Hey there! My name is Sam. I am a 2nd year packaging science student from Rochester Institute of Technology. My co-op here at Hasbro as a packaging engineer has been an amazing experience. I have learned so much since starting in January and met so many new friends!

When I found out that I was going to co-op for Hasbro, I was ecstatic! At the career fair at my school, I was not expecting to interview with any company since I was only a freshman at the time, especially Hasbro. When I got the call, I couldn’t stop shaking and smiling! I was so happy and immediately called my mom to tell her. It was crazy to think that I would be creating package designs for toys that I grew up playing with!

Here at Hasbro, my work entailed refreshing packages to be plastic free, brainstorming and concepting new structure ideas, and redesigning on shelf packages. I have had the opportunity to work a bit on all brands, but the main brand I worked on is Play-Doh. A couple months into my co-op, I was given the chance to lead two segments of Play-Doh! When I heard the news, I was super excited but also super nervous since I have never done anything like this before. Sadly, we started working from home due to COVID-19 shortly after, but my manager/mentors have been so amazing and helpful!

During my co-op, I participated in the Engineering Product Innovation Co-op (EPIC) project. My group pitched Magic: The Gathering custom legendary creature cards. Not only did we get to present to Brian Chapman, president of Design and Development for Hasbro, but we also got to schedule a separate meeting with the Wizards of the Coast team who produce MTG cards! This was an incredible opportunity that I never thought I would experience.

Some struggles I have had are being able to create unique structures. I was able to brainstorm many new package structure ideas for different brands because of the plastic-free initiative. However, it was difficult to concept something and then create it since I did not have much ArtiosCAD experience before starting. All the packaging engineers were so supportive and eager to help; they would even create the structure step by step for me to watch/learn.

My experience at Hasbro is one I will never forget. Since starting, I have improved my ArtiosCAD skills, met skillful packaging engineers, and made friendships that will last a lifetime. I also have been able to work with designers, project managers, etc. as a team to accomplish final products. My manager has been so supportive and helpful along this journey. Even during the work-at-home phase, she is always there to answer my questions or help me (even when she’s super busy)! All in all, thank you to everyone that has made this journey such a memorable one!

Sam Domzalski - Packaging Engineer Co-op

Rochester Institute of Technology