Santiago Chacin ’22 MiM
Who says science and business don’t mix? Santiago Chacin is proof that they do.
Just months before graduating from Northwestern University with a bachelor's in neuroscience, Santiago decided to pursue a Master in Management from Kellogg. The first reaction from his parents was, “Why?” After all, neuroscience — not business — had been a love of his since childhood.
“I have loved science since I was a kid and have always been impacted by it,” he said. “I've always found it incredibly exciting and fulfilling.” Also in the mix? Santiago’s passion for connecting with people. “I love just chatting and getting to know somebody, talking about what they enjoy and what they did over the weekend.”
And while science remains a strong passion of his, he knew getting a foundation in business could open up his career opportunities.
The Master in Management program at Kellogg just worked in tandem with everything I was excited about. I can use my neuroscience and analytics background and be able to do research and problem solve to give me a strong business edge.
A diverse cohort to prepare you for the real world
Santiago’s initial experience with the Kellogg community was, as he describes it, “Thrilling.” He knew that diversity would benefit him in the real world. “In the program, you're going over problem sets and cases that are incredibly diverse and include diverse stakeholders and diverse opinions and diverse opportunities,” he said.
It also let him solve business problems more effectively. “When you're in a team, you have to care about the person that you're working with so things get tough, you can lean on each other and develop a solution. That’s work. That's what work looks like, and that's not something that you get in an undergrad education. Kellogg taught me to lean in to achieve greater success overall.”
A master’s degree in just 10 months
The length of the MiM program — only 10 months — was a major deciding factor for Santiago, because he knew it would help accelerate him into the workforce. “You're getting that one year of strong schooling, strong curriculum, and then you're ready, you graduate, and you're good to go.”
“My advice for someone thinking about going into this program is that you have to think about growth,” he said. “How will the program give you an opportunity to grow? With this program, even if you don't have any business background, you're going to learn so much. You start thinking about how we operate as human beings and what success looks like.”
Finding what’s next
Now that Santiago is an alum, he wants others to know that getting a master’s in business is an option for anyone who wants to get a head start in their careers after undergrad.
“Kellogg is an amazing institution, and it has amazing programs,” Santiago said. “I thought medicine was going to be the route for me, but the MiM program worked in tandem with what I was excited about. Coming out of it, I feel like I made the right decision because I had a job ready for me.”
At the end of the day, we're all going into the workforce, and the MiM program is built to prepare us for it.
How I went from neuroscientist to business consultant
