Luis Gonzalez, BBA 2008
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Voice Operations Intern, Shell
Many full-time IT professionals never even meet the Chief Information Officer (CIO) they work for,
but MIS student Luis Gonzalez got to shake hands with CIO Frank Trogus during his internship at Shell.
When he arrived at UT, Luis was undeclared and searching for the major that would help him find success. He showed up at a Hispanic Business Students Association (HBSA) meeting and uncovered his natural talent with computers at a web development class sponsored by the student organization. Luis first learned the basics of building and maintaining a website, eventually teaching himself Java and other advanced development skills. After a few conversations with his career advisor and some research of his own, Luis decided that MIS was the major for him.
Luis landed an internship with Shell after his freshman year by starting early and networking. Inroads helped him get his résumé tuned up, and Joseph Culver, a career advisor at the Ford Career Center, put in a good word with a Shell HR manager. As a Voice Operations Intern, his primary responsibility was to create an innovative, user-friendly, and globally accessible intranet that could provide long-distance and voice operations information for Shell’s global workforce. Luis’ presentation and communication skills were put to the test during the initial phases of planning as Shell employees and executives scrutinized his drawings, models, and ideas. Luis built the website from scratch and was also in charge of the data migration and consolidation. The project was so successful that he was able to reduce the disk space consumption by 23%. His achievements with the website were praised by employees around the world, including CIO Frank Trogus, who noticed Luis and approached him to discuss a potential career with Shell.
For motivated students interested in a similar internship, Luis recommends that they (1) have basic web development skills and a natural instinct with user interfaces, (2) understand logistics and the flow of website navigation, and (3) possess an exceptional sense of creativity.
After graduation, Luis plans to return to Shell to continue his professional development by moving into the broader global workplace and joining project teams where he is given more responsibility. Luis also plans to return to graduate school in support of his dream to become an executive by the age of 30.
