When she was eight years old, Luisa Santos (C’14) moved from Bogota, Colombia, to Miami and, thanks to her local public schools, was speaking fluent English by nine. During her junior year of high school, Santos discovered she was undocumented. She persisted — starting her higher education at Miami Dade College and eventually becoming a proud U.S. citizen. 

During the Obama administration, Santos worked in the U.S. Department of Education while completing her studies in political economy and education at Georgetown University. She knows teachers and school staff can change lives — she saw it first-hand teaching 4th graders and leading a mentoring and advocacy literacy program for historically underserved 3rd graders. Santos eventually returned to Miami to launch her own business, Lulu’s Ice Cream, through which she has reimagined what students can learn in the workplace.