When PLTW Transformative Partner Ardagh Group launched their PLTW-focused summer internship program for high school students alongside its existing collegiate level internship and co-op programs, PLTW students were given the chance to experience life in engineering and advanced manufacturing before entering college.
Long before they stepped into a manufacturing facility, PLTW alumni Matthew Klein and Ronin Hill were learning to think like engineers—designing solutions, overcoming setbacks, and turning curiosity into action. For Matthew, the experience helped launch a full-time engineering career at Ardagh; for Ronin, it provided a strong foundation for studying mechanical engineering in college.
“PLTW has played such a large role in my life!”
Matthew Klein is a full-time employee at Ardagh Glass Packaging-North America’s corporate office in Fishers, Indiana, where he is a mechanical engineer in facilities engineering. A native of Indianapolis, Matthew attended North Central High School and took PLTW’s Introduction to Engineering Design and Principles of Engineering. He received his bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University in 2026. While at Purdue, Matthew interned twice at Ardagh's summer program.
Like Matthew, students interested in engineering gain significant value from PLTW classes. Principles of Engineering projects that integrated physics and design were particularly impactful. “The most memorable project from that class was designing and building a model tower and testing it across different simulated natural disasters,” Matthew said. “We analyzed truss structures by hand and, using computer programs, the results of those analyses dictated our tower design.”
Matthew attributes the technical skills like 3D modeling that he developed in PLTW, along with the opportunity to develop an engineering mindset and stay curious during PLTW, to feeling prepared when he began his internship at Ardagh. “These helped me understand and improve complex systems,” Matthew said.
As an intern at Ardagh, Matthew gained hands-on experience working in several areas of a production facility on a variety of projects, such as an AI bottle inspection station; cooling water monitoring system; and a packaging area upgrade project. “My internship at Ardagh gave me a variety of experiences within manufacturing, from facilities management, equipment design, and project management,” Matthew said. “These experiences helped me grow as an engineer and understand each part of a glass packaging production facility.”
Ardagh offered Matthew a full-time position following his graduation from Purdue. “In my current role, I am able to pull from the wide scope of lessons I learned from PLTW and my internships to help me solve multidisciplinary problems.”
Matthew’s advice for students, especially those considering an internship, is to embrace variety and change. “Don't be afraid to take on difficult projects that push you to learn something new,” he said. “Those experiences not only make you more employable but also help you develop a broader perspective and a deeper understanding of the world around you. Most importantly, stay curious. The more you understand a problem, a process, or the world itself, the better equipped you are to make a meaningful impact.”
“PLTW did a great job of preparing me for my internship.”
Ronin Hill began his freshman year at Milwaukee School of Engineering in fall 2026 where he is majoring in mechanical engineering and is considering a minor in electrical engineering. Growing up in Carol Stream, Illinois, Ronin attended Glenbard North High School where he took PLTW’s Introduction to Engineering Design and Principles of Engineering courses.
“Ultimately, my passion for mechanical engineering was set in motion by watching garbage trucks travel up and down the street, picking up and emptying each bin, while growing up,” Ronin said. “Ever since then, I've been fascinated by how mechanisms work and have applied and expanded that curiosity through coursework and extracurriculars in high school. I took PLTW courses, designed theatrical sets, and challenged myself with several advanced classes.”
Ronin remembers the impact that the automata box project during his Introduction to Engineering Design course had on him, as he followed the design process to generate concepts, model, build, document, and test his product. “Through the setbacks, redirections, and problem-solving needed to create a functioning final product, I'd consider it to be the most impactful project I worked on through PLTW.”
In summer 2026 as a recent high school graduate, Ronin interned with Ardagh Metal Packaging at the Ardagh Technical Center in Illinois, his first internship experience. Throughout the summer, he
worked on projects to standardize assemblies into efficient, consistent processes and design new
components to support sustainability efforts. His projects led to saved time and reduced costs, ultimately benefitting other Ardagh employees.
PLTW gave Ronin the tools he needed to flourish in his internship. “PLTW provided valuable experiences to practice the design process, collaborate with others, explore software such as Fusion360, and most importantly, learn how to think like an engineer,” Ronin said. “Many of the projects and experiences with PLTW were immensely helpful for my success at Ardagh.”
Looking ahead, Ronin says, “I expect both my PLTW classes and Ardagh internship experiences to significantly aid in my education and post-graduate plans, as they both provided me with valuable real-world applications of the things needed to succeed as an engineer.”
Across the U.S., high school programs that include PLTW elevate the value students bring to and gain from internships. Each hands-on course guides students through project-based learning experiences that apply creativity, ethical reasoning, and teamwork to solve real-world engineering problems.
Help your high schoolers explore different engineering experiences with a complete pathway or by introducing the PLTW Advanced Manufacturing course.