It’s back for a second year – the Shurtape Mission: Packaging program.
Through this program, Shurtape has selected three rising packaging students who are game to take on a series of packaging-themed missions. All in the name of higher education – and cashing in.
Each month, starting in February, the three Mission: Packaging students will receive a mission that will require them to participate in conversations with industry experts and explore real-world issues, problems, trends and strategies related to packaging.
They’ll report their findings right here on TapeUniversity.com. And they’ll be rewarded for their participation – and completion of all 10 challenges – by earning $5,000 each to put toward their educational expenses.
Meet the Students
Caroline Krueger: Student, University of Florida
Caroline Krueger developed a passion for the packaging field after spending her first summer as an undergraduate student working in quality control for a leading clinical research services company. Her experience with that great team of technicians, doctors and volunteers inspired her to focus her classes and learning on Packaging Engineering at the University of Florida.
For Caroline, packaging is intriguing as it requires creative thinking and problem solving to accommodate ever-changing technologies and consumer trends. After graduation, she wants to focus on food packaging design, with particular interest in materials and containers. Her hope is to improve existing packaging materials and designs to create simple yet functional products that reduce packaging and food waste.
On campus, Caroline serves on the executive board of the Packaging Club, for which she organizes community and campus outreach events, in addition to acting as a pathway between packaging companies and students interested in Packaging Engineering. She’s also a long-time, active member of the Outdoor Adventure Recreation (OAR) Club, and tutor/mentor through MentorUF.
When she’s not studying or busy on campus, Caroline enjoys exploring the outdoors with her friends and family, including her parents, brother and sister. Her long weekends are often spent camping, hiking, trail running and canoeing, but she also finds time for her other passion – cooking and experimenting with different recipes.
Kari Kelsey: Student, Indiana State University
Although she already holds a bachelor’s degree in Visual Communication from Ball State University, student Kari Kelsey has decided to pursue a second bachelor’s degree – this one focused on Packaging Engineering Technology – during her college career at Indiana State University.
She found a love for designing packaging, but also found it difficult to find a job that would allow her to focus her design skills on this one area. So, she decided to pursue a secondary degree to learn more about the technical aspects of packaging and materials.
With that degree, she hopes to find her “dream job” – one that will allow her to create packaging design concepts using 3D software. She also aspires to assist the packaging industry in developing more economically friendly solutions.
To ensure she’s well-rounded when she graduates in December 2017, Kari stays involved in campus activities at Indiana State – serving as Industrial Liaison for StatePack, an IoPP-sponsored organization, and as secretary for Females in Technology (FiT), which encourages young women to join STEM-related fields. She is also participating in the build of a concrete canoe to race in an event sponsored by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).
Kari brings a blend of technical skills and mindset – from her father, who went to school as a mechanical engineer – and accuracy and attention to detail – which come from her mother, who manages accounting – to the packaging field. When she’s not studying, Kari enjoys spending time with her significant other, Daniel, and their chocolate lab/pit bull mix, Maya, who keeps them on their toes.
Tristen Wallace: Student, Rutgers University
Rutgers University student Tristen Wallace is a naturally inquisitive person who spends his free time learning new skills and searching for new challenges. He’s also a person who’s equally interested in technical design, creative design and marketing – presenting him with a challenge to find a major in which he could apply all three.
When he came into Rutgers, Tristen knew he was going to major in engineering, but it wasn’t until recent that he discovered the packaging program. Upon further investigation, he found it to be a perfect fit.
Today, Tristen is working toward graduating in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in Packaging Engineering and a minor in Business Administration. To build his business experience, he currently works in quality and regulatory for a medical research and development and dental products company, but aspires to leverage his creativity in product development and fast-paced breakthrough projects in the future.
While Tristen is an avid photographer and graphic designer, he also spends time on campus giving back. He is an E-Board member of the Rutgers chapter of Engineers without Borders, a humanitarian organization that was established to partner with developing communities worldwide in order to improve their quality of life, and is the founder of Picture Global Change, an organization at Rutgers that teaches students graphic design and creates marketing materials for humanitarian organizations on campus.
All three students are getting ready to take on the challenges of Mission: Packaging. Stay tuned to follow their journeys.