Crafting Competitive Advantage: Foster MBAs in Summer Strategy Internships
Foster Full-time MBA students Gabriel Golez, Sravani Shivakumar, Charles Sisemseghan, Grace Weinstein, and Dakshinaa Vinod share their summer internship experiences in strategy roles across the industry
Written By: Chirag Chinmay, contributing writer, Foster School of Business
This summer, Foster School of Business Full-Time MBA students from the Class of 2025 ventured into the dynamic realm of strategy, taking on influential roles at top companies such as CVS, Cisco, TikTok, Hexagon, and Corning Incorporated. We spoke with several of them to uncover their journeys — from developing transformative business strategies to charting the unique paths that led them to these impactful positions in strategy.
Meet Gabriel Golez, a Product Growth and Innovation Intern at CVS Health. Over the summer, Gabriel worked at CVS’s headquarters in Rhode Island, spearheading strategy for a new pharmacist-delivered product aimed at Medicare patients. With both a master’s and a bachelor’s degree in biotechnology, Gabriel brought his expertise from his pre-MBA experience in the Research and Development division of a biotech startup in the agriculture sector to his impactful role at CVS.
Meet Sravani Shivakumar, who interned with Cisco as a Business Strategy Manager at San Jose, California. Sravani has a bachelor’s in information technology from Sastra University in India and worked in the cybersecurity industry prior to her MBA.
Meet Charles Sisemseghan, a Business Strategist Intern in the Environmental Technology division at Corning Incorporated. Before pursuing his MBA, Charles played a key role in advancing government initiatives through his work in the Texas Governor’s Office and the Texas Attorney General’s Office. He holds a Master of Science in Entrepreneurship and Economic Development from the University of Houston, Victoria, and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin.
Meet Grace Weinstein, who spent her summer with TikTok as a Category Manager on TikTok Shop’s Home and Living Team. Grace holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from McGill University in Montreal. She began her career as a strategy consultant at Oliver Wyman, spending four years working across industries such as healthcare, manufacturing, and aviation. Following that, she transitioned to a healthcare startup, serving as a Strategy and Growth Manager before pursuing her MBA.
Meet Dakshinaa Vinod, a Business Strategy intern at Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence (HMI) in the Mergers and Acquisitions Team. Before starting her MBA, Dakshinaa’s experience spanned a variety of heavy engineering industries, including automotive electronics at Robert Bosch, refinery instrumentation engineering, as well as operations management in the Oil & Gas sector, working in refineries and petrochemical plants across India. Dakshinaa comes from a background in Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering.
Which industries did you target? And how was the internship search process?
Grace: I approached the internship search process with a very open mind. Coming from a background in consulting and healthcare, I knew I wanted to explore industries outside of those fields and use the internship as an opportunity to transition into a completely new area. I concentrated my search on the large-scale tech companies in Seattle, but I was also open to other locations. I kept my options broad regarding roles as well, considering positions like program manager, product manager, strategy and business development, and operations. Ultimately, I found the Category Manager role at TikTok especially intriguing, as the job description aligned well with my background and experience — a role I wouldn’t have anticipated and might have overlooked if I hadn’t kept an open mind from the start.
Gabriel: I targeted the healthcare sector, with a particular focus on pharma and biotech companies with high market capitalization. Healthcare is a vast field with ample opportunities, and there were many internships available throughout the fall and winter quarters. This sector places a strong emphasis on genuine interest in the company’s niche within the healthcare ecosystem, and prior experience is a significant advantage. My approach involved applying to any healthcare company that piqued my interest, then thoroughly researching the division, location, and people involved once I secured an interview. This deep dive was crucial for performing well in interviews, as the large-cap companies I targeted placed a heavy emphasis on team culture and knowledge of the division’s product and mandate.
Which MBA Career Management events, programs, or services did you find most helpful?
Charles: The MBA Career Management team at Foster provided invaluable support through workshops and networking events, particularly those focused on consulting and technology roles. Representing UW Foster at the National Black MBA Conference was also a standout experience, where I was able to expand my network and explore multiple potential career pathways.
Gabriel: I found the industry nights and events where alumni were present to be the most useful. We had multiple such events focused on Finance, Healthcare, Technology, Consulting etc. Having industry professionals there was a good way to network and get a better perspective on the industry trends. These insights were invaluable during coffee chats and were key talking points during my behavioral interviews.
Dakshinaa: Mock interviews with classmates helped me gain confidence and ease into the process, while practicing behavioral interviews with career coaches offered valuable structured feedback. The interview preparation templates they provided were especially useful in organizing my thoughts and ensuring I delivered polished, well-structured answers without being caught off guard. I practiced the behavioral question bank provided by career management to tackle any surprises during the interview.
How was your internship structured, and what were the major deliverables?
Sravani: My internship at Cisco was a great experience. I got to work closely with senior leadership and many different teams, which was really exciting. I primarily focused on AI strategy for a Networking Automation product and executed the strategy as a new product feature. It was a mix of strategy and execution, and I learned a lot along the way. I had a final presentation in the end, where I presented the strategy roadmap and product feature to senior stakeholders.
Charles: The internship was structured as a project-focused role where I independently conducted research and presented findings to senior leadership. Major deliverables included a comprehensive market analysis, a report on emerging trends, and a presentation outlining potential strategic moves for Corning. This involved deep dives into customer acceptance, system readiness, and the impact on Corning’s product lines.
Gabriel: As my division was expanding beyond the traditional prescription fulfillment, we were exploring pharmacist-delivered care and increasing CVS’s digital footprint. My role was to strategize a new pharmacist-delivered product for Medicare patients. The internship focused on getting to know the team, the department, and CVS Pharmacy in detail. During the first half, I spent a lot of time interviewing people to learn about the company and gather information for my project. This culminated in a summit at Hartford HQ, where all the interns gathered to meet each other and leaders from other divisions. The second half of the internship was more focused on preparing for the final presentation. While I still needed to meet and interview people, the network I had built during the first half was incredibly helpful in preparing and finding people to mock-run my presentation.
Grace: As a Category Manager, I had the unique opportunity to be a core member of the category team. The internship program included various social and educational events designed to connect with other interns and learn about different teams at TikTok. However, my primary focus was on building relationships with my core team and developing my skills as a category manager through hands-on experience. My major deliverable was revenue growth, specifically sustaining and expanding my book of business over the 12-week period.
Dakshinaa: Being the sole MBA intern on my team gave me the flexibility to tailor my experience. I worked on two major projects in strategy and partnerships under the guidance of respective senior directors. The first involved analyzing competitor partnerships, their go-to-market (GTM) strategies and mapping these insights into HMI’s product domains. The second was more open-ended and hence, more challenging — developing a market entry strategy for HMI in the Smart Factory space. This included advising on make-buy-partner-invest decisions, identifying potential acquisition targets, conducting due diligence, interviewing stakeholders, and building customer use cases.
Please tell us about some of the challenges you faced and how you overcame them.
Sravani: One of the biggest challenges was diving into strategy space, which was new to me. Drafting the AI strategy came with a steep learning curve, but it pushed me to think critically and adapt quickly. My first-year MBA classes were incredibly helpful — David Tan’s strategy class, in particular, gave me a strong foundation. I frequently went back to his lectures and notes, which helped me make sure that I considered all facets of the business. On top of that, understanding finance concepts and accounting terms was a huge asset when collaborating with finance stakeholders, which I had to do for my revenue projections.
Charles: One challenge was navigating the complexities of market research for a niche industry while ensuring the insights aligned with Corning’s strategic priorities. I refined my skills in data analysis, stakeholder communication, and project management. Learnings from Strategic Management and Business Analytics electives from my first-year MBA were directly applicable, especially in structuring my analyses and presenting actionable insights.
Dakshinaa: A major challenge I faced was accessing reliable financial data on competitors, potential acquisitions, product-line revenues, and partnership monetization. Much of this information was either proprietary or internally held, making it challenging to access and the heavily fragmented market, dominated by private players, added to the complexity. During my internship, I sought advice from our professors in accounting and entrepreneurship classes, as well as peers with consulting experience. Their insights directed me to research analyst platforms and financial modeling techniques, which proved invaluable. One elective subject and the course content that stood out to me was ‘Business Plan Practicum’ by Christy Johnson, offering practical frameworks and tools that were instrumental in structuring my findings and crafting actionable recommendations.
How would you describe the culture of the organization? Did you have good mentors? And did you meet colleagues or other MBA students from peer schools you plan to stay in touch with post internship?
Grace: TikTok feels like a startup with the resources of a large tech company. The members of my category team were instrumental in my learning; the culture emphasizes collaboration and mutual growth. I gained valuable insights from my peers, many of whom came from traditional retail or e-commerce backgrounds. One of the most exciting experiences for me was when one of my merchants went viral on TikTok. Their revenue skyrocketed tenfold overnight from a single viral video that spread across the platform. The entire team was thrilled to see the merchant’s success, and the merchant was excited and more committed than ever to growing with TikTok Shop. It was incredibly rewarding to see my work have a real, positive impact on people’s lives and to share that excitement with the team.
Gabriel: The culture of the company and team was very open and friendly. I did not meet a single person that was not willing to talk about themselves, their work, or any subject I could think of. I met many people and mentors that helped me understand healthcare, the company, and upskill my presentation skills. There were around a dozen MBA interns and many other graduate interns that I connected with and hung out with all summer. The best part about the internship was being on the east coast. I got to explore the northeast with train trips to places like Boston, NY, and New Haven with new people. We all became good friends, and we still keep in touch.
Sravani: Cisco is ranked #1 in Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work for, and I totally attest to it. The culture is so welcoming — I was able to be myself without any judgments. My mentors and colleagues were fantastic, committed to their work but also making time for having fun. I met some incredible folks from peer MBA schools like Wharton and Booth. We helped each other during the internship and still talk from time to time.
What are your plans for the second year of MBA? Anything you’re looking forward to?
Dakshinaa: My internship got me deeply interested in Corporate Mergers & Acquisitions. Coming from a non-finance background, I had to learn a lot on the fly during my four months over the summer. To build on that momentum, I’m packing my schedule with finance and accounting courses to get more comfortable with studying financial reports and valuing business targets. I firmly believe this skill is best developed through hands-on experiences, like case-based courses or, even better, real-world projects or case comps. Let’s be honest, we wouldn’t have paid $$ if textbooks and videos could replace a classroom MBA, and where better to mess up a valuation than in class, where the stakes are as low!
Charles: For my second year, I plan to focus on exploring full-time opportunities in technology policy and strategic consulting, leveraging my internship experience. I’m also looking forward to deeper engagements with Foster’s alumni network and participating in experiential learning programs.
Grace: This year, I’ve taken on a fellowship with Pack Ventures, where I work with a pre-seed and seed-stage focused venture fund, assisting with deal flow and fund management initiatives. I’m also a Fritzky Leadership Fellow, helping first-year MBA students navigate their journey through the program. Additionally, I’m part of a year-long course on Angel Investing, where our cohort invests in startups on behalf of the University of Washington. Finally, as a board member of the Strategy Club, I enjoy helping students engage more deeply with applied and professional strategy. I’m excited by each of these commitments, as they allow me to stretch myself and continue growing during the MBA program.
What advice do you have for first year students regarding summer internships?
Grace: Stay curious and open to the opportunities that come your way. I recommend applying broadly and tailoring your resume to each role. Once you start receiving interview invites, you’ll have the chance to be selective and assess whether each role aligns with your career interests post-MBA. Remember to stay open-minded — an internship is a fantastic opportunity to learn, explore, and try new things. Embrace each experience with humility and curiosity, and more opportunities will follow.
Sravani: My advice for first-year students regarding summer internships is simple: don’t get disheartened and don’t give up. The process can be tough, and rejection can feel discouraging, but if you keep pushing forward, you’ll achieve it. Stay persistent, keep applying, and trust that your hard work will pay off. Your dreams will become a reality sooner than you think.
Dakshinaa: You might not land the exact role you envisioned, but be clear about the skills you want to develop and communicate them to your managers early on. Think of your internship as a bridge between your pre-MBA career and your post-MBA goals. Focus on building meaningful connections within the organization and industry, even if it means putting in extra effort beyond work hours. The best advice I received from my network was that professionals are usually more than willing to help interns and students, as they’re far less likely to see you as a competition, so don’t hesitate to reach out and learn from them.
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