Featured Student: Anastasia Lee
October 28, 2024
October 28, 2024
I'm studying Food, Nutrition and Health and will be graduating in Spring 2026.
I'm also planning on adding a minor to my degree.
To be completely transparent, my initial reason for joining Co-op was because most of my friends had told me about it and how they planned to apply. I truly have to give them my thanks for motivating me to do the same. This opportunity will certainly be remembered as one of the highlights of my time at UBC.
Aside from their persuasion, I also did some deep-dive research into the UBC Science Co-op program for further insight and learned about the opportunities that Co-op could provide. I felt that this would be a good opportunity to explore some job fields and apply parts of the knowledge that I gained from my UBC courses. There was also the aspect of getting a taste of what life after university may hold.
Exploring this opportunity allowed me to envision how I could grow professionally and personally.
Over my time in Co-op, I had the chance to work in two very different positions. The first was with Fraser Health Authority, under Infection Prevention and Control as a Regional Hand Hygiene Auditor.
With the length of time I spent in this position, I also had the opportunity to work with different cohorts of Co-op students, both learning from and teaching each other. The position entailed a mixture of corporate and healthcare work environments and tasks. Some days, I would be at the main Fraser Health office working on administrative tasks and taking part in meetings. Other days were spent at various hospitals and long-term care facilities under Fraser Health, conducting audits and providing training sessions to healthcare workers.
My second and last position was with Pacific Coast Terminals, under the Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety team as an Environmental Intern. This was a very different position and environment in comparison with my first Co-op position. During my time there, among other things, I had the opportunity to learn about the environmental and occupational health and safety initiatives that were being taken and contributed to those that I could.
Often, my responsibilities included various administrative tasks, such as preparations and improvements for upcoming audits. I familiarized myself with relevant, diverse legislation, utilized my creativity when I could and put my brain to work.
This may sound overused, but with both positions, my favourite experience has to be all of the people that I had the opportunity to meet and connect with.
At the end of the day, I can confidently say that neither of my experiences would have been the same without them and that I made some lifelong friends along the way. Though the work was overwhelming at times, the company of my teams and co-workers made it worthwhile, especially when all worked through our struggles and problem-solved together.
Getting to talk with and hear from others in different fields of work also provided great insight into other available career options.
From my overall Co-op experience, I would have to say that my best achievements would be my self-initiative and teaching myself new Excel coding skills.
While at Pacific Coast Terminals, I had the opportunity to take part in researching waste tracking systems and ultimately created one myself, through Excel, for the company to utilize.
There were many ups and downs with this task, but in the end it became a proud achievement. All the trial and error involved in creating this file likely made this outcome even more memorable, as I think of it as a challenge that I was able to conquer.
The largest challenge that I faced would be getting used to the work environment and how the companies function.
I would say that this was especially true for my first Co-op placement, as there were multiple environments that I had to get used to. Familiarizing myself with numerous hospitals, the drive to them, the unit names and locations and developing the ability to recognize and categorize various healthcare workers were not skills achieved overnight.
Even by the end of my placement with Fraser Health Authority, I still learned new things, as the position always had new changes happening. That being said, I'm glad that I developed the mentioned skills and familiarity, as those were all pieces of knowledge that I passed on to new and future Co-ops.
Co-op played a large role in my personal growth over the past 16 months and still does to this day. I can’t imagine where I would currently be, had I not been part of Co-op and worked in the positions I had.
Through this experience, I would like to believe that I became stronger as an individual and gained abundant knowledge among other things. I would also have to attribute some of my personal growth to the people I have met along my Co-op journey, since things would have been much different had I not learned from and worked with them.
Co-op opened more thoughts and options than what I started the program knowing.
It has also been a good learning experience to navigate through different work environments, which in turn also helped me realize some of my desires within a future position and my dislikes as well.
The biggest support would be having my designated Co-op coordinator, Sanya, supporting me and having her as a main point of contact for Co-op-related topics. Having someone behind me was very reassuring, especially when going into uncharted new territory as a university student in a professional work placement.
The workshops provided were also very resourceful as a whole and led to finding and preparing for Co-op placements themselves.
These sessions contained abundant information on helpful topics, including resumes and interview skills, which I found to be especially helpful.
The most important advice I would give future Co-op students would be: be open to different positions and be open-minded.
Yes, you may go into this wanting to find your future dream job, but even if you don’t, each position that you attain will without a doubt be an irreplaceable learning experience. You will have the opportunity to learn more about yourself, your likes and dislikes and overall grow as an individual.
Starting a new position may be daunting, especially if no other students or Co-ops are working with you, but remember that your employer also knows that you're a student who's still learning as they go, rather than an industry expert who has been in the position for years.
Take this experience to learn what you can and don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone to make the most out of your time there.
After graduation, I'm looking forward to seeing where the future will take me both personally and professionally.
I'm eager to apply the skills and knowledge previously attained, along with new ones I'll have gained between finishing Co-op and graduation.
I'm excited to step into a professional role, aligning with my experiences and passions, where I can continue to grow and learn.
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Learn more: Musqueam First Nation