At a crossroads, Roux grad Lydia Swann turned to her alma mater for the change she needed
Like a lot of people in 2020, Lydia Swann felt like she was at a crossroads.
A Northeastern University alumna living in Maine, Swann felt restless. The pandemic had totally changed the nature of her job and she felt underutilized and understimulated. She had just given birth to her first child. Everything was in flux, and she knew she was ready for a new adventure.
So it felt almost serendipitous when she discovered that her alma mater had just recently opened a new institute in Portland, and that they had graduate programs in her area of interest, project management. Swann felt a surge of inspiration. “This is how I can take my career to the next level,” she remembers thinking. The decision was made; within a couple of months, Swann left her full-time job and enrolled in her first classes at the Roux Institute to earn a Master of Science in project management.
Going from a full-time worker to a full-time student was exhilarating. Swann said that joining the Roux community felt like a burst of energy, connection, and learning. She loved attending classes on campus and getting to connect with her professors and peers.
In particular, she enjoyed her Foundations of Project Management class taught by Roux lecturer Audrey Brown, in which students were taken through the full lifecycle of a project, seeing firsthand how all the parts fit together and being exposed to different methodologies, approaches, and technical skills along the way. Swann said the class was eye-opening, and it solidified that this was the right path for her.
“At the Roux, the most important thing anyone can do is take advantage of all the opportunities here. Talk with staff and faculty while you’re still in classes, establish relationships.”
LYDIA SWANN
Graduate Student, the Roux Institute
Swann quickly discovered that creating connections with her professors and peers not only made learning more enjoyable, it could also lead to amazing opportunities. It was in her Project Scheduling and Cost Planning class that she met adjunct lecturer Jason Mitchell, the founder of Portland-based Steamboat Road Consulting. Swann was impressed with Mitchell’s teaching and the way he personalized his lessons to the interests of his students. A few months after the class ended, Swann handed Mitchell her resume. He followed up a few days later with news that his consulting firm had a project management opening that might be a good fit for her. Swann is now a full-time employee of Steamboat Road Consulting.
“At the Roux, the most important thing that anyone can do is take advantage of all the opportunities here,” Swann says. “Talk with staff and faculty while you’re still in classes, establish relationships.”
Five weeks into her new role, Swann says she’s already using techniques that she learned in her classes, especially the communications course she took with Roux lecturer MaryBeth McNicholas. “I had been doing communications forever, but this class helped me totally change my approach to project communications,” Swann said. Swann has been able to oversee projects at work that deal directly with the pillars that the Roux Institute design their programs around – tech, innovation, entrepreneurship, and a focus on strengthening the Maine economy. Swann finds the role exciting and leverages the skills and knowledge she gained at the Roux Institute every day.
Swann has a busy few months ahead – in June, she’ll officially receive her diploma at the Roux commencement, with her young daughter watching. Shortly after, she’ll take maternity leave to welcome her second child. Swann credits the flexibility of the Roux Institute’s programs for helping her achieve all of this as a full-time mom, as well as the strong connections she made within the Roux community.