Health Studies student Madison McBay has been named the 2021 Faculty of Health Co-op Student of the Year for her spring work term with TAMVOES by Co-operative and Experiential Education (CEE). Last year, at the 2020 awards, she received an honourable mention for Co-op Student of the Year.
“It’s a very rewarding process,” says McBay. “It is exciting to have your achievements recognized on that stage. I think it shows and proves to other students that they should apply more than once.”
McBay has worked with the startup family health management organization, TAMVOES, during previous work terms and her academic terms. In spring 2021, McBay became a senior president and co-founder of TAMVOES. Following graduation this year, she is joining the organization in a full-time capacity.
In spring 2021, McBay managed the development of an iOS app for TAMVOES. The app, through increased accessibility and awareness of the platform, resulted in 200 per cent growth in global users. The iOS app follows the web application McBay worked on in 2019 as a co-op student. The app allows users to gain access to health information on the go.
Through the project, McBay developed a wide range of knowledge that helped her onboard new technical staff and shift the app development to be more in-house — which resulted in lower expenses.
“My involvement was really from a project management perspective. I was able to bring together the ideas and the modules, give explanations on the features and how they should function,” McBay says.
McBay also participated in pitch competitions and meetings with funding organizations to help TAMVOES secure $275,000 in funding.
Two other Faculty of Health co-op students received honourable mention for Co-op Student of the Year earlier this month: Paige Hall and Emily Lam.
Please see the full story on all the Faculty Co-op winners on the CEE website.