March 25, 2025
Waterloo celebrates Co-op Students of the Year
At the 20th annual awards ceremony, Waterloo announces winners from each of the six faculties for their impactful contributions
For 20 years, the Co-op Student of the Year awards have celebrated Waterloo’s most outstanding co-op students. From using artificial intelligence (AI) to help combat microbial resistance to enhancing patient care and integrating sustainability into logistics, this year’s award winners are making real-world impact that extends far beyond the workplace.
“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.”
Congratulations to the 2024 Co-op Students of the Year:
- Jarett Dewbury, Faculty of Engineering, Biomedical Engineering
- Hoang Do, Faculty of Environment, Environment and Business
- Michelle Kao, Faculty of Science, Physics and Astronomy
- Sarah Larochelle, Faculty of Health, Kinesiology
- Kennedy Taylor, Faculty of Arts, Legal Studies
- Linda Wang, Faculty of Mathematics, Computer Science
CEE celebrated award recipients at a hybrid ceremony on March 25, where honourable mentions and the Velocity Co-op Problem recipients were also recognized. The Velocity Co-op Problem award recognizes students for providing the best analysis of an important problem relevant to a co-op employer or their industry.
Announcing the 2024 Co-op Students of the Year
Jarett Dewbury (he/him), Faculty of Engineering
Jarett Dewbury’s research during his co-op work term at the Tadesse Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) focused on using AI-driven diagnostics to address antimicrobial resistance in low-resource settings.
The third-year Biomedical Engineering student worked in the lab in spring 2024. In his role as a visiting researcher, he explored how accessible technology could better diagnose bacterial infections, which are responsible for 30 per cent of deaths in low-resource communities.
“Growing up, I always saw myself working in the medical space,” Dewbury says. “I’m able to combine my math and physics interests in the medical field ...I also get to work behind the scenes to develop tools that can make clinicians’ lives easier and improve how we treat and diagnose various diseases.”
In collaboration with the MIT-Google Program for Computing Innovation, Dewbury helped develop AI models to more accurately classify pathogens on portable devices.
“It’s really cool to see what companies are doing, but I think the biggest perspective I’ve gained is realizing how much work there is still left to do and how many exciting new possibilities remain to be explored,” he says.
One of Dewbury’s proudest accomplishments during his work term was publishing a first-author paper at the International Conference on Learning Representations (ICLR) — one of the most prestigious AI conferences. The opportunity helped him gain confidence as a researcher that he will carry throughout his career.
Learn more about Dewbury’s story
Hoang Do (he/him), Faculty of Environment
Hoang Do has always been fascinated by the economic growth of his hometown, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. However, he realized the city had less of a focus on environmental and social sustainability than it did on the economy.
In his Fall 2024 work term, the Environment and Business student set out to learn as much as he could about sustainability and worked as a corporate sustainability coordinator at Purolator.
“I was very fortunate to be part of a lot of inaugural projects,” Do shares. “With sustainability, the field is always changing, and companies need to navigate the field and try to adapt to new technologies and regulations. I am proud that my contributions will have a lasting impact on the company’s approach to sustainability moving forward.”
At Purolator, Do created a first-of-its-kind customer analysis tool to help meet emission reduction targets. The company rolled out the tool to 17 of its most profitable clients.
“I've realized that sustainability doesn’t just encompass environment majors and experts, it's a collaboration between different stakeholders as well,” he says. “You have to involve accounting, finance, communications and consulting folks. I was very fortunate to be able to meet and network with them, which will help with my professional development.”
On top of his regular duties, Do also took it upon himself to apply for the Government of Canada’s Net Zero Challenge on behalf of Purolator. The challenge was featured in Purolator’s sustainability report.
Do’s entire team felt the impact of his positivity and offered him the opportunity to return to Purolator for the following work term. His commitment to environmental sustainability and making a tangible impact will reach far beyond his time at Purolator and the University.
“I still plan to eventually return to Vietnam and contribute to the environmental sustainability movement there, which has started to gain some traction but will now need more development and research.”
Michelle Kao (she/her), Faculty of Science
Michelle Kao, a third-year Physics and Astronomy student, worked on advancing space missions during her Fall 2024 co-op work term as a research assistant at the National Research Council Canada, Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Centre. Kao is also the 2024 winner of the Experiential & Work Integrated Learning Ontario (EWO) Co-op Student of the Year.
During her co-op work term, Kao developed a suite of tools to optimally schedule observing programs and calculate the observing efficiency of CASTOR, a Canadian flagship space telescope. She was able to show how one survey could be reoptimized to nearly double the observing efficiency, saving up to $6 million.
“My biggest impact during my co-op was developing a software tool that can give the science team a big picture of how to make the space mission more efficient,” Kao shares.
She presented her results to an international audience of engineers and scientists and received praise for her methodology, presentation skills and ability to field challenging questions. She credits many of the courses she took in her program for preparing her for the challenges she faced during her work term.
“Co-op made me realize how versatile the skills are that I learned in the astronomy program,” Kao says. “We have a really strong background in math and physics, and those skills are all transferable and very essential in the space sector.”
Kao built on her passion for the space industry and gained the confidence to explore what her astronomy degree could bring to her career through her co-op experience.
Sarah Larochelle (she/her), Faculty of Health
Sarah 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
Kennedy Taylor (she/her), Faculty of Arts
Kennedy Taylor, a third-year Legal Studies student, made a meaningful impact during her winter and spring 2024 co-op work terms as a business analyst at Coeus Health.
Taylor’s role focused on marketing and coordinating a pilot program that empowers healthcare providers to connect with patients in new ways.
Leveraging her leadership skills, Taylor oversaw the development of marketing materials and website content and built external communications with pilot sites.
“What drew me to Coeus Health is how innovative they are,” Taylor says. “As a Legal Studies student, I had never dealt with anything like their products. With technology, AI and chatbots becoming much more relevant, I thought, ‘why not?’ I might as well learn while I have the opportunity.”
Although Taylor went into the work term with limited technical knowledge, she was able to play a key role in facilitating partnerships between Coeus Health and its stakeholders.
“I did not picture myself working in the health or tech field when I started my degree, but I think the beauty of co-op is that you get the opportunity to try all of these jobs that you never even thought you would,” she says.
During her work term, Taylor led initiatives that improved patient engagement, streamlined external communications and strengthened the company’s outreach efforts.
“I was able to maintain and openly communicate with all the pilot sites and ambulatory health clinics,” she shares. “I was their main point of contact, so it was up to me to ensure that they had everything they needed and I'm proud that I accomplished that goal.”
Learn more about Taylor’s story
Linda Wang (she/her), Faculty of Mathematics
During her Spring 2024 work term as a data engineer, Linda Wang played a pivotal role in developing one of RBC Financial Group’s first generative AI (GenAI) use cases in human resources.
Wang, a third-year Computer Science student, utilized AI technologies to develop a solution for the company’s Global HR Advice Centre to streamline responses to employee inquiries.
“The solution that I developed marked one of the first GenAI use cases in the company’s HR department,” Wang shares.
The solution Wang created is called “heyHR” — a pre-call portal for employees to visit when they need to contact HR Advice. The portal directs employees to self-serve resources and a digital agent asks questions while the employee is on hold. It then summarizes the information from the chat for the call agent. The solution led to a 20 per cent reduction in call volume and an average of five minutes of time savings per call, resulting in more than $1.65 million in annual restored productivity.
“Time and cost are always a huge constraint in a business setting because oftentimes you're trying to save money,” Wang says. “Being able to break down complex subjects into simple topics and learning fast are skills that are very important and helped me succeed at RBC.”
While the impact of this project has the potential to improve the experience for more than 90,000 employees, it was Wang’s willingness to take on complex tasks and work outside of her comfort zone that made a lasting impact on her supervisor.
