Motivated by a thirst for academic achievement and the desire to promote Latino leadership, Keiser University graduate Eric Santiago, 73, looks forward to further serving as an educator after receiving his doctoral degree at Keiser University’s Statewide Commencement Ceremony to be held Saturday, January 25, 2025, in Lakeland, Florida at the RP Funding Center’s Youkey Theatre located at 701 W. Lime Street, Lakeland, Florida 33815.

A Vietnam War Veteran, Santiago says it was his mother Luz who first introduced the love of learning. As one of his most ardent supporters, her roles as a teacher and librarian helped instill his fondness for the written word. Now he wants to pass along the thirst for learning to his children and grandchildren, not as a challenge he says, but as a path to self-fulfillment.

“To me, life is a journey, and learning has been my roadmap providing me with the academic tools to choose going left or right, good or bad, right or wrong. I am lucky, after many decades I continue to take the best turns,” said Santiago a former communications executive originally from Guayama, Puerto Rico.

Santiago’s dissertation concentrates on the national cultural influence on the Latino ‘Big Five’ leadership traits of openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism and how they affect immigrant abilities to create positive change. With much of the data collected from Keiser University Online Latin Division and Ana G. Mendez University student body member polls, he looks forward to incorporating findings into a curriculum that will focus on multicultural leadership development and inclusion. As he nears graduation, he encourages others to remain steadfast as they work toward their goals by embracing the tenets of patience, persistence, proactivity, and positivity.

Santiago resides in Pembroke Pines, Florida, and attends Keiser University’s Online Division. He earned his Master of Science degree in Education from Keiser University in 2012. Keiser’s Doctor of Business Administration Degree allows experienced business professionals and future academics to dive into the deeper waters of the field of business administration. Doctoral students will explore theory and applied research methods in local and global environments to gain the skills needed to dynamically improve the organizations and communities they serve. This terminal degree program promotes advanced decision-making and leadership skills, lifelong learning, ethical and informed decision-making, effective communication, sustainability, and the use of information technologies in the global business management environment. Doctoral students will specialize in Marketing, Management, or Global Business.

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Since 1977, Keiser University has been empowering students like you to achieve their career dreams. As one of Florida’s largest private, non-profit institutions, founded by Dr. Arthur Keiser and Evelyn Keiser, we’re committed to your success with:

• Over 100 degree programs from associate to doctoral level
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