For alum and car designer Jonah Gardner ’14, pit stops and detours on the road to career success were God’s blessings in disguise.
By: Jennifer Cooke, Content Strategy & Communications Manager
It’s rare for a childhood passion to become a lifelong career. But for Jonah Gardner ’14, his boyhood fascination with cars has led to a whirlwind experience in one of the automotive industry’s most niche fields: design.
“In high school, my sole goal was to get a job doing something I loved,” he shares. “I loved to draw but didn’t know what I could do with it. When I was young, I was obsessed with cars. My parents would tell stories about me naming cars from my car seat. So when my dad discovered the field of industrial design, I became dead set on going into car design.”
At CHCA, Gardner honed his artistic skills and set his sights on the Cleveland Institute of Art. Once there, he seized every opportunity to learn hands on from automotive magnates. An internship at a Cleveland-based motorcycle company his sophomore year turned into an internship offer from a studio in the UK. When Brexit derailed his English adventure, Gardner adapted, taking an internship instead with General Motors (GM) to home in on the “niche within the niche of car design” that he desired to pursue. Experiences that followed—including back-to-back six-month stints at Genesis’ Germany studio and EV giant Rivian—pushed his college graduation date, but Gardner didn’t mind.
Then, Covid.
Graduating at the height of the global pandemic (May 2020), Gardner believed Covid to be yet another minor bump in the road on his long-haul goal. But God had different plans.
“I called so many people, and almost all said they loved my work, but they weren’t hiring,” he shares. “Honestly, it was a blessing in disguise.”
His deferred employment gave Gardner the greatest gift of all: time. For five months he rested, recharging from the rigor of his college courseload and intensive internships—all of which prepared him mentally and spiritually to pursue his passion for car design with energy and excitement.
In December 2020, he accepted a position with GM, one that has proven worth the wait. His time at GM has seen Gardner take on many roles, working on teams for several makes and models in advanced design, user experience, and more. His most recent credits include designing the newest Corvette concept car.
Over the years, he’s learned that every experience happens for a God-ordained reason.
“God has plans that we don’t yet understand or see,” Gardner says. “He’s given me the passions, skills, and opportunities to steward every talent.”
See the work in action at ArtBeat! April 11, 2026
Jonah Gardner ’14 will return to CHCA as a demonstrating artist at ArtBeat, where he’ll sketch and show his concept
car designs.
THE GARDNER FAMILY
L TO R: Caroline ’14, Emerson, and Jonah ’14
