Hello for the last time,
I wanted to use this blog to reflect on my summer and share some of my experiences. As you all know, this summer I worked at Alberta Newsprint Company, however, one thing I did not tell you in the beginning is the many different departments I worked in! So here is a fun little timeline from my summer:
After reading this you are probably thinking “WOW! So what exactly did you do all summer?” Well here's what I did...
Internal Sales (or customer service) Representative:
This is the department where I worked the longest and I definitely got the closest with these colleagues. My job was to cover some customer profiles and work with carriers to ensure paper loads were picked up and delivered on time. It seems like an easy job but I must say it is not. This department takes care of everything from order processing, planning shipments, booking carriers, monitoring production, and managing carrier pickups and deliveries AND on top of it all, these ladies always show up with their best foot forward. My colleagues work so hard and care so much about getting everything done on time. I have loved working in the sales office and I will really miss it when I go. Here is a photo of our super fun office with our many plants!
The Chip Lab:
The chip lab is one of those behind the scenes jobs that no one really knows about but is surprisingly important. ANC gets their wood chips from other mills around Alberta rather than making them ourselves. This means we get over 30 truckloads a day of wood chips delivered, but not all of these wood chips can be used for paper. So that is whereI come in. As the chip technician, I test samples from these trucks and determine what percentage of the loads are usable. I test for bark content, chip size, and moisture content. I work in a tiny little lab out at the chip delivery spot (which is why it is so easy to forget about this position) and I actually really enjoy it. It is a very busy department but it has also been a huge learning curve for me and has greatly improved my problem solving skills.
Internship:
I heard about the Green Dream Internship program from my HR manager here at ANC. I decided to apply because it seemed like a fun opportunity to share what was going on in my summer and talk about my life and town a bit. However, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy writing these pieces as much as I have. I loved researching new topics and sharing the knowledge that I have. It has been an amazing opportunity and I am so lucky that I have had this platform to share important information on. So thank you to all those at FPAC who set up this program because it has been really great to share my voice.
The future:
As you all know from my introduction blog, I am currently studying Honours Biochemistry at the University of Alberta and will be moving back there soon. I am so excited to see my friends again and move into my first city apartment!
I am also looking forward to working as a lecture facilitator in an intro chemistry class and going to my classes and labs in person for the first time. After graduating from my current program I want to become an Optometrist and work in the vision field.
Next summer I will be working alongside studying for my OAT(Optometry Admission Test), and I hope I will get the chance to write some more blogs!
Overall, this summer has been an amazing experience and I am sad to see it go but I am so looking forward to all the new adventures to come.Thank you all for following my journey this summer and I hope you have a wonderful year! Peace out :)
