In third grade, Migdalia (Mickie) Santiago-White ’01 told her teacher that she wanted to be an obstetrician when she grew up. Going to medical school wasn’t feasible in a family with six children, but that didn’t stop the Cleveland, Ohio, native from setting other lofty goals and meeting them. While working full and part time over a 12-year period, she earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in health services administration.
Today, Santiago-White is a senior consultant for a Boston-based consulting company that works with electronic medical records. She brings 24 years of experience in the health care industry to her position – helping clients across the country transition from paper to electronic record keeping.
“I was working as a financial counselor at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation when I decided to earn a master’s degree. Not many schools offered a health services track back in the ’90s,” says Santiago-White, who needed an online program so she could keep working. “Saint Joseph’s College bubbled to the top of the list.”
She earned her master’s in health services administration online with Saint Joseph’s, which at that time required a two-week residency on campus in the summer. Santiago-White stayed for two weeks, two different years. “The instructors were very caring, compassionate, approachable, and willing to work with you,” she notes. “I got a well-rounded education.”
Looking ahead, Santiago-White says she may explore taking a high-level administration position at a local hospital within five years. And she says – with typical motivation and energy – she hasn’t eliminated the possibility of earning a doctorate.
