Vanessa Welague grew up in Cameroon, Africa, as the youngest of ten children. Her mother raised her as her dad passed away when she was young. She won the lottery to attend school in the US and moved to Texas. After a rough experience there, she moved to Maryland and had a similar bad experience there. Then a family friend encouraged her to move to Saint Paul, and she quickly found her comfortable new home in the City of Saint Paul and at Saint Paul College, where she earned her Health Information Technology AAS degree.

After attending the International Institute of Minnesota, Vanessa immediately fell in love with Saint Paul College due to its exceptional, central location near the heart of downtown, as well as its caring faculty. She loved the stress-free enrollment process and the constant care she received from faculty, staff, and other students. Vanessa now teleworks as a technical product manager for pyramid Consulting (Cigna). She has her bachelor’s degree in health services management and a minor in psychology from the University of Maryland Global Campus. She continues to go to school, hoping to receive her Master’s degree soon. Always learning, Vanessa quickly points out that Saint Paul College provided her with an excellent, first-class foundation for her education.

Vanessa has a heart for serving others and giving advice. Her advice for students enrolling at Saint Paul College is to work closely with Advisors, as they are an excellent resource for identifying the appropriate classes to take to pursue your desired outcomes. In addition to her work at Cigna, Vanessa has opened Chima Beauty Skin Care. She is also opening All Vanessa Welague, a business consulting firm designed to help mentors and mentees find and acquire knowledge that builds upon their brand’s success.

Even though her family remains in Cameroon, Vanessa hopes for a day when they will be able to come to the US and follow her ways in continually reaching new heights. With love for Saint Paul College, Vanessa believes "the spirit of learning is alive and always growing on this beautiful campus!"