Lui Gardner, COL ’26, Haworth, NJ
This summer I interned at SpaceX in Los Angeles on the Business Operations Purchasing team. The role gave me the opportunity to contribute directly to projects that supported both day-to-day operations and long-term planning. I was trusted with responsibility from the beginning, which pushed me to quickly learn how to manage processes, coordinate across teams, and make sense of complex operational data. It was a fast-paced environment, but one where I was encouraged to ask questions, take ownership, and keep moving forward.
One of my primary projects was a company-wide pest control RFP that spanned multiple facilities. I built a vendor scorecard that accounted for cost, reliability, responsiveness, and service quality, and I created a standardized bid template so vendors would provide consistent information. My work involved collecting input from procurement, facilities staff, and finance leaders, each of whom had different priorities about what mattered most. Managing this process gave me experience in balancing competing viewpoints, organizing information so it could be compared fairly, and keeping the project on track despite the number of stakeholders involved. It was a valuable lesson in how much of procurement is about communication and structure as much as technical analysis.
Alongside this, I led an aviation audit that involved consolidating data on SpaceX flight attendant reimbursement. I developed a excel dashboard that gave the team visibility into spending and identified areas for greater efficiency. The project helped me strengthen my data analysis skills while also showing me how operational transparency can support better decision-making. I also had the chance to work with SpaceX’s merchandise team, assisting with purchasing and vendor coordination. While very different from aerospace operations, it offered perspective on how brand management and supply chains intersect, and it reinforced how much discipline and planning are required even for projects that may seem small from the outside.
What stood out most from the summer, however, was the team I worked with. SpaceX is known for its intensity, but what I found was a group of people who were just as supportive as they were driven. My teammates took time to explain the context behind my projects, offered advice when I ran into obstacles, and treated me like a full contributor from day one. They were approachable, collaborative, and generous with their knowledge, which made even the most challenging assignments feel achievable. That culture of support was what allowed me to take on work well beyond what I expected as an intern, and it made the summer both productive and genuinely enjoyable. I left SpaceX with stronger skills, but more importantly, with the example of what it looks like to be part of a team that pushes hard while lifting each other up.
This is part of a series of posts by recipients of the 2025 Career Services Summer Funding Grant. We’ve asked funding recipients to reflect on their summer experiences and talk about the industries in which they spent their summer. You can read the entire series here
