02:45
My Journey To Get To Loyola Marymount University
Focus on what the endpoint will be. Whatever else they will throw at you in the middle, just get through it.
About Santiago
- I was born and raised in Ecuador—immigrated to the U.S. when I was 10 years old without knowing any English.
- Started out taking ESL (English as a Second Language) classes in school, but I wanted to become more proficient in English, so I quit and started taking the regular classes instead.
- Attended a community college for over seven years, balancing taking classes when I could and working full-time.
- Eventually, I was able to transfer to Loyola Marymount University (LMU), where I received my bachelor’s degree in international business.
- While at LMU, I was involved in a lot of minority student associations, and was one of the founding fathers and the first vice president of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity for minority students.
- Worked as a corporate recruiter for Verizon Wireless for over seven years.
- Decided to pursue my interest in becoming a lawyer and attended Whittier Law School, where I received my Juris Doctor degree in law in 2010.
- In 2013, I opened my own practice, Duarte Law Group, where I focus the majority of my casework on immigration and criminal defense.