Stories from our Co-op Students
Student: Abby Ollila
Year of Study: 2B
Program: HIST Honours Co-op
Co-op Placement(s):
- Summer 2018 - Executive Assistant to the Chief, Wahgoshig First Nation
- Winter 2019 - Junior Compliance Analyst, Indigenous Services Canada
“At Indigenous Services Canada I helped to screen capital infrastructure project applications for policy compliance. I also developed process mapping graphics, provided writing and editing support, and contributed to a long-term policy reform project. History research skills were definitely an asset when working with policy -- both history and policy require the ability to sift through massive amounts of data and transform your analysis of that data into something useful.
I thrive in higher-paced environments, so working for the government was slightly agonizing at times. However, I do not regret the fantastic working relationships I formed, and the skills I evolved!
Indigenous Services Canada taught me that the government is not the right working environment for me. However, I was able to gather a detailed inside look into the systems I will certainly encounter working in Indigenous law, and pick up new abilities in policy interpretation, data analysis, and Excel.” – Abby O.
Student: Juliana Zuccala
Year of Study: 2B
Program: HIST Honours Co-op
Co-op Placement(s): Research Assistant, Presidia Security Consulting
“In my current placement, I conduct open-source intelligence (OSINT) research and investigation on different entities and groups designated by Presidia's clients, utilizing Google and different social media sites to gather data. The employer that I ended up at has been very nice and I am enjoying both the work I am doing and the work environment.
I think that my co-op placement is helpful for my future. I am learning important skills in my workplace, both personal and professional. I also think that co-op placements are helpful for me as I can further narrow down what I would and would not like to do in my future.” – Juliana Z.
Student: Caleb Roberts-Dodd
Year of Study: 3A
Program: HIST Honours Co-op
Co-op Placement(s): Archives
“My co-op placement has taught me a variety of organizational and communication skills which I can use in my future career, and I am quite satisfied with my experience at this point.
Any job related to archiving requires a specific amount of prior experience, so already having 8 months of experience in the archiving field, through co-op, aids me on my career path.” – Caleb R.