RUMFORD — Addie Nadeau told Mountain Valley High School math students to “consider college the biggest investment in your future.” Representing the University of Maine Pulp and Paper Foundation, Nadeau outlined her journey to a degree and a career in engineering.
As a student at Momouth Academy High School, she decided to study math at St. Anselm’s College. She soon realized that she wanted more.
Nadeau said, “I transferred to UMaine as an engineering major. It was one of the best decisions I have made in my life. But, back in high school, I didn’t even know what engineering was.”
After graduating, she worked in the paper industry until she left to raise her children. Now she works from her home office for Axchem USA in chemical sales to the paper industry.
At one point, Nadeau worked for Savage Safe Handling in Auburn, winner of the 2008 Maine Business of the Year.
Nadeau explained one of her projects as a way of describing what engineers do.
“Trucks would haul chemicals from South Carolina to Maine. The material was 20 percent solid and 80 percent water. We suggested that if they would just send the solid powder, we would add the water when it arrived at Auburn. That solution decreased the project’s carbon footprint by 98 percent.”
She asked students what they looked for when considering a career.
“Lots of money,” one student said.
Another said, “Fun at work.”
Nadeau said, “Engineering can give you all of that.”
She showed a slide with the top 10 reasons to be an engineer. The list included “make a large salary, never be bored, travel, solve problems and design things that matter.”
Nadeau added, “When you graduate from engineering school, expect multiple job offers, high starting salaries and you can pick the state where you want to work.”
Another slide said that in the next 11 months, 27 percent of all engineers in the U.S. paper industry will be eligible to retire.
Nadeau explained, “That means there’s lots of opportunities for graduates with engineering degrees. At UMaine, there is typically 100 percent job placement for engineers participating in the Pulp and Paper Foundation program. Job offers typically are received prior to graduation. The starting salaries are $65,000 to $70,000.”
She wrapped up her presentation by describing two important programs from the Pulp and Paper Foundation.
“If you are a senior and planning to major in engineering or engineering technology at University of Maine and may have interest in the paper industry, check out the scholarship information on the website,” Nadeau said.
The scholarship pays full instate tuition or a scholarship of $7,000. The deadline to apply was Dec. 31.
Nadeau added, “For juniors, there’s Consider Engineering. It’s very competitive and it’s free.”
Consider Engineering is a four-day program for juniors who are interesting in learning more about engineering. The deadline for application is May 1. Go to http://www.mainepulpaper.org/considerengineering/considerengineering.htm for more information.
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