Sarah is a Sustainable Packaging Engineer at Plastic Ingenuity, a custom thermoformer headquartered near Madison, Wisconsin, where she is responsible for bringing her customers’ sustainability goals to life. Sarah graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Stout in 2022 with a degree in Packaging and a focus in Graphic Design/Printing Processes.
In addition to her sustainable packaging development work at Plastic Ingenuity, Sarah has experience with medical device packaging development, package material and distribution testing, product management, and product marketing. She is a member of the Institute of Packaging Professionals and the Society of Women Engineers.
What was your first job in packaging? What made you stay in the industry?
My first job in the industry is a Sustainable Packaging Engineer at Plastic Ingenuity. In this role, I am responsible for executing sustainable packaging development projects of thermoformed packaging for food, healthcare, and consumer products. The first half of my role entails conducting life cycle analyses and recyclability assessments, coordinating material testing, prototyping, and pilot trials for sustainable innovations of thermoformed packaging. The second half of my role entails engaging with new or existing customers to showcase sustainability services through technical presentations, lunch and learn meetings, public speaking engagements, podcasts, and webinars. This unique role allows me to combine technical packaging expertise and sales acumen into one versatile position.
Although my role at Plastic Ingenuity is my first job after completing my degree in packaging, I developed my passion for the packaging industry during my internships. I started my career in healthcare packaging, where I quickly found my niche. This exposure to healthcare packaging sparked my curiosity and subsequently is what made me pursue this industry. Engineering can sometimes feel impersonal, which can also make it seem intimidating. In the medical device industry, however, innovation is driven by the mission to save and sustain lives. This is why I am particularly inspired by the values of the healthcare packaging industry to provide integrity, reliability, and safety to a highly complex and regulated industry.
Why are women important in packaging?
The simple answer to why women are important in any industry is this: gender diversity provides value. That’s the bottom line. Women in packaging provide many benefits from both an economic and ethical standpoint.
First, women in packaging bring more of a consumer-centric aspect to the packaging design process. A woman’s approach to innovation and creativity provides a different avenue to problem-solving. Women also provide a more gender-diverse perspective for market understanding. A gender-diverse team is better equipped to understand the preferences of a diverse consumer base.
Second, it is well-known that gender diversity fosters a more inclusive and supportive workplace culture. A diverse workplace is more likely to attract and retain talented employees. Therefore, embracing and valuing the contributions of women in packaging enriches the industry and positions it for long-term success in a diverse and rapidly changing world.
How can we get young women and girls interested and excited about a career in packaging?
I have personally witnessed the power of encouraging young women and girls to pursue a career in packaging. From a young age, I was encouraged to tap into my passion for STEM. During my early education, I participated in activities such as math competitions and science olympiads to foster my fascination and curiosity. In conjunction with my passion for STEM, I also held a deep appreciation for art and design. In fact, I took every art class I possibly could in high school.
When it came time to start searching for colleges, I knew I wanted to go into engineering, but I did not know which discipline to pursue. During my junior year of high school, I took an applied engineering course, allowing me to shadow and learn about a variety of engineering disciplines. Luckily enough, this class included a unit on packaging engineering. I immediately fell in love with this industry. It was the perfect blend of creativity, design, and engineering that I was looking for in a career path.
As with my own experience and that of many of my female peers, exposing young women and girls to the world of STEM at a young age is the key to fostering their interest and excitement for packaging. We must continue to engage with academia to promote the world of packaging to the next generation of women engineers.
Why aren’t there more women in the packaging industry?
First off, packaging is not a well-known engineering discipline. There are only a handful of universities that offer packaging as a degree, so many young women are not aware of the industry.
However, I believe the reason there aren’t more women in packaging can be directly correlated to why there aren’t more women in engineering as a whole. While there has been tremendous work to captivate young women and girls to pursue STEM-related fields, the problem is that many women who study engineering end up changing their major before leaving college or move out of the industry shortly thereafter.
We must foster an environment for young women and girls to pursue STEM-related paths during their education. But we must also create a work environment where women are valued, appreciated, and empowered to be their best selves.
What has been the most significant barrier in your career in packaging?
The most significant barrier in my career in packaging has been the shortage of female role models and mentors in leadership positions in the packaging industry. In the first few years of my career, I have directly worked with only a handful of women leaders in packaging. To preface, I have had fantastic male mentors throughout the years, but the positive impact that a female role model can have on a young female engineer cannot be matched.
As a young female engineer, it is painfully obvious that I am different than most people around me in the workplace. Many female engineers spend their careers hiding in plain sight and trying to fit in. But the fact of the matter is, we aren’t meant to fit into the quintessential male engineering mold. Our differences as women are also our strengths.
In my experience, when women are in leadership positions in the packaging industry, people are given the confidence to embrace their differences. I have witnessed immense empowerment, inclusivity, diversity of thought, and success in this area.
Unfortunately, women in leadership positions in the packaging industry are hard to come by. That is why I am grateful for the mentorship I’ve received from female leaders in the industry, and I am equally dedicated to embracing and investing in the next generation of female packaging engineers.
Engineering is for everyone, and it is important we work to capture a culture of belonging to build confidence and increase retention of female engineers in packaging.
How can women support other women?
I find that women are very good at supporting other women in the packaging industry. A better question might be how men can also be more supportive, inclusive, and welcoming to women in this field. Implementation of an effective DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) framework is an important and necessary first step for packaging organizations to support women in this industry.
Any advice on how to find a mentor?
My first piece of advice on finding a mentor is to start by defining your own career goals. When looking for a mentor, it is important to know what you’re trying to achieve. For example, some people may want to advance their technical skills, establish a work-life balance, or improve their public speaking skills. The next step is to actively network. It is important to cast a wide net when searching for a mentor. Connecting with people at conferences, trade shows, and webinars is a great way to broaden your network and propose a mentoring opportunity to someone who has experience in this industry. Lastly, it is incredibly important and worthwhile to leverage packaging industry associations and women’s networking groups. These supportive groups can provide the ideal environment for connecting with potential mentors in the packaging industry.
What advice would you give your 25-year-old self?
Since I am only 23 years old, I thought I could give some advice to my 18-year-old self instead.
- Networking and industry involvement is crucial to success. Attend every single industry event, career conference, and webinar possible to connect with professionals in the packaging field. Networking can open doors to mentorship, job opportunities, and valuable insights.
- Soft skills really do matter. Effective communication, teamwork, and project management skills are as important as technical skills. You can be the smartest one in the room, but if you can’t articulate it, then the information is useless.
- Be adaptable. The packaging industry has various sectors, from food to healthcare to e-commerce. Be open to exploring different niches and industries to broaden your expertise.
- Stay curious and remain a lifelong learner. The packaging industry is evolving rapidly with new materials, technologies, and sustainability practices. Stay curious, embrace change, and commit to lifelong learning to stay relevant.
- Never lose sight of your passion and enthusiasm. Let your passion for the packaging industry shine through. Enthusiasm is contagious and will help you excel in your role and make a positive impression on others.
