Sarah Larochelle named 2024 Co-op Student of the Year
For 20 years, the Co-op Student of the Year awards have celebrated Waterloo’s most outstanding co-op students. This week, Kinesiology student Sarah Larochelle was named the 2024 Co-op Student of the Year for the Faculty of Health.
Larochelle’s experience with patient care and work to improve clinic efficiency were the highlights of her co-op work term as an administrative assistant at PhysioMira Physiotherapy. In her role, Larochelle, a fourth-year Kinesiology student, used her passion for health care to support both staff and patients.
“Everyone deserves proper treatment and to feel like they’re truly being cared for, not rushed through an appointment. That’s what ultimately drove me towards kinesiology, and hopefully, physiotherapy in the future,” Larochelle says.
Building on what she learned about anatomy, physiology and exercise rehabilitation from her coursework, Larochelle took on a wide range of responsibilities in her role at PhysioMira. Her responsibilities included assisting patients with physiotherapy routines, developing exercise programs, maintaining inventory and handling communications with clients.
“My biggest impact was working with a client recovering from orthopedic spinal surgery. I did a lot of research about the surgery and rehabilitation using Canadian resources and developed an exercise rehabilitation program for her. I was able to see significant growth in her recovery,” Larochelle shares.
Her commitment to exceptional performance led to her co-creating more than 1,000 exercise programs for patients. By taking on the program development, she helped to relieve the load on clinicians, which allowed for a 15 per cent increase in patient visits during the term.
Learn more about Larochelle’s story
Co-operative and Experiential Education (CEE) celebrated Co-op Student of the Year award recipients at a hybrid ceremony on March 25, where honourable mentions and the Velocity Co-op Problem recipients were also recognized, including Kinesiology student Sloan Stark.
“Waterloo’s co-op students continue to make significant contributions on their work terms,” says Dr. Norah McRae, associate provost of Co-operative and Experiential Education (CEE). “These incredible students have thrived in evolving workplaces and are a source of inspiration. I’m excited to celebrate the 20th year of these awards and look forward to seeing how our students continue to impact the workforce.”
Excerpted from Waterloo celebrates Co-op Students of the Year.