Big science: CAFLS Senior Discovers a World Beyond Biology — In Product Development and Packaging

December 3, 2024

Even as Tim Oeser begins to say the words when reflecting on his four years at Clemson - there's something in these hills -he realizes how it sounds: a little cliché.

"When I came and took a tour here, it was a feeling that's kind of indescribable," Oeser recalls.

The hills and that feeling of belonging brought him here, but they didn't lead Oeser in the direction he thought they would. The Simpsonville native came to Clemson as a lover of science - biology in particular. That all expanded after a random conversation with a packaging science senior.

"I was enlightened to a world that I didn't even know existed," he says. Oeser will receive his bachelor's degree in packaging science in December from the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences.

"Packaging science is a blend of all the sciences, we take all the biology's, the chemistry's, physics, areas I was already interested in. And it applies to all businesses, whether it be food, medicine, the supply chain like Amazon and FedEx, really every company that manufactures product."

Because packaging science students are required to participate in a six-month co-op, Oeser is thankful for the experience he gained. For his co-op, Oeser worked for Pregis, a packaging company headquartered in Chicago.

He started out consulting for ecommerce companies that experienced damages to their products, assisting them with finding solutions. After expressing a desire to grow his interpersonal skills, Oeser was allowed to cold call customers and arrange meetings with the sales team.

"Having an opportunity in school not only to get the knowledge, that experience, that paycheck, and actually have what feels like a full-time job before you leave college is a one-of-a-kind experience and it helps set you apart from your peers as you get near graduation."

Oeser found that to be true when he applied for an internship this past summer at Dow Chemical Company in Houston.

"That was a selective opportunity," said Greg Batt, assistant professor and director of the Sonoco Package Testing Laboratory. "They only took one person and I believe they shopped multiple universities, multiple packaging programs. I know the guy who made the final decision on Tim and he said to me, 'This was easy for us.' Tim really crushed it. He knocked it out of the park."

Oeser has knocked it out of the park in his classes as well. So much so that Batt chose him to be a teaching assistant in one of his classes, a position normally held by graduate students.

But Batt said Oeser possessed all the characteristics needed to be successful.

"That's not an easy position to be in because you are suddenly put in a situation where you need to teach your peers," Batt said. "That requires establishing a line. He navigated that well. In all the years I've done it, he's been one of the top teaching assistants I've had at lab. Not because he did everything perfectly, but because of his approach of trying to correct mistakes and seek advice at every turn. How can I do this better? How can I communicate this in a different way? He's always asking those questions."

Oeser, along with his classmates, is currently working on his senior capstone project. International Paper has tasked them with developing an anti-theft point of purchase display for cold medicine products.

"We're challenged with coming up with a good solution for a product that is really not out there on the market," Oeser said. "It's a really fun project to bring together everything we've learned."

He is also wrapping up his term as president of the packaging science club, a role Batt said Oeser has taken to a new level.

"What's been fun to see this year is the way he's tried to pull in the freshmen who have just entered our program," Batt said. "His leadership group and the packaging science club have developed some different ways to mentor, having events specifically for freshmen to give them a chance to ask questions and develop relationships with upperclassmen. That, to me, just screams Tim Oeser."

Following graduation, Oeser will be headed to St. Louis to work for Nestlé Purina where he has accepted a position as a packaging specialist in its pet care division.

"What I really wanted to do is get my feet on the ground in manufacturing plants that use packaging," Oeser said. "This role will give me that opportunity. The other side of that is developing new, more sustainable packaging. I'm super ecstatic to be going. I give all the credit to Clemson University for what they've done."

"We're really blessed to have some great students in packaging science," Batt said. "We've got 170 students right now. But even among a great group like this, there are a few who separate themselves. Tim is one of those. … There's something special that's recognized by his peers, by faculty and by industry. I hate to see him leave. It's guys like Tim who have so many opportunities presented to them."

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