Marwill Santiago took a job at Milwaukee Area Technical College in 2000 to help pay for college. He didn’t think he’d work there very long. A quarter century later, Santiago, who was born in Puerto Rico and grew up in Milwaukee, is still at MATC.
Today, he leads the college’s recruiting department. His department participates in college fairs, resource fairs and other events to promote the school. He also oversees the college’s call center, which handles hundreds of calls from current and prospective students every day.
“Marwill is the kind of leader who rolls up his sleeves and works alongside his team supporting them all the way,” said Tony Tagliavia, the college’s chief marketing officer. “He always finds a path to yes for system changes that support our students.”
Santiago has helped the college increase enrollment each of the past three academic years and helped grow the number of Hispanic and Latino students from 16% of its total students in 2018-19 to 23% in 2024-25, almost meeting the 25% needed to qualify MATC as a federally designated Hispanic-Serving Institution.