When Guinevere Swiencicki was growing up in the Bay Area, she had pens and notebooks with the Oracle logo, picked up at games in Oracle Arena and Oracle Park. As a child, she didn’t fully understand what we did, or why the company seemed to matter so much in her community (and in her family’s stationary supplies).
Now she’s joined our team as a Product Strategy Manager – and she still values those community connections. “Oracle’s presence is felt all over the Bay Area for its company values, ties to the community, and innovations that keep the world going,” Guinevere shares. “That drew me in, both professionally and emotionally.” Inspired by those innovations, she applied to our internship program, where her unique perspective made an impact. Read on to learn some of the ways her internship prepared her for a full-time career in tech.
Diving into development
Guinevere joined our Applications Development team for 12 weeks as a Product Management Intern. Applications Development delivers next-generation apps built for the cloud – and as a recent graduate in mechanical engineering, she was excited to dive in.
“My job focused on improving product lifecycle management and providing recommendations to streamline business processes,” she explains. “Every day was different and exciting. One day I was getting customer feedback and another I was designing a prototype.”
By taking part in high-impact projects, Guinevere had the opportunity to experience the latest technologies and directly influence our cutting-edge products, an experience she’s excited to bring to her new full-time position.
Making the most of world-class training
Over the course of 12 weeks, Guinevere took part in a curated development program to build on her skills. “Through tech talks, intern activities, skill development sessions, and leadership advice, we learned about what goes on in different divisions. This created a deeper understanding of Oracle’s background systems to help further our knowledge and responsibilities,” she tells us. Later, when she applied for a Product Strategy Manager role, she was able to draw on a lot of that training.
Guinevere recalls that during her internship, program leaders facilitated a dedicated group for product management interns to share their new skills. Powered by peer learning, this group helped her grow into her new role. She believes that this commitment to professional development goes a long way towards “building a strong and unified working community” – the kind of community she wanted to be a part of.
Promoting the voices of interns
Guinevere soon discovered that the program offered more than training and experience – she had invaluable support from mentors who cared. “Oracle supported each of us by listening to interns’ needs and amplifying our voices. Every intern was given a mentor to guide them, a team of fellow interns to build connections, and opportunities to grow professionally and learn new skills.”
“Oracle’s culture is simple: everyone matters,” she observes. “All voices are heard, opinions are shared, recommendations considered, and needs are met.” When Guinevere presented her internship project, she had the chance to share her recommendations on how to build the future of our company as a top B2B platform provider. She was impressed by how much her opinion was valued.
“I would highly recommend anyone an internship with Oracle,” she adds. “It’s an investment and development program with tools to help lead interns to their best self and their best performance. Oracle offers so many opportunities for employees to develop, transition, and learn new skills.”
This summer, Guinevere returned to Oracle as a Product Strategy Manager. She gained a lot of valuable experiences as an Oracle intern – but that was just the beginning of her success story.
Are you looking for an internship where you can have a real impact? Explore our student and graduate programs to start your success story.