Building the future of clean air technology

Over the summer, I was awarded a grant from Cornell’s Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise (CSGE) through the Social Impact Internship Fund (SIIF), which enabled me to join AirVitalize Innovations, a clean-tech startup on a mission to make clean air accessible to all.

AirVitalize has patents pending on filter-free hardware that removes pollutants from the air, improving outdoor air quality in regions where temperature inversions trap harmful particles close to the ground. With more than 1 billion people worldwide affected by harmful air pollution, AirVitalize aims to make breathing safe air a universal right.
Learning from a global, diverse team

At AirVitalize, I worked alongside a globally distributed and multidisciplinary team. Our members spanned multiple time zones and brought expertise in engineering, business, and policy. This diversity strengthened my ability to communicate across disciplines by translating financial insights for engineers and learning the technical side of product development.

Despite being fully remote, we built a strong team culture. My favorite tradition was our “sendoff meetings,” where each person shared an object that reminded them of an intern finishing their project. This small but meaningful practice made our virtual environment feel remarkably connected.

From pipettes to partnerships: Putting my MBA skills to work

Before business school, my professional world revolved around biomedical sciences, managing a dermatology research lab at the University of Pennsylvania. My internship at AirVitalize allowed me to apply my first-year MBA learning in a completely new context: finance, leadership, and strategy.

I began the summer by exploring a potential AI commercialization project, conducting nearly 50 customer interviews. My final recommendation was not to pursue that direction, a valuable lesson that strategic restraint can sometimes be the right move. I then transitioned to brand partnerships and investor relations, where I led client conversations, managed partner relationships, and represented AirVitalize in external meetings. These experiences built my confidence and solidified my interest in the intersection of sustainability, strategy, and innovation.

Discovering venture capital through climate resilience

A defining part of my summer was AirVitalize’s participation in Village Capital’s Thriving Communities: Climate Resilience accelerator, which convened 12 startups focused on environmental and community impact. Through interactive sessions on financial storytelling, investor readiness, and pitch development, I gained firsthand exposure to how venture capital evaluates early-stage companies.

One-on-one conversations with mentors and venture capitalists helped me understand how investors think about scalability, traction, and long-term impact. My supervisor also encouraged me to ask about her decision-making process, offering invaluable mentorship and insight into startup leadership.

This experience inspired my growing interest in venture capital as a pathway to fund climate-resilient innovation.

A first taste of the business world and what comes next

My time at AirVitalize was professionally and personally transformative. It helped me grow from a scientist into a business strategist, someone who can bridge technical understanding with market insight.

I am continuing with AirVitalize this semester as a paid contractor, working on investor relations and business development. I’ll also travel to Alaska to meet business owners and investors expanding clean-tech solutions in their communities.

I’m deeply grateful to the Social Impact Internship Fund for making this experience possible. It allowed me to take a mission-driven path, one that strengthened my commitment to climate innovation and inspired me to pursue a career in venture capital focused on sustainable, equitable solutions.

About the author

Carina D’Souza is a second-year MBA candidate in the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management. Prior to business school, she managed a dermatology research lab at the University of Pennsylvania. She is passionate about community impact and funding those who do meaningful work.