Alumni Spotlight: John Edwards – Class of ’14

John Edwards graduated from NC State in 2014 with BS degrees in Paper Science and Engineering and Chemical Engineering and was selected as a TAPPI Young Professional of the Year in 2020. We reached out to John to find out about his experiences since graduating from NC State, and what advice he would pass on to current students.  Thanks for your time John.

Experience at NC State

•  Internship/co-op experience: Summer 2012 – PCS Phosphate, Aurora, NC; Summer 2013 and 2014 – Domtar , Plymouth, NC
• Favorite class: PSE 360, PSE 415, Conservation of Natural Resources, History of North Carolina
• Best memory at State: Getting to play with the NC State marching band in the “Cabalgata de Reyes Magos” that took place in Madrid, Spain, in 2014. It was a nationally televised parade very similar to our Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It was an incredible experience and a huge honor. We also got to visit Toledo and Barcelona, which were firsts for me as well.
• Worst memory at State: Almost getting kicked out of school because someone was using my name to sell student tickets. Long story short, I ended up in Paul Cousin’s office (aka, the principal) because someone on the wolf web was advertising tickets with a fake name, which just happened to be my real name. It all worked out in the end, but that man was definitely no joke.
• Clubs/Hobbies: NC State Marching and Pep Band, Campus Christian Fellowship
• Favorite part of PSE program: Dr. Jameel letting us drive his BMW to go get ice cream when the A/C was out. All jokes aside, the family atmosphere was my favorite part. You could tell that the professors and the staff were invested in your well being and wanted nothing more than for you to be successful. Coming from a small school and a small town, this was what originally drew me to the program in the first place. PSE also does a good job of mirroring what it is like in a mill environment, because oftentimes the mill communities are very tight-knit and family oriented as well.
• Most important thing PSE taught me: I learned an incredible amount of technical knowledge while I was in the program. As important as that was, what I really appreciated the most and what I felt was exceedingly important, was what I learned about the life cycle, sustainability, and the social and physical impact of our industry. If anything, it transformed the way I look at our industry from just a job that provides for my family, to a job that has a purpose and a civic responsibility. A job that transforms natural, renewable resources into a variety of life changing products for the entire world. That’s a pretty valuable lesson I was taught, and one that I’ll always keep with me.

Current Career Information

• Company/job position:  Domtar, Operations Superintendent for NC5 Fluff Machine, Plymouth, NC
• Years at current job: April 2019
• Favorite part of the job: Working with the people that I get to work with on a daily basis. I couldn’t have been blessed with better mentors, better friends, and better teammates than the ones I have right now. I owe everything I’ve learned on the job to them and I can’t thank them enough for what they’ve done to make me successful.
• Biggest accomplishment in career: In mid-2017 I was given the opportunity as a process engineer to manage the smaller fluff pulp machine (NC2) at the Plymouth Mill. Normally after being placed in a position like that, you would expect to acquire a solid foundation of machine experience, learn basic leadership skills, and develop your decision making abilities. Except it had also been announced that the machine would be permanently shutting down during the first quarter of 2018. When you’re faced with the inevitable shutdown of a machine and all the problems that come with that (morale, uncertainty, staffing, cost management) you learn quite a bit about leading through turbulent times. My proudest accomplish is what I learned through that process. I learned that when the chips are down, your relationship with your team is what will bring you all through it. I learned that everyone comes to work for a different reason, and it might not be the same reason that you come to work. And most importantly, I learned that as a leader you have no greater responsibility than to ensure that your teammates make it home safely to their families each and every day.
• Advise for current students: The best thing I’ve got to offer is something your professors have probably already told you: Be humble. Humility is the key to almost everything when it comes to learning, leading, managing, resolving conflict, and working with people. It is the number one trait you should desire to have. No one will care how strong you are technically if you let your ego stand in the way. It’s also one of the key traits that more and more recruiters are looking for these days.

Personal Information

• Hometown: Chocowinity, NC
• Tell us about your family: My wife Jessica, and I got married shortly after I graduated in June of 2015 and we just had our first child, Everly, in March of 2019. My parents, Billy and Sandra Edwards were raised mostly in Chocowinity and currently live about 5 minutes away from us.
• Current Hobbies:  Right now my main interest is spending time with my wife and daughter, but I dabble in landscape photography on the side. We’re also involved in our local church where I play in the band and teach.