Wentworth Under 30: Co-ops Serve as Gateway to Career in Construction Management
They are entrepreneurs, innovators, and leaders — and they are just getting started. In this new ongoing series, we highlight exceptional alumni under the age of 30 who are redefining what is possible in their fields. Representing every school at the university, these graduates prove that age is no barrier to making a global impact.
What's the key to making the most of your education at Wentworth Institute of Technology? According to alumna Alexandra (Ally) Pina, it starts with making the most of your co-ops.
Pina had two internships with the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) during her freshman and sophomore years followed by two co-ops with Commodore Builders, a construction management firm. (Internships are typically part time with less extensive responsibilities, while co-ops are full time with real-world responsibilities integrated with the student's coursework.)
"If a company gives you an internship or co-op opportunity, what do you do with that opportunity?" said Pina, who graduated with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering (minor in Structural Engineering) in 2022 and a Master of Project Management in 2023. "Do you just do the work they give you, or do you do the work they give you and try to learn and contribute as much as you can while you're there? Proving I could be an asset was critical to my success."
In fact, Pina proved to be such an asset that Commodore offered her a full-time role before she even began her master's program.
Finding a Home in Construction Management
Co-ops were one of the two main reasons why Pina, who grew up in Cumberland, Rhode Island, came to Wentworth. The other was the chance to play on the softball team.
Pina ended up starring as an outfielder from 2019 to 2023 (missing the abbreviated 2020 COVID season due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament). She called head coach Erica Castro a "great mentor who helped me progress as a leader throughout school."
Another important mentor was Civil Engineering Associate Professor Anuja Kamat, PhD, now Associate Dean of the School of Engineering. "I was close with many of my Civil Engineering professors, but I was closest with her," Pina said. "She was someone I leaned on a lot during my internships and co-ops at Commodore."
While an intern at RIDOT, Pina got to shadow the members of several structural engineering firms that were building bridges. Even though it was her minor, she decided that a career in structural engineering wasn't for her.
After winning an endowed scholarship from Commodore her sophomore year, Pina stayed in touch with company leadership. In her junior year, she decided to give construction management a shot, landing a co-op with Commodore.
Serving in an assistant project manager role, Pina saw a project from groundbreaking to certificate of completion. The process took about 18 months, and she found it fascinating.
"Construction management is a fast-paced environment where you learn something new every day," she said. "And with projects of this size, things are constantly evolving. You're not doing the same thing every day. At the same time, you get to build personal relationships with the design team, architect, owner, and subcontractors. I love that I have the opportunity to lead teams with people from every walk of life as we all collectively work toward the common goal of building successful projects.”
The Student Becomes a Role Model
Pina had two co-ops at Commodore her senior year. A few months after graduating, she became a full-time employee. Concurrently, she began her Master of Project Management program.
"The master's enabled me to refine skills that I hadn't developed in Civil Engineering, like risk analysis," she said. "I learned a lot about different types of management, not just construction management; it was more of a general roadmap. And since I was working full time, I could apply the project management skills I was learning in my classes to my work at Commodore."
Pina finished her master's degree in 2023. Two years later, she earned a promotion to Project Manager at Commodore. "At a high level," she said, "my role includes tasks such as managing subcontractor costs against the project budget, scheduling and procuring materials, and overseeing work in place with my field team."
As if she weren't already busy enough, Pina became assistant coach on Castro's staff in 2024. She loves being around the game of softball and mentoring the players on both the game and life.
"I get to connect and share my real-world experiences with them, teaching them how to be leaders," she said. "One of the biggest messages to our players is, 'We first and foremost care about you as people. Softball is what we do, it's not who we are. We're making you not just better athletes, but better people.' In a way, I'm a role model for them as I was in their shoes not too long ago and want to help them learn from my experiences, my successes and my failures."
Read more in the Wentworth Under 30 series: