When Amanda Shantz walked onto Silicon Valley International School’s (INTL) Pre-K campus in 2000, no one could have predicted that the linguistic immersion, cultural exposure, and hands-on learning she experienced over the next ten years would one day help shape her path to Google. Today, Amanda works in product strategy for the Play and Developer Ecosystem team, helping guide leadership on decisions that impact billions of users worldwide. However, she credits her early years at INTL as the place where her worldview and her confidence first began to take shape.
After graduating from INTL (Formerly known as International School of the Peninsula, or ISTP) in 2010, Amanda attended Los Altos High School before heading to the University of Southern California, where she earned both her B.S. in Industrial and Systems Engineering and her M.S. in Analytics. She returned to the Bay Area after graduation, taking on roles in consulting and marketing analytics before transitioning to product strategy. At Google, her work centers on tackling complex strategic questions and enabling leaders to make high-impact decisions for products across Play, Android, and the broader Google ecosystem.
Though her day-to-day work no longer requires her to speak Chinese, Amanda says the influence of her multilingual education continues to guide her career. “ISTP* instilled in me an appreciation and sensitivity toward diverse cultures, which is essential when collaborating at a multinational company like Google,” she reflects.
Early exposure to classmates and teachers from around the world taught her that “the world is a much better place when we celebrate cultural differences,” a value she carries with her into every team she works with.
Some of Amanda’s most formative INTL memories came from the three exchange trips she took to China, experiences she describes as invaluable. Her final trip, to Yunnan Province, stands out most vividly. After weeks of studying the region’s ethnic minorities and cultural history in class, she stepped into a world she had only read about.
“The region’s unique sites and extraordinary ethnic diversity came alive,” she recalls.
A visit to a local cultural center offered a firsthand look into the traditions of Yunnan’s minority groups, transforming academic learning into lived, unforgettable moments. These trips not only strengthened her Mandarin skills, but also deepened her curiosity about global cultures, a curiosity that continues to shape her personal and professional life.
That curiosity followed her to USC, where she joined a traditional Chinese dance club. Many of her teammates were international students, and though she hadn’t regularly practiced Mandarin in years, she found that even small exchanges in Chinese helped “bridge the cultural gap” and foster connection. It was a full-circle moment, proof that the linguistic and cultural fluency she gained at INTL had real-world impact far beyond childhood classrooms.
Inside those classrooms, Amanda also discovered a love of learning that would carry her into adulthood. She fondly remembers her third-grade teacher, Mrs. Brooks, who created “Brooksville,” a classroom world where creativity and exploration thrived. One project, a cultural report, led Amanda to choose Russia and attempt baking challah bread from scratch. The result? A lifelong passion for baking. “Mrs. Brooks showed me the joy of hands-on learning,” Amanda says.
“It’s a valuable lesson I still carry today.”
Equally impactful were the frequent presentations that are a hallmark of INTL’s bilingual program. Regularly standing in front of classmates from a young age gave her strong public speaking skills that set her apart in high school, college, and eventually the tech industry. “This early and continuous practice created a key advantage,” she notes. Being comfortable presenting to groups has remained “instrumental to my success in my current professional career.”
Amanda’s move into product strategy was inspired partly by advice from her father, who told her that sales and product are the two pillars of any company. After years working on analytics that supported sales, she was eager to understand the product from the inside. When a high-impact opportunity opened on Google’s Product Strategy team, she seized it, an ideal way to bridge the two sides and influence key decisions at a global scale.
Looking ahead, Amanda is energized by the rapid pace of innovation. “The future is totally unknown,” she says, pointing to technologies like AI reshaping industries in real time. While the speed of change can be daunting, she’s motivated by the opportunity it creates. She’s excited for the chance to solve problems for roles and technologies “that simply don’t exist today” and to help build the next wave of digital transformation.
From Yunnan to USC, from Brooksville to Google, Amanda’s journey is grounded in the global mindset, curiosity, and confidence nurtured during her decade at INTL. And though the future may be uncertain, one thing is clear: Amanda is ready to help shape it.
*INTL was formerly known as International School of the Peninsula (ISTP). In 2020, the school changed its name to Silicon Valley International School (INTL).
