Drew Ackerman: A Day in the Life at Tolko: FPAC 2021 Green Dream Internship Program

Hi everyone,  

Today I will be sharing what my workday consists of. I enjoy every day at Tolko, so my days usually fly by in a blink of an eye.

6:00am- Wake up and head out to the mill.

• It takes me roughly 40 minutes to get up, get ready, and commute the 32km drive from my house to Meadow Lake OSB.

6:40am- Arrive at work and set out my plan of action for the day.

• I have a natural fear of being late, so I show up a minimum of 15 minutes early. I’d rather be an hour early than 5 minutes late! I use the time to prepare a task list for the day and go over anything I didn’t get to the day before.

7:00am- Start work.

• On this day I was working on my main summer project, revamping Meadow Lake OSB’s internal website (TNet). The main goal of the project is to make sure all forms and documents are up to date, in the right location and easy to access by Tolko employees.

9:00am- Setting up interviews.

• As an HR Student, I am exposed to a lot of entry level HR recruiting work. My supervisor receives applications for various open positions at our plant and gets me to set up interviews between the candidates and the appropriate managers. I sometimes sit in on these interviews to observe the interviewers and develop a better understanding of the hiring process. I also put together interview packages for all of the hiring managers.

11:45am- Lunch.

• Lunch is a very big deal for me because it is the first meal I eat during the day. (I intermittently fast). Today was a special day, the managers at Tolko put on an employee appreciation lunch and had made burgers for everyone!

12:15pm- Back to work.

• This afternoon, I was preparing for a meeting with students from Tolko’s Indigenous Youth Engagement Program.  

Backstory on the Indigenous Youth Engagement Program-

• The goal of Tolko’s Indigenous Youth Engagement Program is to help youth realize their potential. Through this program, we can help them find success financially, in the workplace, and in their personal lives.  

• Each student (3) has been paired with a mentor from our plant to connect with weekly.
• The program has been running the entire Summer and I have followed it closely to help the students feel more comfortable and engaged at their job.

2:30pm- Indigenous Youth Engagement Program meeting.

• I meet with all three of the students to review what they did the past week, answer any of their questions, and complete weekly activities designed to expose youth to the many opportunities available with green jobs. This week we were taking a sort of “aptitude test” to suggest some jobs the students might find interesting.  

3:30pm- Wrap up any tasks that need to be finished.

• My workday runs from 7am to 4pm. I usually take the last half hour to get my projects to a point where I can start from the following day (sort of like bookmarking). However, today I had accomplished quite a bit and used the time to plan the tasks for the rest of my week and what I was going to do to make sure I completed them in a timely manner.

4:00pm- Head home, go straight to the golf course!

• I always try make the most out of my evenings. Golf is my favourite hobby, I hit Meadow Lake’s beautiful course roughly 5 times a week (I try to get 72 holes in per week). I usually golf with my dad Greg and my 11-year-old brother Brett.  

7:00pm- Supper.

• After a long day at work and on the golf course, I have worked up quite the appetite. I decided to make chicken alfredo this fine evening. It was delicious!

8:30pm- Gym.

• Being a student-athlete, I need to make sure that I am keeping in shape during the summer. Every other night I will go lift weights at Rise Up gym. On the other days, I will get shots up on the basketball court. If I’m feeling productive, sometimes I will do both! Unfortunately, on this night, I was too focused on my workout and forgot to get a picture.

10:00pm- Bedtime.

The next day, I wake up and do it all over again. I am a man of routine, and I really love the work/life balance I have struck! Thanks for taking the time to read!  

Until next time,

Drew