How co-op shaped careers: the journey of Co-op Student of the Year Award alumni
By: Co-operative and Experiential Education
As we celebrate 20 years of co-op student excellence, we chatted with past award recipients to learn more about how co-op shaped their careers.
It’s been two decades since the University of Waterloo first introduced the Co-op Student of the Year Awards. Over the years, the award has symbolized excellence and dedication for students within the co-op program.
The Co-op Student of the Year Awards recognize outstanding co-op students who have made meaningful contributions during their work terms. Every year, the list of honourees grows longer, but the award recipients all share a common goal: learning, growth and making an impact.
As we celebrate the next generation of Waterloo co-op alumni at convocation, past award recipients shared their experiences and how co-op has shaped their career path.
Diljot Chhina (she/her) (BSc ’13)
Program: Biotechnology & Economics, Faculty of Science
Current role: Measurement lead, Google
“Co-op taught me what I couldn’t learn in a textbook. I have used those skills in my career to be resilient, no matter what is happening on a macro level,” Chhina says . She used her co-op experience to find her niche while exploring tech, consumer goods and the public sector.
In 2012, Chhina was awarded the Co-op Student of Year Award for her work at the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. She developed an award-nominated project management portal and presented to a Ugandan delegation about the value of online tools within a government setting.
Diljot Chhina, measurement lead, Google
“I remember getting the email in DC and I was thinking ‘no, this can’t be me.' It was really a full circle moment for me. I was intentional with my work, and it paid off.”
Today, Chhina is a measurement lead at Google, where she manages omnichannel, offline sales attribution and measurement initiatives for the Large Customer Sales Division in Canada.
Alister D'Costa, principal bioinformatics software engineer, Roche Canada
Alister D’Costa (he/him) (BCS ’17)
Program: Computer Science, Faculty of Mathematics
Current role: Principal bioinformatics software engineer at Roche Canada
“I remember applying to the Co-op Student of the Year Award and thinking, ‘why not throw my hat in the ring?’ Then, I got the email, and I was shocked,” D’Costa says. “Co-op was a great way to get experience, try new things and figure out what I actually wanted to do."
During his time at Waterloo, D’Costa worked in a variety of roles across different industries. He was a service desk support analyst, a bioinformaticist and a developer in consulting, health care and technology industries.
Since graduating from Waterloo, D’Costa has completed a master’s degree and PhD in computer science. “Co-op paid dividends – it was the reason I was able to get into grad school and now pursue my career,” D’Costa says. Today, his academic and experiential experience has led D’Costa to his current role as a principal bioinformatics software engineer at Roche, one of the world’s largest biotech companies.
Ingrid Kaffka (she/her) (BA ’23)
Program: English-Rhetoric, Media, and Professional Communication, Faculty of Arts
Current role: Senior proposal writer, Aercoustics Engineering Limited
“I would honestly say that co-op was the thing that impacted my career,” Kaffka says. At Waterloo, she majored in English and Political Science. As Kaffka reflects on her co-op experience, she remembers the flexibility. “I wanted to make sure I had a lot of opportunities to try different things so I had a strong idea of what I wanted to do after graduating," Kaffka says.
On her co-op work terms, Kaffka worked in technical writing, instructional writing, policy writing and marketing. These experiences led her to proposal writing, where she could combine her technical and marketing skills.
Ingrid Kaffka, senior proposal writer, Aercoustics Engineering Limited
Now, Kaffka leverages those skills to oversee the proposal development process at Aercoustics Engineering Limited, a sound engineering firm with offices in Toronto and Vancouver.
Kaffka reflects on her co-op experience. “I’ll always be an advocate for co-op, it prepared me to apply what I learned in the classroom to the real world."
Adnan Khan, co-founder and co-CEO, Viva
Adnan Khan (BAFM '16 and MAcc '17)
Program: Accounting and Financial Management, School of Accounting and Finance
Current role: Co-founder and co-CEO, Viva
“Co-op helped me gain valuable experience while building meaningful relationships with workplace mentors that enabled me to be a more confident professional,” Khan reflects on his time at Waterloo. “On top of that, the university and School of Accounting and Finance gave me opportunities to participate in group presentations, intercollegiate competitions and extra-curricular activities like an education-focused volunteer trip to Nicaragua which had a huge impact on me and shaped my ‘why’.”
Khan, a 2016 recipient of the Co-op Student of the Year Award, spent his co-op work terms at Deloitte across multiple service lines, including audit, tax and consulting.
“My advice to the graduating class is to set clear priorities in life,” Khan says. “I recommend health, family and career in that order. In your career use your voice, embrace feedback and view every crisis as a learning opportunity.”
Building on his experience at Waterloo through his work terms and volunteer trip to Nicaragua, Khan is now the co-founder and co-CEO at Viva. Their mission is to enable executives to maximize their impact while creating meaningful opportunities for women in Latin America.
Madison McBay (she/her) (BSc ’22)
Program: Health Studies, option in Health Informatics, Faculty of Health
Current role: Lead product manager, Coeus Health
“Co-op changed my life. It was a lot of work, but I was given an incredible amount of experience at such a young age,” McBay says.
During her co-op work terms, McBay worked in client services, project management and entrepreneurship roles. She was the Co-op Student of the Year for her work as co-founder of TAMVOES Health.
“I didn’t intend to become a co-founder. My partner had a problem, and I needed a job. We applied for government grants and made something from it. We set out on a mission to solve a problem in patient health care communication,” McBay says.
Madison McBay, lead product manager, Coeus Health
McBay is currently a lead product manager at Coeus Health, a health care software solution provider. At Coeus Health, McBay is the product leader of the end-to-end delivery of an innovative AI-based large language model patient engagement platform, managing discovery, roadmap, requirements and agile execution.
Jessica Peixoto, sustainability project manager, JLL
Jessica Peixoto (she/her) (BES ’15)
Program: Environment and Business, Faculty of Environment
Current role: Sustainability project manager, Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. (JLL)
“I loved my campus experience! I was really involved on campus. These were things I talked about in my co-op interviews, and it really set me apart,” says Peixoto.
On her co-op terms Peixoto worked as an IT analyst, program co-ordinator and researcher. “Co-op is invaluable. I was able to try different roles at different companies and meet different people,” Peixoto says. “I learned what I wanted to do but also built my soft skills that I could bring back to campus and into my future work terms.”
Now, Peixoto is a sustainability project manager with JLL, a global real estate services company, in their project and development services group. In her role, she focuses on sustainable business strategies for commercial real estate portfolios.
Rupa Vemulapalli (she/her) (BASc ’23)
Program: Computer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering
Current role: Software developer, Bell Canada and founder, Mantisflow at NEXT Canada
“The Co-op Student of the Year Award is so meaningful to me,” Vemulapalli says, who was the award recipient for the Faculty of Engineering in 2021.
Vemulapalli approached her co-ops with excellence and hypothesis testing to figure out the kinds of experiences she enjoyed the most.
Rupa Vemulapalli, Software developer, Bell Canada, and founder of Mantisflow, NEXT Canada
During her time at Waterloo, Vemulapalli enjoyed a wide variety of experiences working in consulting, electrical engineering, product management and software development.
She pushed daringly for engineering skills to be used for social impact. In 2021, Vemulapalli founded Waterloo Engineers without Borders design team where Waterloo students built software products to help startups in East Africa develop more quickly.
Now, she is a software developer at Bell Canada, where she works in the Big Data and Artificial Intelligence team for Data Monetization. She has now taken a timely step with NEXT36 to foster growth in Canadian markets, where she is building her own startup Mantisflow, a first responder for IT service outages. Rupa enjoys learning mentor and foster meaningful connections in all her interactions.
Hear how co-op impacted our alumni
Waterloo co-op students have access to a powerful network of more than 253,000 Waterloo alumni across the world. As you prepare for graduation, lean on your network for insights, advice and assistance.
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