February 14, 2022
Students in Shawnee State University’s Plastics Engineering Technology (PET) program recently visited the manufacturing company Milacron. An industrial partner with SSU’s PET program, Milacron employs several alumni of the program as well offers internships to many current SSU students.
During the visit, students had the opportunity to tour the facility and labs as well as attend an informative session to learn more about the company’s ongoing projects and initiatives. Aiden White, a sophomore in the program and current President of the SSU Chapter of the Society of Plastics Engineers, set up the tour for his classmates.
“Anytime we get the chance to visit or tour a plant, it is extremely beneficial as it gives us motivation as to what we are working towards,” he said.
Using the student club as a way to help foster and develop leadership in students, Department Chair and Assistant Professor of the PET program, Adam Miller, connected White with workers at the company and then stepped back for him to set up the visit and plan the day’s agenda. Throughout the visit, the group also met with several employees as well as President of Milacron, Mac Jones. The networking provided students an opportunity to learn about the different roles within the company.
“It was a cool experience to see how each employee, no matter the role, all work together to make the most efficient and innovative products possible,” said White.
SSU’s four-year PET program offers a hands-on approach to the intensive training in plastics manufacturing, chemistry, physics, advanced mathematics, and engineering. The program also emphasizes communication to help students build the skills they need to interact with internal and external customers.
“It is a very student-focused university that offers many useful resources that have proven useful to my education so far,” said White. “SSU’s Plastics program stuck out to me the most because it offered a promising future, an excellent education, and a lot of networking opportunities as well.”
To learn more about Shawnee State University’s Plastics Engineering Technology program, visit shawnee.edu/plastics.