that area of study? I wanted to do something that works with teens and young people. I felt that there was no better way than using communication and sports as a medium for that. What do you think your career intention is? Hopefully, coaching. I would definitely like to become a basketball coach. Anything that helps people out. What level would you like to coach at? I would like to start at the high school level, but hopefully one day have a college position.
Nickname: J.P.
What do you like most about Wheelock? I'd have to say the connections I've made, especially my teammates. Those are pretty much my best friends, my brothers. They've made the past four years definitely worthwhile. I'm glad I've met all of them.
Where is your favorite place on campus? CCSR. I've lived there for four years. The cafeteria is right there, my room's up there now, living in a suite. I especially love having time in my room. We have a living room, our own bathroom, so it doesn't get much better that that.
What is your favorite sports team? I'm a big Dallas Cowboys fan and big Orlando Magic fan. Where does that come from? The Dallas Cowboys comes from my brother. He's always been a Cowboys fan, so growing up that was the team I watched. For the Magic, my father used to live in Florida, so I would go down there. So, Shaq and Penny, those are my guys.
Who is your favorite athlete? My favorite athlete is probably....Dwight Howard's got to be up there. He's a freak of nature. The guy jumps out of the gym for a big man. Also, there's Lebron. He's just a talented man, a talented individual.
What is something that most people don’t know about you? Um....I don't know. I have three older brothers? I don't know. Maybe most people probably don't know that I'm on SGA here. On campus, I'm the secretary. A lot of people may only know that from my emails, because it's on my title. How long have you been on SGA? This is my first year serving on the board. What made you want to join SGA? Well, I've been an Orientation Leader for the past three years. I've been involved on campus a lot, so this was just another step forward as far as being a leader on campus.
Where is your favorite vacation spot? My favorite vacation spot is probably when I visited Max, my roommate, in South Beach down in Florida. It's beautiful down there. How close is that to Fort Lauderdale? (Max Kaim's hometown) I believe it was about a 45-minute drive for us. We spent most of our time in Fort Lauderdale and we would travel back and forth to South Beach.
What accomplishment are you most proud of in your sport? Individually, I would say having the ability to play college basketball. That's a big accomplishment. A lot of people have that goal, but not many can achieve it. As a team, I would say we've gotten better since day one. We've been able to bring a few trophies to the Athletic Department. We just want to keep getting better as a team.
What is your favorite holiday? Thanksgiving, I'd say. Why would you say that? Because it's a time, especially for my family, we do a huge dinner. This year we had 85-plus people. Oh wow! Because we were one of the first families of color to live in Massachusetts, so it's kind of a tradition for us now. Where do you have room for 85 people? We rent out a hall and get a DJ. It's a good time. That's big time.
Bacon bits or croutons? Bacon bits, definitely. Why definitely? I don't eat salad, so...I don't mind eating croutons, but I don't eat salad, so I really don't have a place to eat croutons. Bacon bits, I can throw on pizzas or burgers. There's options.
Would you rather live in a log cabin or downtown? I'm a social butterfly, so definitely downtown. Where your favorite place in Boston? I limit it to the Fenway area. It's not really downtown, it's just so active, so many people, so much to do around here. Is there a favorite place in the Fenway that you like? I love spending time down on Lansdowne, especially during Red Sox season. Just walking up and down over there.
What does community service mean to you? Community service to me is kind of going out of your way to help make someone's life better. Providing your services, free of charge. Have you had a favorite community service project that you've done in the past? Yes, actually last year, myself and members of the basketball team went to the veterans home downtown. We served them food. It was just a good experience to get to talk to them. They asked us questions about our lives, we got to talk about their lives. It was just an eye-opening experience.
Do you have any pets? I don't currently. I did have a dog, Bosco, but unfortunately we had to put him to sleep. What kind of dog was Bosco? German shepherd. How long did you have him? Years and years. Before I was born.
What is your favorite movie or movies? Love and Basketball. It's a great movie. Other than that, I would say Coach Carter and The Town. Especially sports-related movies. Those get me.
What is your favorite artist or band? My favorite music artist is Lil' Wayne. I'm a huge Lil' Wayne fan. What does it for you with Lil' Wayne? He's just that guy. His lyrics, his swag. You know, he just does it all. His perfection of autotune... Hey, I mean, whatever it takes to sell a million records.
Favorite pre-game song to get pumped up? Right now, probably "In Paris" by Jay-Z and Kanye. That's probably one of my favorite ones right now after seeing them in concert that song gets me hyped.
Pepsi or Coke? Pepsi. Why Pepsi? My Mother's a big Pepsi drinker, so we always have Pepsi in the house, never really Coke. So, you just inherited it? Yeah, it just grew on me.
Favorite Cereal? Frosted Flakes. Why Frosted Flakes? Well, I'm big on sugar. I put sugar on everything. So, I don't have to put sugar on Frosted Flakes. I can just eat them dry, so I don't need milk all the time.
What is your favorite city or town? It's funny, I was talking about this the other day. As bad as a city New Bedford can be sometimes, I love it there. That's where I was born and raised. That's what made me who I am today, so definitely New Bedford, Massachusetts.
What is your favorite ice cream? Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. Where's your favorite place to get it from? Coldstone.
How many foreign countries have you been to? None. Are there any that you'd like to go to or plan to go to? I would love to go to Brazil. Why Brazil? It just seems like a nice place. Me and my Brother have talked about going to the World Cup out there. I'm not sure if that's going to happen. I would love to make that happen. Are you a big soccer fan? Not really, not really. I enjoy watching it. We play FIFA all the time, so I kind of know what's going on.
If it could rain something other than rain, what would it rain? Money. Money. You can't have enough money.
Who is your favorite Sesame Street character? Probably Elmo. Why Elmo? He's always laughing and having a good time. I like to laugh and have a good time.
Hats or no hats? Especially in the Winter, I'm a hat guy. I'm definitely a hat guy. Keeps the head warm. My Mother was always telling me, you can get sick if you don't wear a hat.
Morning or night? It depends. What does it depend on? What the activity is. You know, if I need to sleep, I can sleep the day away. If it's school work, do it at night.
Peanut Butter: Crunchy or creamy? Creamy. Why creamy? I'm a big Reese's guy, so I don't want it too crunchy. So, you like the whole chocolate peanut butter thing? Yeah, great combination. That would be next to peanut butter and jelly.
Favorite Season? Summer, because I get to go home and spend time with friends and family that I've missed from being away at college. Time for basketball, go to the beach, hang out with friends, party. So, it's always a good time when I'm home for the summer.
Who's your favorite Family Guy character? I actually don't watch Family Guy. What do you watch on TV then, do you watch TV? I do watch TV occasionally, usually ESPN. If I had to answer the Family Guy question, it would probably be Stewie. I hear a lot about him. I see a lot of... So, it's all from hearsay then? and quick youtube clips here and there. Funny guy.
