Hi everyone, my name is Samantha and I’m a rising second-year student at UCLA Anderson. I am originally from Los Angeles and went to UC Berkeley undergrad. Prior to Anderson, I worked in the non-profit and city government sectors focused on helping cities achieve carbon neutrality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Most recently, I was the Manager of Market Strategy at a small electric vehicle charging technology start-up called Hubject. 

This summer, I am interning as a Energy Solutions & Charging Product Strategy MBA Intern at Rivian Automotive. Rivian is releasing their first cars, an electric truck and an electric SUV, very soon! There is so much going on right now preparing for the electric vehicles’ release, and it has been a really exciting place to work this summer. I’m working for the Rivian Adventure Network (public fast charging network) Program team, focusing on both product strategy and charging network program projects. The public fast charging network team has plans to deploy 3,500+ DC fast chargers at 600+ sites through 2023, a very exciting goal to help Rivian drivers navigate trips with ease. In order to help make this happen, this summer I have been working cross-functionally with many different teams across the organization, including Real Estate, Product Development, Finance, Customer Service and Data Science, to get projects moving and completed in preparation for Rivian’s charging network launch. I have also been given a lot of flexibility to choose which projects I would like to focus on in order to gain new skills and get exposure to different parts of the electric vehicle and renewables industries. I have loved having a lot of responsibility over my projects and getting the chance to work with a very smart, hard-working and collaborative Rivian team, all dedicated to the company’s mission and vision, which is definitely something that I’ve been looking for in a company and co-workers. 

6:30 – 8am: Wake up. I usually start work around 8 am, so I wake up around 6:30, read the New York Times and Wall Street Journal morning digest, drink my first cup of green tea, and fit in a walk or a pilates class before starting work.

8- 11am: Meetings. A lot of my meetings end up being in the mornings at Rivian. Whether it be a project check-in, team meeting or one-on-ones, I’m usually on Zoom throughout the morning. Rivian really values communication and collaboration, which has been very important to me!

11am-12pm: Focus on projects. After meetings, I try to get work done on one of my projects and check in on Slack to see if there are any messages I need to respond to.  

12-12:30pm: Lunch. Take a lunch break which usually includes going on a walk with my roommate to get out of the apartment!

12:30-1:30 pm: Weekly (virtual) intern event. Rivian does a great job bringing in someone from the C-suite or business unit leader to talk with the summer interns each week. They give us various insights into what their business unit is working on and plans for the future.

1:30-5pm: Focus on projects. I sometimes have more meetings I attend in the afternoons depending on the day and depending on which project I’m working on, but I really try to focus on making headway with my projects in the afternoon.

5-5:30pm: Wrap up. At the end of the day, I review and add to my list of action items I need to get done within the next couple of days. 

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Student Blogger: Samantha Rosenbaum ‘22

Undergrad: UC Berkeley ’15

Pre-MBA: Manager of Market Strategy at Hubject

Leadership@Anderson: EVP, Energy Management Group; VP of Social, Anderson Venture Impact Partners; VP of Social, Net Impact; VP of Marketing, Jewish Business Students Association