This summer, the Flexible Packaging Association awarded $15,000 in academic scholarships to deserving students currently enrolled in packaging and printing school programs. Students Ryan Rovito of Rochester Institute of Technology; Brian Diefenbach, Christy Root, and Chelsea
Wilson of Western Michigan University; and Chetan Joshi of Pittsburg State University, each participated in an enriching summer internship with several FPA converter members, including: American Packaging Corporation, CL&D Graphics Inc., Constantia Hueck Foils LLC, Pliant Corp. and Technipaq Inc.
Since 2005, the FPA Flexible Packaging Internship & Academic Scholarship Program has provided hands-on internships, encouraged students pursue careers within the flexible packaging industry, and awarded more than $60,000 in academic scholarships.
“A Great Appreciation”
Christy Root, an imaging major and summer intern at American Packaging Corp. noted that she “learned to appreciate the amount of engineering that goes into developing and manufacturing a flexible package.” During her internship, Christy participated in the completion of a number
of projects including observing run trials, reviewing color keys and proofs, and drafting training material for new equipment.
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| Left to right: Christy Root, intern; Jeff Koch, operations manager, American Packaging Corporation. |
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“I have a greater understanding of the flexible packaging industry,” said Ryan Rovito, a packaging science major, who completed his summer internship with Pliant Corp. Ryan
expressed that the internship went “beyond his expectations” and he remained “thoroughly challenged” as he worked on a number of projects including productivity optimization, sales/technical support, and depth sample analysis. |
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| Left to right: Ryan Rovito, intern; Dan Collins, senior product development scientist, Pliant Corporation. |
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“Freedom to Explore”
Chelsea Wilson, an imaging and printing major at Western Michigan University and summer intern at CL&D Graphic, noted that the best aspect of her internship was the “freedom
to explore a variety of disciplines at CL&D Graphic.” Chelsea explained that through her summer internship she applied her academic knowledge in packaging graphics to various projects she completed including graphic/art file set-up, and research and design. |
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| Mike Dowling, graphics director, CL&D Graphics; Chelsea Wilson, intern; James Gordon, manager, Graphics Department, CL&D Graphics. |
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Chetan Joshi, a printing management graduate student at Pittsburg State University, sought to gain a solid understanding of the daily operations of a flexible packaging company and obtain hands-on exposure to the converting process, through his internship with Technipaq Inc. “I was
provided with all the resources and technical support to work on important projects that have allowed me to accomplish that goal. I am confident that this experience will assist me
in securing a career within the flexible packaging industry,” said Chetan. |
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Left to right: Brian Rosenburg, sales manager, Technipaq Inc.; Chetan Joshi, intern; Jim Fox, director of operations,
Technipaq, Inc. |
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Brian Diefenbach, also and imaging major at Western Michigan University, completed, as he described a “rewarding” internship with Constantia Hueck Foils LLC. Brian gained direct experience in “creating and testing ink formulas” and “writing several new Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the ink room. |
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| Left to right: Manfred Rauer, director of manufacturing, Constantia Hueck Foils, LLC; Brian Diefenbach, intern. |
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