Alum Francisco Santeiro visits Center students for career talks

Students gain personalized guidance on global career development, working in Latin America, and opportunities in logistics and international trade

For many students, a major benefit of connecting with the Center is meeting with guest speakers that come to Gainesville and share real-world counsel for a future beyond graduation. Better still are guest speakers that graduated from the Center themselves, like Francisco X. Santeiro (LAS certificate, 1977) who returned to campus in October for three days of events and engagement with current students.

After graduating from the Center, Santeiro pursued a career in trade and logistics, working for DHL and FedEx. His expertise in Latin America led him to advance to Director of Government Affairs for FedEx’s Latin America and Caribbean Division. Students interested in similar career paths attended talks where Mr. Santeiro shared his work experiences in Latin America, gave feedback on CVs and job search materials, and answered questions about career opportunities in international trade and logistics.

Francisco X. Santeiro

Dr. Mary Risner, director of the Latin American Business Environment program, coordinated a full schedule for Mr. Santeiro’s visit. In addition to public talks and class discussions, Mr. Santeiro also met one-on-one with business students for personalized guidance and feedback. These kinds of interactions demonstrate to students the value in relationship building in career development.

“It's an honor to be invited back," Mr. Santeiro said of his visit to the Center. “I’ve been impressed by the students’ interests, their involvement, their great questions. I commend them, and their professors, for their great work and enthusiasm.” The Center continues to seek engagement from alumni with current students. If you’re an interested alum, please reach out to Christa Markley at communications@latam.ufl.edu. ◆