When I first started AFM, I was definitely more observant than outgoing. Networking events? That sounded terrifying. Putting myself out there? Seemed even scarier. But everything started to shift because of the people around me; my friends, teammates, upper years and profs who encouraged me to try anyway.
One moment I always go back to is my first networking session. It was something I planned to skip until one of my teammates encouraged our whole group to attend and give it a try. The rest of us were nervous and decided to stick together as a little group, unsure how to start conversations. But the teammate who had more experience stepped up and guided us by showing us how to introduce ourselves, what to say and how to carry a conversation. In the beginning, we just observed, learned and then slowly began to network with others on our own. Without that support, we probably would’ve stayed in our own bubble all night, but that moment helped me start breaking out of my shell.
Those early experiences shaped how I approached my first co-op. In my first week, I was nervous. But I remembered what I’d built: the confidence to ask, to try, to connect. I remembered something a professor told me before co-op, which was, "Always ask questions and be curious."
And then my manager, on day one, said something I’ll never forget. He said, "You guys are going to have a lot of questions. Ask me anytime. That’s how you learn." That set the tone. I started asking questions right away, sometimes multiple times a day. And the more I asked, the more I learned. I made a few mistakes in the beginning, but they were caught and fixed.
I grew more confident not just in the work, but in how I communicated and collaborated. I also got to know and talk to many more people in the company and learn from them too. We connected over things like going to the gym, travelling and our favourite shows, and those connections made the workday something I truly looked forward to.
My first co-op wasn’t just a job. It was the outcome of every choice I made in first year, every event I went to, every friend who asked me to join them and go together and every professor who reminded me that questions are very powerful.
If I could tell my 1A self one thing, it’d be to go to the event, say hi, ask the question. You never know how one small moment might shape your future.