Olive Mukantwari knew she would earn a master’s degree when the time—and the cost—was right. Her determination to always be furthering her education took root when, as a young child in Rwanda, she’d insist on sitting in the front row in every class. Being even a few minutes late to school would bring her to tears.

Today, Mukantwari works full time as a software engineer at WEX Inc., a financial technology solutions company based in Portland, Maine, that signed on as one the Roux Institute’s founding partners last winter. Mukantwari, now married with a teenage daughter, took some graduate courses online but says she couldn’t find a full program flexible—or affordable—enough to suit her busy life.

That changed when the Roux Institute opened in Portland. Encouraged by her manager at WEX, Mukantwari explored the Roux’s tech programs and zeroed in on the Master of Science in Computer Science. Suddenly, that master’s degree was possible, she says, thanks to a generous scholarship made available to employees at the Roux Institute’s employer-partners.

“Now I will be able to comfortably concentrate on my work and my education,” she says. “I can’t express how much this scholarship means to me.”

A Roux education, Mukantwari says, will open a door to career advancement. She hopes to apply the skills she learns in class to new customer support initiatives at WEX.

This lifelong learner remains determined. “When I finish this program,” she says, “I may even take another one.”