Gracie Guidotti ’23


RightGift, Austin, TX

During my time working at RightGift, I worked on a number of projects including generating a sustainability analysis of the company, creating and maintaining relationships with suppliers, and developing a social media marketing plan. Although I was formally a supply chain management intern, I was able to gain experience in various industries to learn more about different career paths. The small size of RightGift allowed me to get involved in important work that helped support the growth and success of the company.

My ‘outside’ office.

RightGift is a company that specializes in facilitating nonprofit organizations, charities, and schools in the creation of wish lists to meet their critical needs. The RightGift platform connects these wish lists with individuals and retailers to fund and fulfill these orders. As a supply chain intern, I was responsible for identifying and building relationships with suppliers to meet nonprofit needs with the support of my advisor, Scott Dooley. By identifying gaps in the supply chain, we were able to determine which product categories we needed to increase supplier relations in. Additionally, we worked to increase diversity and sustainability of the supply chain. This was done through building relationships with businesses owned and run by women, people of color, or with a focus on sustainability.

In addition to growing the supply chain, I completed an analysis on the sustainability of RightGift’s supply chain and logistics. By analyzing the environmental impacts of product transport, product manufacturing, and waste production I was able to identify the most environmentally harmful activities. My analysis found that by offering sustainable alternatives for the most commonly sold and environmentally harmful products, implementing eco labeling, and investing in carbon offsets, RightGift can reduce environmental impacts significantly.

Additionally, I worked with the marketing department to develop and implement a social media marketing strategy. Developing RightGift’s presence on social media allowed the company to increase brand recognition and platform use. Through generating posts and identifying guidelines for social media marketing, I was able to create a marketing schedule for the next three months, setting the company up for social media marketing success.

This internship experience has allowed me to gain an understanding of careers with social impact. RightGift allowed me to see that there are other ways to have an impact other than working at a nonprofit. Many of my coworkers were extremely passionate about their work and have come from a variety of backgrounds such as finance, nonprofits, and large corporations. In the future I hope to continue to explore working in supply chain management in addition to exploring careers with social impact.

All of this would not have been possible without the support of Bill McCalpin ’79 and the ’68 Center for Career Exploration. I am very grateful to have had this opportunity; I have learned so much from this internship and am very thankful for this experience.