ORONO, Maine -- The University of Maine Pulp and Paper Foundation leads a partnership between the University of Maine, the Pulp and Paper industry and aspiring engineering students.
Its role is to recruit, support and prepare talented engineering students to become the next great leaders in the pulp and paper industry, while also helping to meet the workforce needs of the industry, specifically in chemical, civil, computer, electrical and mechanical engineering.
The foundation awards more than 150 full or partial tuition scholarships annually to engineering students at the University of Maine who express an interest in pursuing a career in the pulp and paper industry. Throughout their academic career, the foundation is here to support, guide and assist them. In fact, many students call President Carrie Enos and Program Director Jennifer Ireland their "school moms" because of the exceptional care and attention they receive, not to mention the bonus of graduating debt-free.
A major component of the foundation is acting as matchmaker between students and employers. This is done throughout the student's academic career, but most notably at the annual Paper Days networking event that now hosts over 350 guests including students, university faculty and staff, government officials and corporate partners from locations nationwide and globally. Through this event, students and industry leaders make valuable connections, which can lead to landing a co-op position, where students gain hands-on, in-the-field experience, or even a future career, gaining employers a much-needed employee.
Paperitalo Publications was able to catch up with senior Kenzie Karpinski. We asked her a few questions about her experiences at UMaine.
What attracted you to Chemical Engineering and the UMaine PPF?
When I started thinking about my future career as a sophomore in high school, I had no idea where I wanted my interest in math and science to take me. I stumbled upon chemical engineering in one of my many online searches for a potential career path. It immediately caught my attention because it opens the doors to a diverse range of career opportunities, allows you to tailor your education and career to specific areas that interest you, and gives you the freedom to move between industries. As college application season rolled around, I was still unsure of what I wanted for a career. Knowing that this degree would build a robust set of skills that would transfer well into the many industries I would have the chance to work in, I felt secure in pursuing chemical engineering and using my higher education to refine my career aspirations.
Understanding how impactful it is to gain real world experience prior to graduation, I considered a strong co‑op program a non‑negotiable factor in my college search. The UMaine Pulp and Paper Foundation not only had a successful, widely respected co-op program, but offered students unparalleled support throughout their college journey. The Foundation's numerous industry connections help students find co-op opportunities that support their academic, career, and personal goals, all while graduating within just four years. Knowing that the UMPPF team would be there to help me navigate my co-op rotation, early career, and college life in general made me confident that this program was the best choice for me.
Were you looking into pulp and paper when you were in high school?
I had not considered a career in the pulp and paper industry until I learned about the UMaine Pulp and Paper Foundation. Growing up in Upstate New York, the pulp and paper industry had been a large part of my surrounding community. From a young age, I had heard stories about community members who had worked at the nearby mills and how important the industry had been to the economics of the surrounding area. However, I did not know anyone who had been an engineer at these facilities, so I had no idea that there was such a large demand for engineers within the pulp and paper industry! Once the UMPPF introduced me to this career path, I became excited to utilize my engineering degree to contribute to the industry.
Tell us about the internships and/or co-ops you have had.
I have completed three internships while attending the University of Maine. After my freshman year, I had the opportunity to work at a Twin Rivers Paper site that was only about 20 minutes from where I grew up. There were two additional sites within driving distance, allowing me to travel between all three throughout the summer. There, I was able to gain experience with lab testing, work directly with the operations team to learn about the papermaking process and equipment, shadow engineers and assist with their day-to-day responsibilities, and create/update standard operating procedures throughout the facility. I am incredibly grateful to have gotten this opportunity so early on in my college career, as it confirmed that I was pursuing the right industry for me.
Following my sophomore year, I moved to Pennsylvania to intern at Procter & Gamble's Mehoopany site. This experience allowed me to work and live alongside the numerous other summer interns. I was handed a multitude of projects in papermaking covering areas such as safety, quality, loss-elimination, and employee morale. I was fully responsible for leading these projects, which often meant coordinating efforts with other engineers, maintenance, and contractors, among others. These were all real, meaningful projects, making being trusted with their progress a fun and challenging learning experience. I returned to this site after my junior year to intern in another papermaking department. Given that this was my second summer there, I was given projects that were larger in scope with the goal that I could lay the groundwork for them while I was there and pass them off to another individual in the department at the end of my internship. This was a super rewarding experience that allowed me to see what my career in papermaking could look like. By the end of the summer, I definitely felt more like a process engineer than I did an intern.
What does this program mean to you?
The UMPPF scholarship program has granted me the ability to complete my higher education debt-free while allowing me to identify and pursue my desired career path. The financial support the organization has offered me, both via their scholarship checks and paid internship opportunities, has been life changing. This has given me the financial freedom to make the most of my college education by becoming involved on campus and ensuring that I was getting the grades I wanted in my classes, rather than pouring my energy into other scholarship applications or working additional hours. I owe much of my success at UMaine to this privilege. UMPPF's numerous industry connections introduced me to many potential career paths and has given me the opportunity to intern with two companies, seeing the different ways that I could use my engineering degree. This gave me an advantage when it came to the full-time job search, as I was confident in the types of roles that I was interested in and had a competitive edge over applicants with lesser industry experience. UMPPF has provided me with the security and support that I needed to be successful during my undergraduate education, which I have no doubt will transfer directly into my early career.
Where do you see yourself in five and 10 years, and what are your career aspirations?
I consider my people / interpersonal skills to be one of my greatest strengths and plan to use these abilities to pursue a career in management, rather than in a technical role. I hope that my first 5-10 years in industry brings multiple promotions that challenge me to build my leadership skills. My best-case-scenario career involves me becoming a mill / plant manager someday.
What would you recommend to anyone who might be interested in getting into pulp and paper?
I would recommend doing some research into all the products to which the pulp and paper industry contributes! When I first started considering this industry, I had a very limited knowledge of what types of products I could be helping to develop and manufacture. However, as I started learning about the diversity of industry's capabilities, I began seeing these products constantly throughout my everyday life. I found it fascinating that paper could be used in such a variety of ways, which is what really fueled my interest in pulp and paper.
I would also suggest applying to programs already well affiliated with the industry, such as the UMaine Pulp and Paper Foundation. Being part of the UMPPF instantly connected me to employers all over the country. These companies came directly to the University of Maine to search for their interns/co-ops and full-time hires, making it easy to score interviews with multiple companies of your choice. For me, being part of UMPPF meant being able to obtain three internships and a full-time job before my senior year began, which likely wouldn't have been the case if I had not applied to UMPPF as I entered college.
Please let us know of anything else of interest about your experiences in the program.
What really stands out to me about the UMPPF is its unwavering commitment to the success of each student in the program. Besides writing your scholarship check and working with you to determine which internships/co-ops/full-time positions best fit your interests and long-term goals, the UMPPF also helps you navigate the entire college experience. Having trouble in a class? The UMPPF will find you a tutor free of charge. Something has been weighing you down? Come in for a chat with anyone in the office where they'll help you find a solution or just be a listening ear. Need a letter of recommendation? Someone from UMPPF is more than happy to help. The UMPPF is truly invested in their students and helping them thrive in all aspects of their time at UMaine.
Please tell us what year you are in the program, your hometown, and anything interesting you might do in your free time.
I am a graduating senior in chemical engineering originally from Boonville, New York. In my free time, you can find me hiking, reading, baking, or putting together a jigsaw puzzle. I really enjoy traveling to state parks, with some of my most recent adventures taking me to the Letchworth and Watkins Glen state parks back home in New York!
