GW Plastics graduates first internship class

GW Plastics has completed the graduation of its first summer internship class. All of this year’s graduates are pursuing degrees in mechanical or electromechanical engineering.

GW Plastics developed the internship with the hope of spreading its passion for manufacturing throughout the local community and providing students with an exciting reason to stay in Vermont both for internships and eventual careers. The scheme offers specialised training plus an opportunity to gain a wide perspective of engineering in a world-class manufacturing environment. Each intern is assigned a specific, term-long project – with measureable objectives –and presents their findings to GW Plastics’ senior leadership at the term’s conclusion.

“We have been taking large strides to boost the local economy and expose students to what we do here at GW Plastics,” said Cathy Tempesta, director of human resources. “Creating an internship has been one of our priorities for several years, and we couldn’t be more thrilled that we had five bright interns this summer. It is important for us to provide the students with a solid learning experience that will shape the way they think - this is why we decided to assign them specific projects.”

The hope is that the interns will consider working in the state after they graduate from college.

As well as working on their projects however, every other week the interns take part in lunch and learn sessions where team members and senior leadership present a variety of industry-related topics to the interns. They also participate in plant tours, corporate meetings, and the RJG Injection Molding Training offered by Chris Alibozek, engineering manager – technical services.

“Not only were we introduced to a professional working environment, but we also were exposed to engineering-related skills that aren’t taught in our college classes,” said intern Tommy Zani.

Griffin Thomas, who was GW Plastics’ first intern last summer, was impressed with how much the program has grown in just a year. “This internship is very well-structured and beneficial to the interns. I learned so much this summer and am excited to see how the program continues to expand,” said Thomas.

 “I loved my time here and would be thrilled to continue working for GW Plastics,” remarked intern Glen Rodgers.

This year’s class included Tommy Zani, Glen Rogers, Vermont Technical College ’16; Brendan Hackett, University of Vermont ’15; Griffin Thomas, University of Mississippi ’16; and Camden Houghton, University of Vermont ’15.