Co-op on the front lines of a pandemic

Christina's winter co-op job took her in an unexpected direction — to the front lines of Canada's COVID-19 pandemic response. And that experience has set her on a new career path.

Discovering by doing

Christina joined the Health Sciences program to prepare for a medical degree. "I always knew I wanted to help people," she says. But in January 2020, Christina was beginning to feel her career ambitions shift. She had secured an eight-month co-op term as a Junior Analyst with Health Canada's Environmental Health program, where she helped with national program administration and wrote policy documents.

Her favourite part of the job, she discovered, was working with the public health outreach team: "I really liked getting to take the policy and programs we developed and execute them at the frontline level."

Christina was about to become part of public health history. In February, the Public Health Agency of Canada reached out to Health Canada for help at a Canadian Forces base, CFB Trenton, that had just been repurposed as a quarantine site. Planeloads of Canadians were arriving from Wuhan, China — COVID-19's first outbreak zone.

On the front lines

Christina volunteered to join Health Canada's team at CFB Trenton. There, she helped Canadians who had cleared quarantine to get their documents and belongings in order so they could finally go home.

It was emotional work. "That was the first moment that COVID-19 was at the forefront of our minds," says Christina. "The challenge was putting aside my own worries and fears to be present for the people I was helping."

But the rewards definitely outweighed the challenges. "In the moment it was really cool," she goes on. "Being able to speak to the Red Cross doctors and talk with the families. And they were all so appreciative of what we were doing. When they got to take their masks off, there was so much joy. Once the last bus to the airport left, everyone who was working there was cheering. We thought, ‘Yeah, we beat this!'

From theory to practice

Of course, the battle with COVID-19 was just beginning. As the pandemic grew and Health Canada staff began to work remotely, Christina volunteered to help with contact tracing. From April to August, she called people who'd had contact with an active case — first to let them know they'd been exposed to COVID-19, and then to check in each day of the 14-day self-isolation period.

"Initially I had this impostor syndrome. I'm a co-op student, and I'm calling to inform people they've been exposed to this scary virus." But Christina was more ready than she thought. "With my Health Sciences education, I found I was better prepared than some of my other teammates who didn't have that background. Knowing how to interact with patients, assessing their situation, being compassionate and helpful, but also communicating risks in plain language and knowing when to follow up with questions."

"It was those pieces about community engagement that we learned in class that I was putting into practice."

Next steps on a new path

Now, Christina is applying to Master's programs in public health.

"There are so many opportunities available to you. When I started in Health Sciences I thought, ‘Okay, I'm going to be a doctor,' because that's what I knew of the health field. But being able to experience those fields hands-on in Waterloo's co-op program showed me that there are so many different opportunities, and really helped me find my path. Being able to help out in a time of need, that feeling is just…" Christina trails off.

"It was really rewarding to be able to help with a current public health crisis. Especially as a co-op student, I couldn't have asked for a better experience."