Featured Student: Kevin Gu
November 16, 2023
November 16, 2023
I am a Combined Major in Business and Computer Science and plan to graduate in May 2026.
I enrolled in Co-op because I wanted to explore my opportunities and see which career paths were available, by gaining practical experience in different roles.
As someone who didn't have a technical/computer science background, the Co-op program gave me good exposure to different industries, while still maintaining my student status.
In addition, being able to use the U-Pass while working is a huge plus.
I currently have worked two placements as of the summer after second year. The first was a 4-month placement at Cyberium Group, a governance, risk and compliance start-up.
The second was as a full-stack software dev co-op at ICBC, which will be for 8 months. For ICBC, I work on the RPA (Robotic Process Automation) team.
My favourite experience was the summer event, with our entire division, at my second co-op term at ICBC. I got to meet a lot of people in my division and we all enjoyed a meal together.
I think it was at Cyberium, when I helped with ideation for a new product/line of business.
I created pitch decks, logo mock-ups and a few proof-of-concepts of what the product could look like.
It felt like an accomplishment, because I had an impact and contributed as a member of the team.
Managing the job search/internship grind while working at the same time challenged me.
It was challenging to get home from work to apply for MORE jobs and also hard to do interviews during work hours.
I overcame this by being transparent with my managers. You'll come to see that your managers care about your own career progression and understand that you'll be going somewhere else after the internship, too.
Co-op taught me the soft skills and workplace manners that you need in the workplace. How you carry yourself and being a meaningful contributor to the team is something that comes with experience, but you can build that up for yourself with initiatives/community involvement at school too!
It gave me the opportunity to explore different career paths and fields, while still having the safety of retaining my student status. My placements allowed me, as a Combined Major in Business and Computer Science student to explore both the technical and business parts of my career.
Don't be afraid to reach out to people you want to talk to! That's really it.
I unfortunately don't know; I'm relatively early in my career and still exploring the possibilities and opportunities that are out there.
We honour xwməθkwəy̓ əm (Musqueam) on whose ancestral, unceded territory UBC Vancouver is situated. UBC Science is committed to building meaningful relationships with Indigenous peoples so we can advance Reconciliation and ensure traditional ways of knowing enrich our teaching and research.
Learn more: Musqueam First Nation