Graduation Spotlight: Keyla Santoyo

Keyla Santoyo enrolled in the UF MBA program after realizing she was stuck in a career with little growth opportunity. This weekend, she graduates with her MBA and an energized outlook because of her new career.

“Thanks to my MBA, I was able to find a new path with an organization that cares about and supports my professional development,” Santoyo said. “Thanks to the UF MBA program, I was able to transition into a senior position with a global leader of the banking industry.”

That new career comes as Legal Sr. Program Manager at Citibank. Santoyo received a bachelor’s in business from Mount St. Mary’s University in 2020, but she still wanted to learn more and grow through an MBA program.

“The UF MBA program allowed me to build on the foundation that I began in undergrad, and it played a significant role in my being able to change career paths,” Santoyo said. “It also allowed me to connect and work with great people from all different backgrounds and levels of professional experience.”

Despite living in Tampa and continuing in her job, she was still able to build a strong network of peers through her cohort in a fully online program. They learned together from their professors, but just as much, they learned from each other and their professional challenges. Their network was able to grow even with students in all parts of the country.

“The program was formatted in such a way that I found it very easy to work and connect with my peers,” Santoyo said. “I can confidently say that I built a stronger network in one year of this program than I did in all of my time in undergrad.”

The Business Career Services also played an integral role in Santoyo’s strong outcomes.

“I was fortunate to be able to work with Debra Marcum in preparing for interviews and negotiating salary,” she said.