Bender Receives 2020 Compass Award
Alex Bender, a Master of Science candidate in engineering management, with a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering and a 3.99 GPA, knows that the entire world is his oyster—literally. Although he hasn’t solidified his post-graduation plans, Alex knows for certain that he will do a multi-month international trip, most likely to South America, Sub-Saharan Africa, or Australia/Oceania. This is apropos for someone whose favorite classes have been ones in which the topics were applied to the real world.
Alex Bender
Alex witnessed the power of applying course concepts to the real world firsthand while covering the 2016 presidential campaigns and candidates at town halls and rallies in Vermont and New Hampshire. He also used tools and concepts learned in his favorite class, Introduction to Machine Learning and Data Mining, in his most recent co-op in the engineering product analytics and finance team at Boom Supersonic, a Series B startup aiming to develop a Mach 2.2 supersonic commercial aircraft.
As a management consultant at PwC, Alex developed data analysis and visualization dashboards for a pharmaceutical client’s sales profile of more than $1 billion and saved another company $50 million with a synergy tracking tool he built. Additionally, Alex created several project management tools and executed work-flow improvements for Lahey Health System.
As dedicated as he is to working toward his career, Alex also makes time for volunteerism, both on and off-campus. He co-founded Husky to Husky, Northeastern University’s first mental health peer education organization. During his term as the Student Government Association vice-president for student affairs, Alex tripled the membership of the Student Affairs Committee, and also implemented a club council so that more than 500 club athletes could advocate their needs directly to the administration. He has volunteered for Colorado Smart Cities Alliance, Sustainability Green Team at the Boston Marathon, and the Community Advisory Board, Office of City and Community Engagement.
Among his many achievements, Alex considers his most significant to be losing his campaign for student body president. He says, “This experience was humbling and rewarding; it taught me the value of ambition and to not shy away from monumental challenges.” In his spare time, Alex makes a point of climbing to new heights—including summiting 14-ers (mountains higher than 14,000 feet).
Source: Alumni Relations