Athletes dream of being drafted into the major leagues. But a draft is not just for hopeful baseball players and talented quarterbacks. Since 2022, an annual Ashdown Mill draft has identified and recruited some of the brightest high school seniors in the Ashdown, Arkansas, area to spend their summers as mill interns.
“The goal is to develop and sustain a continuous pool of well-trained young talent who have roots in the local area,” says Tracy Altenbaumer, Ashdown Mill’s general manager. “It’s a grow-your-own philosophy. We believe that will deliver a solid return on our investments in recruiting, hiring and retaining talent for the Ashdown Mill.”
How the Ashdown Mill draft works
The Ashdown Mill draft gives local high school seniors an opportunity to interview for summer internships that begin immediately after graduation. This gives them practical experience in engineering, environmental science and other STEM fields before they even set foot on a college campus.
“We already have a strong relationship with our local schools,” explains Tammy Waters, public affairs manager at the Ashdown Mill. “But now we work directly with school counselors and career coaches to identify bright, talented students who are interested in having a STEM career. Those students are offered an opportunity to participate in the Ashdown Mill draft, which is a day of extensive interviews designed to narrow the field to a few students who will be offered summer internships.”
For many students, the draft is their first time participating in a formal interview and recruiting process. That alone is a valuable experience that can pay dividends as they attend college and enter the job market.
But for those who are offered internships, working with Domtar offers practical experience in their chosen field. By the time they start college, they’ve already learned what it means to work in a manufacturing environment, from safety and quality control to environmental responsibility, production and other key performance areas.
But don’t take our word for it. Meet Aly Mills and Matthew Thomas, two interns who were recruited through the Ashdown Mill draft.
Aly Mills, civil engineering
“It started in 8th grade when I shadowed a female engineer at the Ashdown Mill. From that point on, I knew I wanted to work as an engineer at the paper mill. I graduated from high school in 2022, a year early, and I was offered the opportunity to participate in the Ashdown Mill draft. After four rounds of interviews, I was offered an internship, and I started that summer. I just completed my third summer internship at Ashdown, and I plan to come back next summer and then full-time when I graduate from the University of Texas with a civil engineering degree. I’m also going to be working with Domtar during this school year to build graphics.
“I think my summer experiences have shown me that there are a lot of ways to use my degree, from environmental and design projects to mill construction and management. I learn best by doing things hands-on. Each year I go back to school with a better understanding of various engineering disciplines, which really helped with my classwork. Not many college freshman can say they have already had an engineering internship. And now I’ve had three internships before my senior year.
“Not only have I gained invaluable hands-on manufacturing experience, but I also have a greater appreciation of what it means to be a part of a collaborative working environment. The amazing team at Ashdown has welcomed me and valued my input, even when I was doing my first internship at 17. I’ve met so many people and learned many different perspectives on what it takes to run a mill. My summer projects have had real results that benefit the day-to-day work at the mill, and that feels really good. Working at Domtar has shown me that I can do anything I set my mind to, and I hope that can inspire other women to pursue engineering.
“Ashdown is home for me. My family lives here, I grew up here, and now I can come back here to work and help positively impact my community. That’s means everything to me.”
Matthew Thomas, reliability engineering
“I knew I wanted to be an engineer, but I always thought I’d work a construction job or something during the summer after I graduated high school in 2023. But instead, I was given a chance to go through the Ashdown Mill draft. When the opportunity presented itself, I jumped on it because how many high schoolers do you know who have engineering jobs before they ever go to college? Having that first summer internship really put me a step ahead when I started my freshman year at the University of Arkansas. I already had some practical experience and could draw on that when I was doing projects at school.
“That first summer I got to help figure out why a pump was failing and develop a solution. This summer, I was able to work on a project from start to finish, including getting work permits, requesting quotes from contractors, putting in the work orders and even seeing the new equipment be installed.
“When I started college, I was torn between mechanical engineering and chemical engineering. But my summer internships as a reliability engineer have helped me choose mechanical engineering because I learned I’m good at figuring out why stuff breaks and how to fix it. I think working in reliability at Domtar has enhanced my problem-solving skills and given me a significant head start on my career.
“I plan to work here next summer for another internship, and I want to come back after I graduate. I know I will always have a home at Ashdown Mill because of the relationships I have built here. The Ashdown Mill draft and internships allow the mill to shape students like me from nothing into the type of workers they need. And by the time you complete three internships, you’re worth more to the mill than someone who hasn’t had those opportunities. I feel like I can come back and start contributing right away.”
