Summer Student Spotlight – Royal West
At Royal Containers, we recognize the trend of younger employees and need to better understand how to recruit Gen Z and how to connect gen Z to the corrugated industry in a meaningful way.
To do this, we place an emphasis on hiring 5-8 summer students each year, helping them build important skills and teaching them about all-things-corrugated.
Meet the Summer Students of 2022
Alexa
This is Alexa’s first summer at Royal Containers. At nineteen, she is excited about heading into her second year at York University, where she’s on track to finish her undergrad in psychology. Until then, Royal West is fortunate to have her working as an administrative assistant When asked what she likes best about working at Royal Containers, she said:
“I like the people. I feel like I am able to joke around with everyone. I also love how unique everyone is and how my co-workers can all bring their strengths to best collaborate and create an effective workplace.”
Her favourite memory while working here this summer has been the pie-in-the-face fundraiser for Harvest Hands. Her sister came into work and they both enjoyed pie-ing their dad, another employee, in the face. She remembers laughing lots and feeling so grateful to have raised over $500 for such a great cause.
When asked about what she has learned since starting at Royal, she said:
“I have really strengthened my communication skills. By having to immerse myself in different social settings with a variety of co-workers, I have learned how to better collaborate and compliment the different personalities of those around me. I will use this skill after the summer to help with networking and in my various school and work experiences.”
Ethan
This is Ethan’s first summer at Royal. At 23, he joins the team as a plant assistant. This role has given him the opportunity to work on many different machines within the plant, allowing him to gain an appreciation for all their functions. After the summer ends, Ethan is planning on staying on board for a while before heading back to finish his Landscape Architecture degree at Guelph University.
Ethan notes that what he likes best about working at Royal has been the chance to work on the Cobra machine. Acknowledging it as a personal favourite, the Cobra has become the machine he spends the most time on. Ethan finds the machine’s work to be especially fulfilling and interesting.
When asked about what his favourite memory has been since starting at Royal, Ethan replied:
“My brother has worked here for almost a decade and I have always loved hearing his stories. Being able to meet the people whose names I have heard for years has been awesome.”
When asked about what he has learned since starting at Royal, he said:
“My biggest takeaway is that I have learned how to be more open-minded about how I approach new work situations. I feel confident about how much machine-related knowledge I have now and would feel more self-assured tackling new experiences with this skillset.”
Michael
At 26 years old, this is Michael’s fifth summer at Royal Containers – working on and off for the past five years. This summer marks his first time in the office as an administrative assistant. Before that, Michael had extensive experience with various machines in the plant.
After this summer, Michael hopes to stay on a little longer as he works towards completing his accounting diploma at Fanshawe College, and then his CPA certification at Western University. When asked what he likes best about working at Royal Containers, he said:
“I love the set tasks, clear follow-through, and consistency. Some may say that it is monotonous but I thrive on knowing what I am doing and how I can keep improving to get even better at my machine. As well, the people here are good. There is always someone willing to help you better learn the machines.”
Michael also comments on how much he has loved learning about the production side of the business, finding he was amazed as to how much work goes into every single box. While he does see himself continuing within the administrative side of things, he considers his manufacturing experience a resource to call upon whenever looking holistically to find solutions. Overall, this summer has given him improvement in his communication skills and mechanical knowledge – both of which will help him in the future.
