2015 Co-op Award Winners Announced

Posted on Friday, February 5th, 2016

Co-operative Education & Career Services Announces the Recipients of the 2015 Co-op Awards

Each year, Co-operative Education & Career Services at the University of Guelph recognizes the success of Co-op Students and Employers with three different awards. All of these awards will be presented at the Co-op Awards reception to be held on Thursday March 10, 2016, from 4-6pm at Cutten Fields.  

 

The 2015 Co-op Student of the Year in Commerce & Social and Applied Human Sciences is Andrew Crawford.   In his role as Communications Coordinator, among other tasks, Andrew completed a key project of implementing a new way of advertising course offerings to RBC employees that went on to receive accolades from users of the site when it launched.  Grace Baker, Senior Instructional Designer for RBC Royal Bank nominated Andrew.  “Andrew was able to take his learning, along with his University education in marketing and successfully target his communications to the appropriate audience.”  Now back on campus for his final year of study, Andrew continues his work with his former co-op employer as an RBC Student Ambassador, where he acts as RBC’s liaison and connects RBC to campus related events.

 

 

The 2015 Co-op Student of the Year in Science & Engineering is Christopher Muirhead.  Nominated by Steve Brown, Canada East Surface Water Lead at Stantec ConsultingLtd., Chris is currently a 5th year Water Resources Engineering co-op student. Chris worked in a variety of roles during his work term at Stantec Consulting Ltd., the most significant as an environmental advisor which included monitoring contractors work to ensure environmental setbacks and requirements were adhered to.  “Chris has demonstrated a commitment to excellence throughout his work term at Stantec.  He consistently seizes opportunities to learn, whether simply asking questions while working on a project or volunteering his time to attend webinars and other learning sessions.”

 

 

This year’s recipient of the Collin Cureatz Memorial Award for Co-op Student Involvement is Brittney McManus. The Collin Cureatz Memorial Award recognizes a co-op student who has contributed to the betterment of the University of Guelph co-op program or to co-op student life during 2015. Established in 1999, the award was renamed in 2008 in honour and remembrance of exemplary co-op student Collin Cureatz. Brittney is a recent graduate from the Psychology co-op program and was nominated by Sinead Artem, Marketing & Website Coordinator for Co-operative Education & Career Services, “Brittney has made many outstanding contributions during her work terms, as a peer helper, and through her work on the Accessibility committee. Like Collin, Brittney has achieved excellent marks, was an outstanding co-op student, and enthusiastic peer helper. She is passionate about the co-op program, and helping others secure meaningful work.”

 

 

The recipient of the 2015 National Co-op Employer of the Year Award is The City of Mississauga, Environmental Services Section. Hiring over 60 students since 2002, The City of Mississauga has propelled the success of the co-op program for students, specifically in the environmental field. Student nominators, Amanda Anderson and Neena Raj were provided with exceptional training, support, and most importantly, the space to grow during their work terms.  Amanda explains, "from the first day I walked into the office, this section has been extremely welcoming, supportive and passionate about facilitating professional growth for their students by allowing students to pursue their own environmental interests within the City and providing many other chances to collaborate with other departments"

The recipient of the 2015 Guelph Co-op Employer of the Year Award is Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. With their headquarters based in Guelph, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has been hiring co-op students from the University of Guelph for over 20 years.  In the past four years alone, they have posted 28 different co-op positions, and hired students from a variety of programs into 35 co-op terms. They have demonsted their dedication in supporting the University as well as the local community by providing co-op students with exceptional educational experiences. Student nominator, Jordan Winberg says “Working as a co-op student for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in the Guelph Food Research Centre provided me with a unique experiential learning opportunity.  I had the chance to meet and collaborate with other student research assistants as well as full-time professional researchers.  The workplace environment of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada encourages integration of students from day one, giving us a sense of belonging and that our contributions are meaningful”.

Congratulations to all the winners and nominees. Click here to see a full list of student and employer nominees.