Old Boys and students intern with TerraCycle Nine lucky Upper Canada College students spent the summer as the first-ever high school interns at TerraCycle, one of the world's most innovative eco-employers. TerraCycle chief executive officer and Old Boy Tom Szaky '01 has rallied more than 35 million people in 22 countries to collect package waste that his company turns into new products like backpacks and pencil cases. "We are committed to providing every intern the opportunity to lead and develop several major projects of their own," says Szaky, whose Trenton, N.J.-based company also has a North York, Ont. office where the UCC students interned. The interns had positions in business development, marketing and video production and Szaky says they had the opportunity to "see the initiative through from inception to fruition, enabling them to realize their results and truly understand the impact of their efforts." TerraCycle has been a media darling since it launched in 2001 by producing fertilizer made from "worm poop" packaged in reused containers. It now enlists more than 20 large companies -- including Garnier, Maple Leaf and Old Navy -- which benefit from the good publicity involved with the collection and upcycling of its refuse. The New York Times has featured Szaky as a guest blogger on small business issues and he's a guest industry expert on CNBC Prime's reality competition television series, Crowd Rules. "I like TerraCycle because they are a very innovative company, constantly finding new methods to deal with challenges," says UCC internship recipient Winker Xiao '13. "It is the only company in its field due to such a high level of innovation." Bruce Chi ’13 wrote this about his TerraCycle experience: "I had the privilege to intern at TerraCycle Canada, an innovative recycling and upcycling social enterprise that strives to eliminate the idea of waste from planet earth. It has been truly a fulfilling experience. Working in a dynamic setting filled with innovative upcycled decorations, having the freedom to initiate and implement outreach projects, learning from inspiring and talented coworkers, working toward a righteous cause that is making a huge impact in the world, we could not have expected anything more. "Most of the interns were involved in at least one of the three aspects of the company, marketing, account management and business development. "As marketing interns, we came up with our own outreach project and persuaded organizations to participate in TerraCycle’s recycling program. Take the summer camp outreach project as an example. Three interns worked on that project. We came up with a general outreach plan, email script, phone script and designed posters and other promotional resources. After that painstaking process, we would then start calling camp counselors. In good times, we could get a few camps to sign up, which boosted our confidence. But in 'rainy' days, out of one hundred summer camps we called, none would sign up. Despite our disappointments, we learned a lot about how to deal with failures. We learned not to be distracted from defeats and focus on the work for the future. "As business development interns, we researched different companies that have the potential to collect for TerraCycle, mined for contacts of their brand managers, and drafted emails to those brand managers for partnership. Through these, we learned about the marketing techniques of different companies, the importance of speaking their business language, and all other strategies to successfully approach potential business partners. "As account management interns, we designed and customized presentations to TerraCycle’s clients, such as GoGo squeeZ. For each presentation, we brainstormed creative activities, such as Eco-Product Design Contest, to engage collectors and TerraCycle’s business clients. "Overall, we learned so much from TerraCycle Canada. We learned that it is not about what your company can do for you, but what you can do for the company; we learned to always try our best at whatever we do and exceed other people’s expectations; we learned to never be picky about the jobs we are given as long as they can make contributions to the team; we learned that despite the challenges ahead, we should always remain optimistic and hopeful."