Every year, six exceptional co-op students, one from each faculty, are recognized by the University of Waterloo for their contribution to their employer, their community and the further development of experiential education.
“Across every discipline and level of experience you can find a student who has created a meaningful impact in their workplace,” said Ross Johnston, Executive Director of Co-operative Education at Waterloo. “The growing number of employers from all over the world who hire Waterloo students demonstrates the reaches of our reputation for excellence.”
This year’s winners truly exemplify the magnitude of work Waterloo students can accomplish across the globe.
The following awards were presented to Applied Health Sciences students for their work in 2018:
2018 Co-op Student of the Year:
Lauren McLennan – Public Health
Lauren McLennan travelled to Uganda where she was an International Consultant and Project Manager for FullSoul Canada. She increased the percentage of midwives formally trained to use donated equipment from 40% to 75%. McLennan also worked with over 60 midwives to educate them on safer birthing practices and how to reduce the risk of infection, improving awareness by 50% across hospitals in Uganda.
2018 Co-op Honourable Mention:
Yasmeen Mihad Razvi – Health Studies
Yasmeen Mihad Razvi worked with the Odette Cancer Program at Sunnybook Health Sciences Centre in the breast cancer radiation clinic. Her work focussed on supportive care and the investigation of secondary toxicity.
New this year - Co-op Problem Awards:
Four other University of Waterloo co-op students were recognized by The Problem Lab for their ability to find and analyze an important problem affecting their employer. The Problem Lab has a goal to increase the ability for our community to create innovations of greater economic and social consequence by identifying and understanding important problems.
Taryn Siertsema – Therapeutic Recreation (Faculty of Applied Health Sciences)
Taryn Siertsema completed a detailed problem analysis on the issue of caregiver burnout in relation to Canada’s aging population while working at The Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre. She is the 1st place winner of the Co-op Problem Award for Fall 2018.