SCLT student, Supply-Chain Industrial Distribution Organization (SIDO) vice president, and recent ITMA Scholarship recipient Jenifer Mendoza reflects on her experience as a buyer intern with CITGO -- from the ways the Cullen College of Engineering's Technology Division has prepared her for the professional world to navigating success in a previously unexplored industry.
What inspired you to pursue an internship with CITGO?
I found this opportunity on LinkedIn, and it was a very lengthy process, as it took about a month and a half to hear back from CITGO. What made me want to pursue this opportunity was my mentor [Margaret Kidd] motivating me to enter the Oil and Gas field. I was a bit afraid to fail in the industry, but she reminded me that Houston is the place to be for this type of work.
What is a typical day like in your role?
I am the buyer intern for the Corporate Procurement team, and I support three different groups. A typical day involves meetings with suppliers, business units, and working with several contracts in the Lubricants, Terminals & Pipelines, and Corporate & Marketing groups.
How has your experience as an SCLT student prepared you for this internship?
The SCLT program prepared me to understand the contract languages and materials we interact with daily. Specifically in the Lubricants group, I was able to apply what I learned from my Transportation Law and Elements of Materials & Processes course when creating contracts with our bottle manufacturer.
What has been the most interesting part of your time with CITGO so far?
What's been interesting at my time with CITGO was having the ability to work across the three different groups. I was able to see how each group has their own tasks and requirements, and [come to] understand that procurement is not straight forward as it may seem. I was able to interact with all kinds of suppliers, from plastic bottle manufacturers to software providers.
Looking to the future and beyond her 2025 graduation date, Mendoza plans to continue in Oil and Gas, either staying in procurement or exploring a career in packaging materials. She looks forward to returning this semester with new experiences under her belt and real-world scenarios to relate back to her SCLT studies.