Celebrating Waterloo alumni employers at CEE Employer Impact Awards

At the 2021 Employer Impact Awards, Co-operative and Experiential Education (CEE) celebrated three employers who are University of Waterloo graduates. These alumni, and their organizations, provide incredible opportunities for co-op students.

Fabrik Architects

Elisia Neves (MArch ’12) is the founder of Fabrik Architects, a small architecture startup based out of Cambridge, Ontario. Neves and her team foster a tight-knit work environment for both full-time employees and co-op students.

Fabrik, recipient of the Impact in Research award, gives students the opportunity to take on responsibilities similar to full-time employees, including developing essential designs.

As a graduate of the co-op program at Waterloo herself, Neves appreciates being able to contribute by giving students valuable experiences.

“The co-op program allowed me to succeed in my career quickly,” says Neves. “Since the start of the organization I have been interested in hiring co-op students because of their creativity and the value that they bring.”

Hypotenuse Labs

A trio of Waterloo grads founded Hypotenuse Labs, the recipient of the Impact in Student Experience award. Hypotenuse Labs builds high-impact web, blockchain and artificial intelligence products for early-stage startups. As leaders, Calvin Chen (BSC ’19), Matthew Reyes (BMath ’19) and Anthony Zhang (BMath ’19) prioritize the company culture to ensure students feel welcome and supported.

With a remote working model, Hypotenuse Labs has mastered staff engagement in a virtual world. As the bulk of the company’s workforce is Waterloo alumni, they understand the value co-op students can bring. Reyes’s own experience as a co-op student taught him that learning soft skills can be just as important as learning technical skills.

“Having gone through six co-op terms, the most important skills I learned from co-op were not necessarily straight technical skills, but actually people-related things,” says Reyes.

The Regional Municipality of York

Waterloo grad Meredith Pratley (BES ’06) is a program manager in integrated management systems at the Regional Municipality of York (York Region) — recipient of the Employer Impact Award for Sustainability.

At York Region, co-op students help to advance the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Pratley sees firsthand the vital role that Waterloo co-op students can play in making a brighter, more sustainable future.

“Students look for opportunities to improve and set goals for themselves,” says Pratley. “Waterloo students are natural relationship builders…and can network easily. We have also noticed that Waterloo students are flexible and resilient, which is especially important in today’s environment.”

2021 CEE Employer Impact Awards

Throughout 2021 co-op employers provided meaningful opportunities to help Waterloo students advance their careers — even as the impacts of the global pandemic continued. Whether they worked remotely, in person or in a hybrid setting, students made a positive impact across many industries.

At the third annual CEE Employer Impact Awards virtual ceremony on October 4, 2022, CEE recognized the following stand-out employers:

Are you a co-op employer?

Nominate your organization for the 2022 Employer Impact Awards before March 3, 2023.