Green River grad Sarah Elkhart talks life as a TPM intern at Oracle
Meet Sarah Elkhart. A former Cryptologic Linguist with the United States Air Force and Joint Service Commendation Medal recipient, Elkhart completed her Associate Degree in IT at Green River College in 2017 and is now gearing up to graduate with her bachelor’s degree in software development this June. In the Q and A below, she reflects on her journey in tech and discusses her role as a Technical Program Manager intern at Oracle.
What is your job title at Oracle?
SARAH: I am a Technical Program Manager (TPM) intern with the Network Edge Service Operations team at Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI).
What do you do in your role as a TPM intern?
SARAH: Right now I’ve been assigned to be the TPM for two remote teams that are integrating into the OCI framework after an acquisition. My day consists of sitting down with the team leads to discuss their goals and plan out how we will get there. From there, I continue to decompose each step until we have a set of small, manageable tasks. Finally, I create what is called a “wiki page” that can be viewed by the team so everyone knows the process and the deadlines of each step.
Can you tell us about Oracle’s Veteran Internship Program?
SARAH: Oracle’s veterans program is great. It’s set up so each veteran gets real world experience in the field they choose. Interns also have access to mentors and resources that can help build their professional network quickly. Furthermore, Oracle has a veteran group called Maven that is active all across the world. It’s a really supportive group that genuinely wants to help their fellow service members succeed.
What key skills did you develop in Green River’s software development program that prepared you for success?
SARAH: Currently I am working on a network team instead of a software development team. A lot of the technical things I learned pursuing my associate degree are coming back. Mostly, I am using the problem-solving and organizational skills from Agile methodology courses in Green River’s program. The opportunities faculty provided along the way to work with live clients was also a huge help.
What career advice would you have for students who are interested in TPM careers?
SARAH: I would advise students to volunteer to be the scrum master during any Agile projects they work on. Most of being a TPM is relying on your preferred method of organization. If you can take a project management class or even a communication class, you’ll also have the opportunity to practice these skills and find what works for you. Also, get scrum master certified!
Learn more about Green River College’s Bachelor of Applied Science in Software Development by visiting www.greenriver.edu/software
