Me and Plastics - circa 1972
or... How I ended up as a plastics engineer
I planned on becoming an oceanographer and applied to the University of Hawaii. I had some backup colleges but thats the one I wanted. I had trouble qualifing for many as I didn't have the language requirement having gone to a trade high school, rather than a conventional high school.
Anyway, I got accepted and my mother intercepted and destroyed the letter. (She never should have confessed that! I still have issues) I figured they didn't want me and decided to go to Lowell Technological Institute, now U Mass Lowell as an undeclared engineering major student. (Undeclared as to which engineering degree as they all take the same courses freshman year).
So they had this thing called freshman seminar where upperclassmen from different majors would come talk to you once a week, and one week a senior from the plastics engineering department showed up.
I had been thinking of mechanical engineering as my major and had a strong interest in chemistry too, and as I listened this kid said that the plastics program was a cross between a mech eng degree and a chemistry degree. I sat up, started listening. Then he said it was a very cool place where you were often on a first name basis with your professors and they even took tests for one class up at a local bar (sssh don't tell anyone). Now I was listening intently.
Then he said, "Oh and we've had 100% placement and the highest starting salary among all majors since 1954!"
That was all I needed. After class I went right down and signed up. The rest is history, as they say.
Anyway, about the Hawaii thing... I'd have never made it in that environment. I had trouble staying out of trouble in Lowell, Massachusetts never mind Hawaii, with the beaches, and the weather, and the girls.
It all worked out for the best. Otherwise someone else would be running plastics.com today!