Madison McBay (she/her), a fourth-year Health student in Health Informatics, shares what it has been like building a business from the ground up and how she transitioned into the role of co-founder as a co-op student.
From being last year’s Health honourable mention, McBay is the recipient of the 2021 Health Co-op Student of the Year Award!
For the majority of her work terms, Madison worked at TAMVOES Health Inc. She began as a project manager and then later moved into the co-founder position. She joined the business during its early stages, when it was just an idea, and helped turn it into what it is today, an online platform that helps people manage their health information.
“Some of the tasks and projects that I worked on included the build-out of the mobile iOS app, as well as working on an integration hub through some funding we received from the innovation factory,” says McBay.
“For the iOS app, we started out with a web application and that’s what I started back in 2019. Then, in the spring of 2021, we wanted to transition the web app into an iOS app, so that process started and also completed all throughout my co-op term. My involvement really was from a project management perspective. I was able to really bring together the ideas and the modules, give explanations on the features and how they should function, and then work with a team, whether that be the design team, the marketing team, or the development team, to really build that up.”
“The other project I was working on during spring 2021 was the integration hub, and that's really an ongoing project. It's something where we'll be able to have an integration point with many different systems so that we can bring in health information, for example, from the hospitals or different specialists, depending on what clinic you're speaking with, and really make it easy for the user to find all that information in one place.”
Q: While still being a co-op student, how did it feel to be in charge of hiring co-op students to assist you with aspects of the company you helped create?
A: “Back in fall 2019, my very first co-op, we were working with an external recruitment company and I got the opportunity to sit in on the interviews at the Tatham Center. [It] was really cool to be on the other side of the table and know the experience as a student but also know what we were looking for as a company and where that would lead us. The University of Waterloo is known for co-op, that's one of the reasons why I went to this school, so why not take advantage of that on the other side of the table.”
“Hiring co-op students up to this point has been a fantastic experience, in terms of the staff helping us use WaterlooWorks and coordinate interviews. Now that everything's virtual, we continue to work with them and they've been extremely helpful. Not to mention the talent that we've had the opportunity to work with. I've been able to hire two post-grad students. They finished their undergrad, came on for a co-op term or two and then once they finished they just started full-time work with us. So, it's been really cool and has given me a better idea of what it's like outside of the Faculty of Health in terms of the competition with co-op as well.”
Q: Do you have any advice for other Health co-op students looking for a co-op job?
A: “Advice I would give to other health students, with regards to co-op, would just be looking not only on WaterlooWorks but also outside of WaterlooWorks. Also, no matter where you are applying, just make your application stand out and make it really tailored. I know that can be super time-consuming and it's often not the route that you want to take, but I think in the long run it actually saves you time because you're going to get noticed much faster.”
“I know that can be super time-consuming and it's often not the route that you want to take, but I think in the long run it actually saves you time because you're going to get noticed much faster. Your application will stand out amongst many, many others and it'll get you that interview. The biggest thing for me, what I'm always looking for, is showing passion for what we're doing. So, if you're not educated on the company ahead of time, it's not going to look good on you. You should be educated on the company ahead of time and you should know a little bit of information and really connect with whoever's interviewing you for that position.”
“In terms of the start-up community, Waterloo is a very start-up and tech-centered environment, especially within health tech and med tech. There are companies through Communitech, which is a local incubator, and they have a job board called Work In Tech. If you're looking for places outside of WaterlooWorks to apply to jobs, I would check out their job board.”
“Ultimately, startups are everywhere. LinkedIn is a great place to network and that might sound a little bit corny, but it's true. If you just reach out through direct messages, I know some people have reached out directly to me, and it's made a good impression, so a little bit can go a long way.”
Q: How does it feel to win the 2021 Health Co-op Student of the Year Award? Going from an honorable mention last year to becoming a recipient this year.
A: “Coming from an honorable mention to being given the award is a very rewarding process. It's exciting to be recognized on that stage and I think it shows and proves to other students that don't just apply once if you have more than just one shot at it. This was my last shot, so it's pretty rewarding in that sense. Just keep trying, and hopefully, you'll get through as well.”
Here are some words Madison would like to share about her co-op experience at TAMVOES:
With the connections you make on co-op, you never know what can happen. You might end up finding yourself not only working for a cool company, but maybe even building one. Work-integrated learning can give you room to achieve so much, while also gaining valuable skills along the way. #inspiredWIL
Are you interested in applying for the Co-op Student of the Year Award in your faculty? Submit a nomination form to be considered for the award. You never know what can happen!