What we can learn and how we can get more superstars to join our industry
It’s no secret that the future of the paperboard packaging industry rests on our ability to attract the next generation to work in our plants and lead our companies. Dorotea Bajic, a packaging design student turned PPA Student Design Challenge winner, and now package designer at WestRock, embodies the hope for our shared future and the promise our industry holds. Read on to learn more about her story and why it’s imperative that our industry embrace the next generation by nurturing their talent, advocating for their priorities, and hiring them in leadership roles that will spearhead us into the future.
Meet Dorotea Bajic
When Dorotea was little, like many young women, she idolized her brother and father, embracing their interests as her own. With her brother fascinated and intrigued by robotics and her father employed as an electrical engineer, she quickly became interested in figuring out how things function, what powers them, and why a particular thing works.
As she got older, she developed a passion for art and marketing, but still found the underlying question, “What makes something work?” the most interesting aspect of any field. Dorotea has always enjoyed digging deep, striving to understand the full picture of how something is made, and acquiring as much insight as possible to make an informed decision. “I thought combining the technical side of things with an artistic side meant I would go into advertising,” Dorotea said.
An ‘Aha’ Moment: Packaging is a Career Option?
It wasn’t until she was in her third year of high school that she managed to sneak a Ryerson University catalog away from her college-bound brother and discovered their Graphic Communications Management degree program. The program teaches students how to develop creative solutions for business needs while interacting with packaging, print management, and 3D printing.
“As soon as I saw the course descriptions in the catalog I thought, ‘wait, this is an option?’ and I knew that this is what I wanted to do. The program has all the interesting technical aspects and artistic elements of design that I love,” Dorotea said. As one of the first students in Ryerson’s refreshed Graphic Communications program which was recently revamped with new curriculum, Dorotea’s course load initially focused solely on print production. During that time, she concentrated on printing courses, learning the ins and outs of preprinting and print production, and began to think that printing would be her new career path. However, all of that quickly changed when she took her first packaging design course, saying, “I immediately thought that I had been fooling myself this whole time! I was transported right back to grade 11, having the same excitement I had when I first discovered the University course catalog. It reaffirmed that I am still the same person I was then – this is what I’m meant to be doing.”
Lesson for industry: How do we spread the word that a career in packaging is an option, and a rewarding one at that?
Student Design Challenge…Amidst a Global Pandemic
Because the packaging design concentration was still new and evolving, Dorotea completed all the available courses, but was eager to learn more. Thankfully, one of her packaging design professors recommended she participate in the Student Design Challenge, hosted by the Paperboard Packaging Alliance (the joint initiative between PPC and the American Forest and Paper Association), to gain more experience. Dorotea was intrigued and began working with her friend on the challenge. During this time, she also took the opportunity to study abroad in Germany and began conceptualizing design ideas remotely with her partner to ensure she had a leg-up on the competition. All this progress was abruptly stunted once the pandemic took hold in early March 2020. “The whole University promptly closed, and there was confusion everywhere,” she recalled. Just two weeks later, her exchange program ended prematurely, and she found herself back home in Canada. During this time, like most of us, she focused on finding ways to keep busy during quarantine. “Instead of working and studying in Germany for my exchange, I completed my exchange program in my parents’ basement,” she said with a laugh.
Dorotea tried her best to use the situation to her benefit, and with the start of her next semester postponed, she was able to put her full attention toward the Student Design Challenge. Dorotea used her resourcefulness and enthusiasm to understand every facet of design and began cutting out paper samples on her childhood bedroom floor. Eventually, she ventured out to her local dollar store to buy poster board and tape and put together a prototype to understand how thick the substrate needed to be for it to be successful. Her team’s initial sketch and ideation of a toolkit, graphic and structure, 3D renders, and marketing report to help promote the PPC program, Trees Into Cartons, Cartons Into Trees (TICCIT), was strong enough to get them a coveted position as one of the finalists of the competition. This ideation period allowed them to learn more about the TICCIT program and prioritize sustainability, which aligned with the program’s vision and mission.
Lesson for industry: The link between university professors/administration and the next gen is crucial here. How do we continue to develop relationships with universities? Can we start engagement even earlier, in grade school? Programs like TICCIT are a great place to start.
For the Next Generation, Sustainability Is “Baked In”
“I had just taken a sustainability packaging course at university, so sustainability was fresh in my mind. Because my professors consistently reiterated the importance of sustainability, it has been baked into my overall design philosophy.” Dorotea continued, “Even when I was just a child in grade school, I remember learning about the impact of recycling. Then through my studies, I learned about life cycle analysis and how to be sustainable in packaging and printing before designing packaging itself. For my generation, sustainability is not only a priority but a necessity.” She then paused and pointed out the green streaks in her hair – a bright reminder of how important living green is to her – and said, “I would like a place to live 40 years from now!”
Her sustainability approach allowed her to think quick on her feet about ways to make her design as sustainable as possible. Throughout the process of creating her prototype, she continually asked herself, “How can I reduce glue?” or, “How can we utilize single-sided printing and deliver a double-sided look?”
Ultimately, Dorotea’s efforts paid off. At PPC’s virtual Fall Meeting in 2020, we announced her team as the winner of the 2020 Student Design Challenge.
Lesson for industry: Make sure you are actively working on your sustainability initiatives in order to attract the next generation—and engage younger employees to help with those initiatives!
A Direct Link to a Rewarding Career & Bright Future
Elated from their win, Dorotea jumped on a virtual meeting with members of WestRock, giving her time to connect and speak with a few key executives at the company. “A few months later, one of those members reached out to me and invited me to apply for an exciting design position at WestRock,” Dorotea said. After a few interviews and a tour of the facilities, Dorotea secured her new position. “I’m getting great hands-on experience, and it’s boosted my confidence to know the leadership team believed in me and encouraged me to work directly with clients as soon as I started. I’m gaining invaluable experience in packaging, which is exactly what I want to be doing.”
When asked about her biggest takeaway from participating in the competition, she affirmed that again, it all comes down to the importance of fostering confidence. “When you’re a student, you’re making so many major life decisions when you’re incredibly young and have limited experience. Participating and winning the challenge gave me confidence that I made the right career choice. Having the industry acknowledge my passion and skills was just the cherry on top.” Dorotea then emphatically said, “It helped important people see my work, and I know for sure I wouldn’t be here at my job at WestRock without it.”
Dorotea concluded by providing helpful advice for up-and-coming student designers and emphasized the importance of students taking the time out of their busy schedules to work on improving themselves and their skillsets saying, “Make the time to enter competitions and get your work out there. You won’t regret it.”
PPC actively engages the next generation not only through Paperboard Packaging Alliance’s Student Design Challenge, but also through our TICCIT outreach program that enriches school-aged children by teaching the renewability and sustainability of paper and paperboard packaging. Additionally, through PPC’s Next Generation Leaders (NGL) community, we cultivate upcoming leaders and create forums to network, grow, and share common experiences. This community not only provides valuable connections within the industry, but also elevates the importance of gaining perspective and nurturing a new cohort of leaders. Learn more about our NGL community and network and discuss more methods to inspire the next gen by attending our Spring Outlook & Strategies Conference in Denver this March.