Learning the Importance of Working Relationships Through Co-op
John Falkowski, E’63, chemical engineering, has led a successful career in his field, including a 30-year position at Boeing and a corporate role at Scott Paper. His co-op experiences contributed to his success by teaching him how to build working relationships.
Before committing to Northeastern, John Falkowski, E’63, chemical engineering, was unsure whether college was feasible. Growing up with financial struggles, Falkowski ruled out his top school after being told by his parents that they could only afford it for a year. This led him to Northeastern, initially a backup option, but allowed him to save money through co-op to cover his tuition and living expenses.
Now, after leading a successful and varied career, Falkowski sees the benefits of co-op beyond financial stability. Co-op taught him how to navigate relationships with supervisors and coworkers in an environment that was teaching him through experience, thoroughly preparing him to enter the workforce.
“One of the things that the co-op program did was expose you to working relationships, which was a lot different than doing a dishwashing job in a cafeteria,” says Falkowski. “Dealing with different personalities was also an educational experience.”
Falkowski’s initial exposure to complex working relationships came during his first co-op at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, where he worked as a glassware cleaner. Under strict guidance from his supervisor, Falkowski completed daily tasks to an exact protocol, with little room to explore alternative solutions or expand his responsibilities. Although his first co-op did not chalk up to be an enjoyable experience, it taught Falkowski how to navigate difficult personalities in the workplace and laid the foundation for his leadership style in future roles. “All I knew is that I didn’t want to be like him,” says Falkowski.
During his co-op at Lincoln Labs, Falkowski cleaned glassware used in experiments and prepared it for reuse. In one instance, he cleaned a piece of glass that had been used to test a conductive coating that would eventually be sprayed onto the Mercury spacecraft, he later learned. “I didn’t realize what I was doing at the time or what the project was until my junior or senior year of school,” says Falkowski.
Falkowski conducted his subsequent co-ops at Cabot Corporation, a hands-on role where he tested carbon black for use in various applications. In one memorable project, Falkowski and his team used a spray dryer to formulate a chemical solution based on different compositions of carbon black. The testing resulted in the development of MCIR ink, a magnetic ink used to print numbers on the bottom of a check.
Cabot also exposed Falkowski to a new management style that encouraged collaborative decision-making and positive working relationships. “My supervisor would sit us down at the beginning of the week, tell us what the workload was going to be, and ask us if we had any suggestions,” says Falkowski. “He was always asking about what I would do in a certain situation.”
Having enrolled in the ROTC, Falkowski did not enter the chemical engineering industry after graduation and was sent to work on a smoke generator outfit as part of the Army in Fort Lewis, Washington. On the verge of re-enlisting, a job offer from Hanford Works convinced him to conclude his service and enter the working world. “If I hadn’t received that job offer, I would have re-enlisted for another term,” Falkowski says.
Hanford was different from what Falkowski grew accustomed to on co-op, as the role required him to take on more responsibility for his decisions and be more independent. However, the work experience Falkowski gained during his co-op cycles made him more confident in stepping into his role, and his expertise in establishing and nurturing work relationships allowed him to perform well.
At Hanford, Falkowski worked in the plant’s Redox facility, disposing of waste from spent fuel rods. While working to dissolve zinc alloy from the rods, he soon realized the disposal procedure was inefficient, creating a thick sludge that was difficult and slow to remove. The process had been normalized at the plant for years, but Falkowski knew there was a better way to do the same job. He proposed an alternative method to his supervisor that, after some testing, was implemented across the plant, speeding up the disposal process.
“Instead of going from an acid to a neutral, we were now going from basic to neutral,” said Falkowski. “That changed the composition of the sludge, which made it easier to dispose of.”
After departing Hanford, Falkowski transitioned into the pulp and paper industry, working as a pulp mill engineer for Scott Paper. His role took on an environmental edge, involving him in waste handling processes for his plant before Scott Paper’s corporate office approached him to assist its environmental program. In this position, Falkowski traveled to Scott Paper mills across the country to observe their operations from an environmental standpoint, a position that relied on the relationship navigation skills he had been developing since co-op.
Falkowski’s last position was as a materials engineer for Boeing, where he remained for 30 years. His primary project, which lasted for much of his employment, was to develop a tungsten carbide coating, which helped prevent wear on key airplane parts. This provided an alternative to chrome-plated coating, an industry standard that involved an expensive recovery process for the parts it was applied to. Falkowski worked at Boeing until the project’s completion and retired shortly after.
Today, Falkowski is making the most of his retirement, frequently taking outdoor walks and woodworking. Looking back on his career achievements, he attributes his industry success to one major lesson he learned early in his co-op journey: “If you can’t work together, you’re never going to accomplish anything.”