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Julie - Gourami Business Challenger
The Gourami Business Challenge was a great way for me to be able to experience the culture and environment of working at Shell in only a week.
Degree Studied: Logistics Management & Marketing, Economics Minor
Gourami Attended: USA 2006
What motivated you to apply for the Gourami Business Challenge?
I was very interested in employment at Shell, but had accepted an internship offer with another company the summer before my graduation. The Gourami Business Challenge was a great way for me to be able to experience the culture and environment of working at Shell in only a week. In addition, I was excited to learn more about the energy industry and meet 45 of the best students from around the United States. The sunny location in Palm Springs, California was also a nice bonus!
What did you get out of your experience at Gourami?
One of the best things about Gourami was the opportunity to interact with some of the most talented students from across the country. I stay in touch with many of them today and enjoying hearing about the career paths of fellow Gourami participants who now work in various areas at Shell.
Gourami was also one of my first experiences working with geologists and engineers to solve a business problem. It was very eye opening for me as a business major to see how many technical factors had to be considered.
Overall, the entire week was challenging, but it was very rewarding to see the efforts of our team result in a successful strategic plan.
What were some of the challenges you faced?
As part of the marketing team, I helped with forecasting demand for products and increasing the profitability of the retail stations. As with any major project under time, resource, and information constraints, it was very challenging to analyze the given data, define and prioritize the problems, and implement solutions. We quickly learned how important communication is between the refinery, upstream, and downstream groups as well as reacting to the changing macro-environment. The groups all came together during the fish bowl debate and it was rewarding to see our final proposal presented and accepted.
What did you learn about Shell - and about yourself - in the process?
After interacting with so many talented Shell employees at Gourami, I knew my personality and work ethic matched the culture of Shell's quite well. Everyone was very nice and helpful and truly wanted me to succeed. I also loved hearing everyone's career story about how many different jobs each has had within Shell. I began to realize I'd be working for Shell and not necessarily in a specific job or group forever. I also learned how globally diverse Shell is and how many opportunities there are for me to work abroad if I desired.
What would you say to other students considering an application to Gourami?
What have you got to lose? You meet 45 of the best students that you will have as friends and business contacts. You gain an in-depth knowledge of the oil industry that is transferable to any future job. You learn how to confront a large challenge, break it down, and solve it under limited data and time restrictions. You also are in a sunny location for a week at a resort hotel. Plus, you may end up with a job offer before the summer ends that will result in full-time employment. I cannot think of any reason not to attend Gourami.