Google Opportunity: How CofC Siblings Found New Career Paths

Having a sibling at the same university has its perks. 

While Michael Mann, a rising senior majoring in computer science and minoring in data science, took advantage of the myriad opportunities the College of Charleston offers, he discovered even more opportunities through his sister, Gabrielle Mann, a rising sophomore majoring in computing in the arts.  

As a 1967 Legacy Scholar and recipient of the Ward B. Miller ’76 Scholarship, Gabrielle was introduced to Launchpad for Success and assigned a mentor. Her monthly meetings with Neysa Williams ’95, a member of the College’s Board of Trustees, helped her identify resources and prep for opportunities. Hearing how helpful Williams was, Michael asked Williams if she could help him find a mentor. 

Williams introduced Michael to Randy Atkins ’98 (M.S. ’04), who majored in computer science and then earned his graduate degree in computer and information sciences. As director of solutions engineering at Modus21 LLC, Adkins had the perfect background and experience for Michael. 

“Randy has been super helpful and has been supportive throughout my interview prep,” says Michael. 

The Google Data Center Summer Immersion Program has been on Gabrielle’s radar ever since she participated in the SPECTRA program the summer before her first year.  

“Professor [Lancie] Affonso told us to have a ‘big, hairy audacious goal,’” she explains. “Mine were to travel more and to get accepted into the Google Data Center Summer Immersion Program.” 

Michael learned about the program through an email. 

“I want to give a shout out to Rebecca Utz,” says Michael of the administrative coordinator for the Department of Computer Science. “Several of the experiences on my résumé are because her emails about opportunities, like Google.” 

The siblings teamed up and helped each other apply to the program. They started by going to the Career Center, where they participated in AI interviews to get tips on presenting themselves, got help crafting their résumés and learned to better market themselves. 

In addition, Michael and Gabrielle worked on a lot of tech projects. At DigSouth, for example, they participated in an AI short film competition and then received a free trial of OpenArt AI. Michael went to the IBM Call for Code event one weekend in Columbia, South Carolina, where his group won second place for the chatbot they designed on WatsonX AI to bridge the food insecurity gap. The Manns also both volunteered in the Harbor Hacks Hackathon. 

Opportunities like the Google Data Center Summer Immersion Program are competitive, and so – when they were both accepted – the siblings soaked up everything they could.  

“I loved getting immersed in different fields and learning the diverse career paths that are available,” says Michael. “Everyone, no matter their field of work, had some wisdom to pass on.”  

Adds Gabrielle, “I appreciated the opportunity for career exploration. There were so many careers that I didn’t even know were associated with a data center, from safety and chemists to management and operations.” 

Despite all the career paths at the data center, there were no positions utilizing Gabrielle’s area of interest – user experience. After connecting with interns at other Google locations, she managed to speak with the director of user experience design.  

“While she’s really busy, she made time to speak with me,” says Gabrielle. “She recommended what I should do in school and shared resources that I can utilize.” 

Both Michael and Gabrielle liked the Google work culture, where employees are encouraged to take breaks and destress at the gym or game room. They also liked how Google goes the extra mile to hold events celebrating everyone.

“I also liked learning what it means to be ‘Googly.’ It’s all about being personable and bringing good energy,” says Gabrielle. “Google wants people to bring their personality, so desks often look like a kid’s desk with all sorts of toys.” 

Perhaps most of all, they liked the food. Gabrielle had swordfish for the first time, and Michael shared that the joke is that, when you step into Google, you gain 15 pounds: The food is that good. 

In addition, they appreciated how no one is off limits at Google; it isn’t a hierarchical company. 

“Everyone is equal; everyone is humble. You can go to the top leadership, and they will lend an ear,” says Michael. “There’s someone for everyone at Google: There are people from many different paths and disciplines. We now have people who have offered to help us with future opportunities, because they took a similar path.” 

While the formal program at the Google Data Center is complete, the Manns still have two Coursera courses to take as part of the professional development portion of the program. As Coursera Ambassadors at the College, they have this assignment well in hand. 

Participating in the program has helped the Manns narrow their scope of interest. Gabrielle is now exploring project management as a career field, and Michael has eliminated a couple of areas from his list of career possibilities. 

More importantly, they are both ready to help mentor the next batch of CofC students who wish to participate in the Google Data Center Summer Immersion Program. 

“We learned so much in the application process, so we can lend a hand to anyone interested,” says Michael.  

That’s exactly what any Google employee would do.