Show-offs ... and proud of it
At first glance the Institute for Co-operative Education’s annual showcase might look like a science fair; however, any homespun volcanoes or rough rockets were turned away, replaced by branding studies and labour reports.
Among faculty, staff and representatives from partner businesses at the Co-op Awards of Recognition on May 25, marketing co-op student David Mitchell was one of 35 students in the John Molson School of Business (JMSB) lobby. He was selected among co-op students to participate in the student showcase.
“It’s a nice space to have a glass of wine and walk around. Students were in a circle, delivering two- or three-minute speeches about what they learned,” says Mitchell, who received an Employer’s Choice Award at the event. “I think it’s a great way to show off the students in the program as well as the program.”
Mitchell used his time and space to share what he gleaned from his three work terms as part of the co-op program.
Mitchell spent his first work term doing brand management for Nivea Cosmetics at Beiersdorf. “It was a great opportunity and they were a great company,” says Mitchell, who studies marketing at the JMSB. “They hire a lot of co-op students and they gave me the opportunity to do a lot of research, as well as deliver presentations and reports. That’s an experience I wouldn’t have had otherwise.”
Mitchell also worked for the international toy company MEGA Brands and an accounting firm.
Unlike previous years when PowerPoint was used, this year’s edition of the showcase saw students stand beside posters to create more interaction with attendees.
Another marketing student, Patricia Chammaa, has been working on the awards event and showcase since April.
“It’s totally different, when you are looking at it from the student perspective and from the employee perspective,” says Chammaa, who will be graduating in June. “I now realize the lengths that the co-op program goes to get the students’ information. You also need to follow up with the students constantly and make sure that everything is on cue.”
Chammaa spent most of the past two months with a team from the co-op program putting together the posters for the showcase. She has helped get the text, graphics and an image of each presenter, sometimes an exhausting task.
“It’s very rewarding and I was glad to be at an event where we could all be together,” says Chammaa. Both Chammaa and Mitchell hope the evening will encourage companies that don’t usually hire business students to consider the JMSB when they hire for their next round of co-op work terms.
“The co-op program was the main reason I went to Concordia over McGill,” says Mitchell. “I was accepted at both, but I knew that the co-op program had a strong reputation of matching work experience with academic skills.”
Entering a competitive job market, Mitchell says that his year of work experiences helps push him ahead of the crowd.