Gourami - Real Life Experiences

“Working on the marketing team, we were charged with forecasting demand for products and increasing profitability of the retail stations. It was very interesting to see how the interaction between the refinery, upstream, and downstream processes all intertwined. The refinery was very dependent on us for their decisions, and we had to incorporate past data as well as the changing macro-environmental issues. Overall, the biggest challenge was tackling so many projects in a finite time with limited budgets. While the fish bowl debate was intense, the groups all came together by the end to decide what the overall best decision would be for Shell.

Degree Studied: Logistics Management & Marketing, Economics Minor

Where: The Ohio State University, USA 

Gourami Challenge Dates: August 6 – 11, 2006 

Gourami Location: Palm Springs, California, USA

I’d initially heard about Gourami at an informational meeting for an internship as one of the three routes to full employment at Shell. Although I initially hesitated to participate in Gourami because I’d miss a week of another internship, I felt that the experience I’d gain at Gourami would be more valuable than a week at my other employer. Not only would I learn about the energy industry in a sunny location, but I would get to meet 45 of the best students from around the United States. I still maintain contact with many of the Gourami participants, and now that I’m going to be joining Shell, it will be nice to have a few connections inside of the company.

The week was definitely intense. The Gourami Challenge is accurately titled ‘challenge’ because of the amount of thought, energy, and time you put into the case. I learned more about the energy industry in a week than I ever thought possible! As a business major, I rarely interact with engineers and geologists, and it was fascinating to observe some of the more technical aspects of the project.

Our group struggled with determining how to sort through all the information we were given so that we could define which problems we wanted to tackle and then come up with possible solutions. Working on the marketing team, we were charged with forecasting demand for products and increasing the profitability of the retail stations. It was very interesting to see how the interaction between the refinery, upstream, and downstream processes all intertwined. The refinery was very dependent on us for their decisions, and we had to incorporate past data as well as the changing macro-environmental issues. Overall, the biggest challenge was tackling so many projects in a finite time with limited budgets. While the fish bowl debate was intense, the groups all came together by the end to decide what the overall best decision would be for Shell.

One of the best things about Gourami was being able to make contacts with some of the best students in the world. I have friends all over the country and I am fortunate that many are joining Shell. As a new hire, I look forward to hearing about the future career paths of my fellow Gourami participants within Shell. I’ve not had much experience of the energy industry and Gourami was a great way to give me a quick but in-depth background into this important industry.

Before Gourami, there was only a marginal chance I thought I would actually work for Shell. However, after interacting with so many talented Shell employees, I knew my personality and work ethic matched the culture of Shell’s quite well. Everyone was very nice and helpful and really wanted me to succeed. I also loved hearing everyone’s career story about how many different jobs they’ve had within Shell. That made me realise I’d be working for Shell and not necessarily in a specific job forever. I also learned how globally diverse Shell is and realised how many opportunities there’d be for me to go abroad if I express the interest.

What have you got to lose? You meet 45 of the best students that you will have as business contacts forever. 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 sunny Palm Springs 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 reasons not to attend Gourami.