How Alaina Cellini gained the confidence to advance her career

A career shift to analytics

During her final semester at Champlain College, Alaina Cellini drove eight hours roundtrip from Burlington, Vermont, to Portland, Maine, for 10 straight weekends for job interviews. That persistence and ambition helped her land a consultant job in Portland—and have continued to define her career. 

Cellini started a new job in early 2019 as a data storyteller at WEX Inc., a financial technology solutions company. As her career shifted toward analytics, she sought a graduate program, in Maine, that provided the foundational skills she needed to advance her career. 

What drew her to the Roux

When Cellini discovered the Roux Institute’s Master of Professional Studies in analytics, “the stars aligned.” The Roux’s generous Alfond Scholars Initiative paired with tuition support from WEX, a Roux founding partner, helped make it possible.  

The program was the perfect match. Cellini learned concepts in class at night and applied them at work the next day. She gained the confidence to be more creative, implement new analytics strategies, build a data culture, and push for career advancement at WEX. Her ambition has paid off. She’s changed roles twice since starting at Roux, one as a promotion and the other to join a different team within the company; she’s now the company’s manager of data analytics and strategy.

Experiential programs deepen her learning

Cellini’s experiential opportunities at Roux have led her to explore new interests, with new skills. In a virtual XN project for the Maine Spaceport, she used satellite data to make recommendations for mitigating deforestation. For her capstone project with the Maine Governor’s Energy Office, she analyzed data to help the state inform consumers about efficient home heating options. And for an independent study, she developed data classification models to connect the WEX sales and marketing teams with prospective customers. 

“The hard skills I have now and the investment I made in myself and in my education have accelerated my career and will continue to do so.” 

Staying actively engaged

Thanks to her own experiences, Cellini is determined to build the talent pipeline for WEX and inspire others to explore tech careers. She interviews Roux and Northeastern students for co-op positions. She co-founded an employee resource group at WEX to help encourage women to enter tech fields. And she organized a field trip to WEX for middle and high school students as part of the Roux’s Girls Who Code summer camp.