Pushing the limits: How one UC student set out for success

“As soon as I got here, the program completely broke my mentality,” Santiago says. “Meeting people who had that stellar high school background made me want to work 10 times harder to prove to myself that even though I didn’t have the career they had leading up to college, we were in the same spot, and I could do some of the same things they could.”

Since then, Santiago has built a resume brimming with corporate experience and leadership positions while majoring in finance and accounting. He has enjoyed co-op internships at Divisions Maintenance Group, the UC Endowment Fund and, most recently, GE Aerospace, where he worked as a financial manager within the defense systems operation. He is president of UC’s Student Alumni Council; treasurer and First Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion of Sigma Alpha Epsilon; and director of professional relations for Clean Up Cincy, a student-led beautification program. He is a career prep fellow for Management Leadership for Tomorrow, a national career-preparation program for high-achieving individuals from underrepresented communities.

Santiago says he would not have come to UC from his hometown of Dublin, Ohio, if not for his Cincinnatus Scholarship and Kolodzik Business Scholars award, which have covered the cost of his tuition. “Words cannot describe how these scholarships have impacted me,” he says. “To everyone who supported my scholarships, I honestly thank you.” 

Santiago has absorbed much from his professors and co-ops of course, but also from his peers. “During second semester freshman year, because I was on the Student Alumni Council, I saw that every single upperclassman in that organization had something amazing about them — whether it was their professional experiences or the organizations they were involved in,” he says. “And they all seemed to radiate joy. So I made it a mission to talk to everyone who was going to graduate that year.”

From those meetings, Santiago gleaned what paths the seniors took and what made them successful. “What college instills in students is the preparation and readiness to take the next step after their college journey,” Santiago says. “It’s something I definitely wasn’t expecting.”

Participating in a university sponsored trip to New York City to meet Lindner graduates was a revelation. “Hearing that they’re at the same point in their career as people who went to Ivy League schools proved that something is going right with the program,” Santiago says. “They all had the tenacity and passion to do well in their industry. Seeing them in the position they are in — being super successful and just enjoying their lives — made me fall in love with the college.” 

Featured image at top: Lindner College of Business. Photo/provided.