At his first co-op job at Cardus, Philip had the chance to research how the government profits from gambling. This job leaned heavily on his Peace and Conflict Studies experience, and he appreciated the social-justice orientation of the position. Later, when Philip was working as an Online Learning Assistant (OLA) for the University of Waterloo, he was able to learn new skills as well as work with people who shared similar traits to him, which made for an enjoyable work environment. While the position was not PACS-focused, his PACS conflict transformation skills still came in handy while he interacted with others.
Philip’s co-op experiences have been very important to him regardless of a few challenges. He observed that:
It’s important to be proactive and to remember that no experience is truly a bad one. You can find the good in anything if you look hard enough.
To that end, Philip has appreciated his PACS degree, which has taught him that there’s always something to learn and appreciate in every situation. It has also taught him to be an all-around better person.