Sarah Worsham was interested in the plastics industry because the plastics world was not significantly taught in her university curriculum.
Worsham was an automation engineering intern for Ronkonkoma, N.Y.-based Natech Plastics Inc. and started working as a mechanical engineer after graduating from Stony Brook University in New York with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering.
"I didn't even realize that this kind of manufacturing was even done on [Long] Island," she said. "The job as an automation engineer in the industry was interesting to me because I only had a general knowledge on plastics, but I knew I had a lot of the skills that an automation engineer would need. It was a great opportunity to use my knowledge in mechanical engineering to influence a world that, at the time, seemed very unrelated."
The first major automation line with which Worsham was heavily involved had won third place in the Manufacturers Association for Plastics Processors' Innovation Awards at MAPP's 2022 Benchmarking and Best Practices Conference.
"This was special because I would say about 80 percent of the work was completed while I was an intern still studying at university. To be able to heavily participate in such a large and high-value project for the company, so early in my career, and to then be rewarded by external viewers — what a feeling! The following year we ended up winning second place," she added.
As a senior automation engineer, Worsham leads multidisciplinary projects from feasibility to production transfer. She is heavily involved in the mechanical, electrical and programming designs and implementations as well as keeping of internal and external stakeholders up to date with project schedules.
Worsham identifies and solves safety, quality and productivity problems, and improvement opportunities by investigating new technologies. She also supervises the manufacturing engineering interns and provides engineering support to the production floor.
While Worsham has only been in the professional world for a few years, she has worked hard to be in a senior position and to change her mental approach.
"I've seen my personal growth, and I know I still have room to keep growing. I'm improving my resiliency and my mental fortitude," said Worsham, adding that she is motivated by the support of her family, friends, co-workers and work environment. "Things like failure or the fear of failure don't feel like a thunderstorm over my head. I'm trying to approach everything with a 'new opportunity' mindset; failure was the opportunity for me to learn how not to do something."