2 minute read
LEVELING UP
CSG alumna Laura Raines ’09 embraces problem solving with Google role
Laura Raines ’09 never saw herself at Google.
As a college student at the University of Michigan, the CSG alum assumed Google was only for those with technical and computer programming skills.
“I never really felt like it was an opportunity or an option for me,” she said.
But Raines defied her own expectations by joining Google as Programmatic Account Strategist in 2015, working with large companies to assist them with their online advertising. The 31 year old credits her experience at CSG for fostering within her the curiosity and eagerness to learn that would become vital in taking her career to the next level.
“It’s not about being a technical person or being able to code,” she said. “It’s about being able to solve problems. Once you get into the real world, it’s the knowledge that you get on the job that’s the most important,” she said.
At Google, Raines works with companies to figure out how to solve marketing challenges and drive business results from ads that Google helps display across the internet. She likes that what she does results in tangible benefits for these clients.
Raines got the opportunity to apply for her role through a friend, and she had already built the foundational skills necessary for the job right out of college. After graduating from the University of Michigan in May of 2013 with a double major in communications and informatics (a combination of computer programming, statistics, and online information systems), Raines landed a job that August with programmatic advertising business, Rocket Fuel.
Though Rocket Fuel introduced Raines to the world of online advertising, she began learning the soft skills needed for career success much earlier. Raines attended Columbus School for Girls from Form VI through XII, and she said her experiences instilled in her a curiosity she still carries today.
During her sophomore year in Upper School, Raines participated in a program led by Dr. Kevin Sweeney in which
Laura Raines ’09
she and other students, working with power tools, invented a reenvisioned locker—and presented it at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. For her Senior May Program, Raines did a public relations internship at Victoria’s Secret, an experience that would motivate her to pursue communications upon entering college.
While CSG gave Raines unique educational opportunities, the all-girl setting also contributed to her growth. Raines talked often in her classes and she said attending classes with fellow girls helped give her the confidence to take risks.
“I always felt comfortable raising my hand in class and providing my perspective or asking a question—I never really secondguessed myself,” she said. “It was always a learning opportunity.”
