Blog #1: The Big Move

June 16, 2017 1:40 pm Published by Melanie Flack 4 Comments

Hello there, reader! I feel like it’s important to let you know who you’re listening to: my name is Melanie Flack. I grew up in Nova Scotia and am going to school at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. I’m in my third year of Chemical Engineering and I am currently living in Fort St. John, BC, working for Canfor Pulp Ltd. on a one year internship. Phew, lots of stuff to take in there. So, maybe you’re wondering what I’m doing in Northern British Columbia and how I ended up here. That’s a good question, considering I’m not entirely sure how it happened either. In the fall of 2016, the last thing on my mind was taking a year away from my degree to work. Even further from my mind was moving across the country to do it. So how did this happen? Long story short, an interesting series of random events lined up perfectly, which led me to a phone interview with the Canfor Pulp mill in Taylor, BC in November 2016, and then on a plane from Halifax to Fort St. John in January 2017.

I started my position at Canfor Pulp on January 9th, 2017 and instantly I knew that the crazy decision I made to move out here was a good one. The people at the mill were so welcoming and I felt safe and comfortable by the end of my first week. A huge reason I chose to go into Chemical Engineering was because I love the environment and wanted to have an education that would enable me to work for an industry that shares the same values as I do. After doing research about Canfor and the forest products industry, I soon realized that this was the perfect fit for me. The Taylor Pulp mill uses a process called Bleached Chemi Thermo-Mechanical Pulping (BCTMP) to make their pulp, which is more environmentally-friendly because it produces more pulp for every tree. How cool is that? I think it’s awesome. So basically, not only am I very proud to be working in this industry, but also for Canfor Pulp.

Moving across the country alone was a lot to handle and extremely overwhelming at the time. Looking back, I had no idea what I was getting myself into but I still somehow ended up prepared and excited. Since I moved here, I have learned the value of a good mindset and making the decision to follow through on things. I made the choice to move here and knowing how badly I wanted to succeed helped me through all of the times I felt homesick. Along with this, I have also learned to make my own adventure and explore every possible area that is near me – after all, Canada is the best country ever! I am so excited for this opportunity to be a Green Dream blogger and hope you’ll continue reading my blogs about my year working in the forest products industry! I am so excited to share it all with you!

I admit that I was pretty embarrassed (and cold) when my dad took this photo in January, but this is me in front of the mill in my first week.