When asked how Oakcrest formed her, Alessandra Christiani ‘11 says that above all else, Oakcrest taught her how to think critically and deeply. She calls this “the most useful skill in my life, both in work and in my personal life.” It is a skill that she has certainly put to use in her  position as Director of Corporate and Business Development at The Knot Worldwide, a company geared towards helping couples plan weddings and creating homes and families together. 

Alessandra attended Boston College after graduating from Oakcrest. She majored in accounting and finance and minored in Spanish, and began her professional career as a financial analyst for Prudential in Chicago. Although the city was entirely new to her, she loved both the job and her new home, and enjoyed making many new friends and discovering her professional strengths. After working for various private investment firms, Alessandra recently joined the team at The Knot and WeddingWire as Director of Corporate and Business Development. 

“I am so excited to have found a way to apply the finance skills I've built to an industry I care about and love talking about the business of weddings each week!” she says. “I love thinking about various problems couples and wedding vendors face, proposing ways we can better serve our customers, and then executing on a plan to make that vision a reality!” Alessandra, who will be getting married this spring, has found that working at The Knot has also helped with her own wedding preparations. 

Alessandra recalls many Oakcrest classes that left a lasting impact on her.  Math classes helped her discover a love of structure and logic that would play into her career path. In theology  and philosophy, she learned how to consider things from different points of view.  She also loved AP English Literature. “The many essays that came with reading that many books made me a strong writer and clear communicator and also taught me how to structure an argument,” she recalls of that class. “These skills have been more important in my life and career than I could have imagined at the time.” 

Although Alessandra could name many special highlights from her Oakcrest years, some of her favorite memories have come from an ordinary event that Oakies experience every day.  “Break was one of my favorite times at Oakcrest,” Alessandra says. “To me, all the silly shenanigans that occured between classes reminded me how comfortable I felt being myself at Oakcrest. This self-confidence I formed at Oakcrest became an important part of my college and early adult life as I navigated new cities, new friend groups, and new challenges.” 

Oakcrest provided an environment for Alessandra to make life-changing and lifelong friendships. She deeply values the community she found here, and loves how meeting up with  Oakcrest friends always feels like coming home. To Oakcrest students, especially seniors, she advises, “Cherish your friendships at Oakcrest…very few opportunities in life provide you with the ability to get to know a person, her family, and her story on such a deep level in a relatively short amount of time!”