Co-ops Create Formative Life Experiences for Alumnus
A global co-op at Siemens, then in West Germany, and recurring terms at the Rumford, Maine paper mill were formative experiences for Paul Kallmes, E’84, electrical engineering, shaping him into the person he is today and teaching him important soft skills for his postgraduate career.
In December of 1983, Paul Kallmes, E’84, electrical engineering, celebrated his birthday alongside his coworkers on his co-op at a paper mill in Rumford, Maine. Unbeknownst to him, the cake he had been gifted was a block of foam rubber with frosting on it. He attempted to cut a slice, but the knife would not penetrate the top of the cake.
“Finally, I said, ‘I’m really sorry, but there’s something wrong with this cake,’” says Kallmes. “The room dissolved in laughter.”
Kallmes says the prank was a display of affection from the mill employees he had spent nearly two years working with and growing close to. He was accustomed to this behavior, having fully immersed himself in the workplace at the mill. Enduring it allowed him to be recognized as a full-fledged team member by his coworkers and superiors, creating a familial bond between himself and the rest of the mill.
Today, Kallmes works as a start-up mentor, traveling the globe to assist new ventures and teach classes for audiences of aspiring entrepreneurs. Although he no longer practices engineering, Kallmes says the networking and critical thinking skills he learned during a co-op in West Germany and recurring co-ops at the mill are entirely relevant to his current career. More importantly, the experience from his co-ops was integral in shaping who he is today.
“It was a co-op job, but it was a massive immersion both in Germany and Maine,” says Kallmes. “They were life experiences that to this day resonate and will until my last.”
Growing up, Kallmes says his father, also a Northeastern graduate, was responsible for steering him to the engineering field. “From the time I was born, he told me I was going to go to Northeastern and get an engineering degree so I could make a living and be successful that way,” he says.
A self-proclaimed “student of life,” Kallmes has always enjoyed learning through experience, from his childhood job where he soldered electronic components at his father’s company through his Northeastern education and beyond. This made the co-op experience an equally refreshing and rewarding experience for Kallmes, who resonated more with his experiences beyond the classroom. “Being at the mill was like being a kid in a candy store,” he says. “A very bad-smelling candy store.”
Fueled by a desire to distance himself from campus after an emotional breakup, Kallmes pursued his first co-op through the newly founded global co-op office. His fluency in German made him an ideal candidate for an apprentice position at Siemens in Erlangen, then a part of West Germany. His co-op coordinator worked to get Kallmes placed in the role, and he traveled alone to Germany the following term to begin his work.
When he finally arrived in Germany, Kallmes says the gravity of his decision to move across the globe hit him immediately. “It was probably the first real displacement of my life,” he says. “I was totally alone.”
Despite initial unease, it was not long before Kallmes acclimated to his new environment and integrated himself into his surroundings. He was aided by his fluency in German, which allowed him to connect with the locals in his town and, eventually, his coworkers. “I was able to act like a local from the beginning,” Kallmes says.
From start to finish, Kallmes’ co-op in Germany was an endless cultural exchange between him and the German workers. Just as much as he was being exposed to new practices and traditions, Kallmes was often the first American his German coworkers had met, only knowing about Americans through their sometimes unfavorable military presence in the country. His success in adopting German cultural norms allowed him to excel in the workplace and made Germany feel like a second home.
Siemens was also an important learning experience in validating Kallmes’s natural curiosity. After becoming dissatisfied with the lack of hands-on experience from his apprenticeship position, Kallmes spoke to his boss about wanting a position that gave him more involvement. He transferred to the factory floor, where he remained for the rest of his co-op.
Similarly, Kallmes’ following co-ops at the Rumford paper mill offered a similar immersive experience. He was one of five engineers at the mill, but his co-ops allowed him to gain experience throughout the mill, working with the executives on the higher levels of the building and the union workers on the floor. As a result, Kallmes created close bonds with his coworkers early on that lasted after his co-op finished. “I was a member of the team, so I was a member of the family,” he says.
It was through the quality of guidance from his mentors that Kallmes learned the technical practices that he says turned him into an engineer. By the end of his first year at the mill, Kallmes knew the ins and outs of the plant and could work independently, whether drawing designs or collaborating with the crew. This earned Kallmes the respect of his mentors, including Len Roy, his first real mentor and someone of whom he still thinks very fondly of. “One day, he looks at me and goes, ‘You’ve become an engineer,’” he says. “I’ve rarely had a prouder moment in my professional life than that.”
But for Kallmes, these co-ops were less about the technical skills than the formative experiences that made him who he is now and that have inspired how he teaches his mentees in his bootcamps today.
“I simply can’t imagine being who I am without these experiences,” says Kallmes. “Just can’t imagine.”