by Naz Kittani
A concrete furniture warehouse, a cereal company and a world-leading automotive manufacturer: what do these have in common? For fourth-year Chemical Engineering student Eric Park, these very different co-op work term settings provided the foundations, skills and mentorship that he credits with preparing him for a career.
Looking back at his first co-op experience, Park can’t help but smile. “For four months I hauled bags of cement and shoveled glass so that I could get some experience in a manufacturing setting,” he says. In this unexpected environment, Park says his supervisor’s support and mentorship taught him invaluable real-life workplace skills.
“I was learning under mentors who I still keep in contact with today. That experience of receiving such great guidance and support from my employers facilitated a sense of gratitude,” says Park. He leveraged this newfound knowledge of manufacturing to secure his second co-op work term as a process engineering intern at Kellogg’s.
Most recently, he worked as a manufacturing engineer with Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada (TMMC), a company that has shared a deep-rooted partnership with the University of Waterloo for over 25 years.
Maureen Hossack, a human resources specialist with TMMC, says that providing mentorship to co-op students is very important. “We provide internal mentors for each of our co-op students, to work together through the responsibility of supporting multiple Engineering projects,” explains Hossack. “We value Waterloo co-op students for providing the opportunity to develop our internal mentors with leadership and mentoring skills for the future. We benefit from the mentoring system just as much as our co-op students.”
As graduation fast approaches, Park has already taken the first steps in paving a future career path. “I’m in the beginning stages of creating a start-up with a few colleagues,” he explains. “My co-op experience has provided me with so much valuable knowledge that I can now carry forward to create my own business.”
Park's advice to his fellow students: “Help each other out. You will go further together than you will by yourself.”
