Several students from The Howard School learned about the consumer healthcare products made and manufactured here in Chattanooga while shadowing corporate workers at Opella this past Monday.
The intern career event was possible due to a long-standing partnership between Opella and the Lookout Mountain Conservancy (LMC).
“This was a no brainer,” LMC President and CEO Robyn Carlton said.
Opella’s Plant Care Leader, Marseata Lockhart, said Opella strives to be corporation that is engaged with the community. She said she was tasked with seeking ways to improve the relationship between Opella and its neighboring community.
Lockhart said she met Carlton three years ago.
“I was doing a campus survey and Robyn, and her staff were outside working, and I just walked up to her,” she said. “You look right outside our front door here, LMC is our neighbor. It was just a natural relationship.”
That initial conversation blossomed into a strong partnership. One day Opella employees were volunteering at the LMC. Lockhart said they met the interns of LMC who were students from Howard School.
“One of the things that we’ve done with our interns over the years, on a very small scale, was introduce them to different jobs that they had expressed interest in,” Carlton explained.
They engage high school students,” Lockhart said with excitement. “They give them a wage and they work at LMC, and they grow in leadership skills, decision making, problem solving and team dynamics. Skills you can use no matter what job or what career you go after.”
Carlton approached Lockhart last year where they discussed bringing the students into Opella for a day to learn all about the corporate world and what Opella manufactures.
“I wanted my kids to understand that there is a bigger world out there,” Carlton said about the idea.
“They got to tour the factory and were taken to the product development lab,” Lockhart said. “So, they could see the science side of the business and see how products are made, developed and made even better. They learned about marketing and social media. At lunch they sat with employees in various fields to learn about their careers.”
Kevin Hazel, Head of North America Manufacturing & Supply for Opella said the company has been in Chattanooga since 1879 when it was founded as the Chattanooga Medicine Company and then Chattem Chemicals, Inc. Hazel said the company was purchased by Sanofi and Opella is the consumer healthcare division of Sanofi.
Hazel said the students learned about the many household products produced at the Chattanooga plant. These products are sold at groceries stores worldwide and likely found in many of the students’ homes.
“Icy Hot, Aspercreme, Allegra, Xyzal, Nasacort, Act mouth rinse, Dulcolax, Gold Bond,” he said adding the students learned everything from product development to packaging and shipping.
Carlton said the students were extremely curious and asked many questions. She said they also learned about corporate law, accounting, science and other career opportunities a large corporation has to offer.
“All those jobs are here for these students,” Lockhart noted. “I hope we will be hiring them in a few years.”
Photo credit: Don Luzynski