Santiago Mompeán Guardia

Murcia

2005 — 2023

I was born and raised in Murcia, where I spent my first 18 years in a home where effort and hard work always drove everything. It's a region rich in culture and food, and being close to the Mediterranean gave me two passions: the sea and sailing, and enjoying a good meal with friends (as any true Murcian does).

From a very young age I went to a school with an international environment, which soon sparked my desire to explore the world — not out of any rejection of Murcia, which I'll always carry with me, but out of curiosity to see what lay beyond.

Madrid

2023 — present

I came to Madrid to study Finance — no one in my family works in this field, but I was always drawn to economics and, above all, to banking as an institution.

I spent my first year in a university hall of residence, and then came university life to the full: probably the best years of my life so far, with a group of friends who made me fall in love with the city. Madrid is the kind of place where there's always something new to do, see or learn.

Singapore

August — December 2025

It was my first long stay in Asia and my first time living abroad — the experience that has shaped me most as a person. I learned to live alongside priorities, concerns and traditions very different from my own.

I also made the most of it to travel around Southeast Asia: Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and China.

I really enjoyed the dynamic, hands-on approach of the classes at SMU, built around real projects rather than theory, and throughout the semester I had the chance to attend talks by several experts in banking and international trade — something I value enormously, because it gave me a much closer view of how the industry works.

Berkeley

August — December 2026

After Southeast Asia and a big city like Madrid, I still had to get to know the American side. I'm especially drawn to being close to Silicon Valley at such a pivotal moment for AI, near all the major changes that ecosystem is going through. I see it as another stage of personal growth.

I'm learning from top-tier professors who are recognized leaders in their fields, and the program is taking me to visit fintechs at the forefront of artificial intelligence, as well as giving me access to several entrepreneurship platforms in the Silicon Valley ecosystem. I can't wait to make the most of this experience.