Cosmo Trikes never saw himself at Oracle, but a chance meeting set him up for success. Last year, he joined us as a software engineering intern. We caught up with him to hear more about his time on the front-end development team for Oracle Moat, and how mentoring made all the difference.
Surprising start
Studying a double major in electrical and computer engineering at Michigan Technological University, Cosmo is passionate about creating a better future through technology. You might think he’d be just as confident, but that wasn’t the case. “I got an email from a recruiter about a position I should apply to, but at that point I didn’t know much about Oracle and the qualifications were intimidating—I didn’t think I met them,” he says.
Cosmo’s Oracle journey began at a Disability:IN conference where he met the nonprofit’s CEO, Jill Houghton. They quickly struck up a rapport. “I ended up talking to the CEO and then she became my mentor! There’s a program called next gen leaders that I got accepted into, that’s where Oracle found my resume.”
Despite this, Cosmo still didn’t feel comfortable applying. “I told the recruiter I’d look into it, but I didn’t apply. I told him I wasn’t sure I would qualify, but he assured me I did and told me to apply, so I did. Before I knew it, I was starting as an Oracle intern.”
From imposter syndrome to feeling at home
He confesses that he felt some imposter syndrome in the beginning, but that all changed. “After I started my work, I found out how gratifying it was: taking one task at a time and doing the problem solving, seeing my direct impact on our product, as well as learning more about Oracle”.
It’s not surprising that Cosmo rose to the challenge. A quick look at his LinkedIn profile reveals a one-word tagline: Motivated. It’s an attitude he brings to everything he does. Cosmo was injured in a skiing accident in 2018 which left him paralyzed. “I wasted no time recovering,” he says, “I went back to school and doubled down on my ambitions.” It’s all part of his personal mission to grow into a leadership role and motivate teams to accomplish great things.
Day-to-day diversity
Cosmo found that his aspirations were well-supported by his teammates. “I think my team was one of the coolest and most diverse,” he shares. “It was great to be around so many people who lead such interesting lives and all the while knew so much about our work and could teach me.”
Flexibility was also a factor on the job for Cosmo, empowering him to hit his goals when, and where, worked for him. “My day to day was really nice. I worked remotely so I got to live in a beautiful location, I could get to work without a commute and once I logged in, I knew what I needed to get done”. This meant Cosmo was free to structure his day in a way that let him achieve more. “Mostly I would get to work early so once my mentor and other team members arrived, I could talk with them about the work I had already done. I learned a lot of independence doing that because if I had a question for them, it meant I couldn’t find a solution on my own after a few hours of work.”
A place to learn
Along with a healthy respect for work-life balance, Cosmo found that Oracle was also ready to deliver real skills training on the job. “Asking questions, learning, and problem solving—using all these skills lead me to gain skills in software engineering, architecture, debugging, and even some basics like getting familiar with Git and Jira,” he says. But it wasn’t just all about hard skills. “On the softer side, I learned about project management, how Oracle runs as one of the largest high-tech companies, as well as fine tuning my communication to fit the field we’re in.”
It was all part of Oracle’s seamless approach to internships, where even junior team members have a voice. “Throughout the day I would chat with other interns, attend intern events, get involved with other groups inside Oracle, join team meetings asking lots of questions, and meet with my manager to learn more about our team and company.”
Everything to gain
From uncertainty to confidence, Cosmo’s Oracle story shows the value of supporting diversity and talent. It’s an example he hopes will give others the courage to take on unfamiliar challenges. “I can’t think of a reason not to apply to Oracle. If you’re considering it, then you’ve gotten that far so you might as well do it, there’s nothing to lose and everything to gain.”
It’s also about making things happen while making the world a better place. “Oracle is one of the biggest companies in the world, doing great and meaningful work,” he enthuses.
Cosmo’s internship may have ended, but the lessons learned will last his whole career—which he just started back at Oracle as a full-time software engineer! “Something I’m most excited for when I work at Oracle full time is that I’ll be surrounded by extremely intelligent and motivated people in a company that takes care of me!”
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The experience, mentorship, and impact you’re after starts with the Oracle Intern Program. Read about the internship experience and get advice from our former #OracleInterns here.
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