Co-operative education is a family affair

What started as a few questions by a Cegep student during the winter of 2009 has turned into 11 work terms through the Institute for Co-operative Education at Concordia University.

 

There were four terms for marketing co-op graduate Michelle Dabora, three each for her brothers, accountancy co-op students Ariel Dabora and Daniel Dabora, and one for their father, Roni Dabora, the employer of a human resource management co-op student.

 

Michelle is the family trailblazer. “I first learned about the co-op option at the Concordia Open House,” she says. “I spoke to the representatives at the booth about the benefits of co-operative education and was immediately drawn to the idea of getting field/applied experience in my field of study. This was also one of the main reasons I chose to study at Concordia.”

 

In addition to the variety of experience accrued during her co-op work terms, the quality of the work Michelle completed made an impression not only with her employers but also at home. “My dad was very impressed after my first work term at the Atwater Library,” she says. “I think he saw that I had major responsibilities and was completing tasks related to marketing that would be applicable in my future career.” 

 

Michelle also worked at the Foundation of Stars and for the Government of Canada in Ottawa.

 

Ariel and Daniel joined co-op the year after their sister, and both chose the accountancy program. Daniel is finishing a work term in the Sustainability Action Fund, a not-for-profit organization. He also worked at TCS, a Montreal-based customs brokerage firm, and did a summer work term at accounting firm Richter, where he will work after graduation next year. “I have really enjoyed having the chance to work in the area in which I have been studying,” he says. 

 

Ariel took a slightly different path. For his first work term, he opened and managed a boutique for Casansa Design, an Italian imports company. He is currently completing the final of two work terms at Accedian Networks. Financial analysis and reporting are an important part of his duties. “Co-op has helped out a lot along the way in terms of the process and support they provided me in finding jobs,” he says. “Moving forward, the experience I gained is very valuable.”

 

Spurred by his children’s successes, Roni, general manager at Premium Meats, hired a human resources management co-op student to consolidate and update the company’s policy manual. “We have a small production plant, and we needed our binder to be customized to our needs. We could have hired a consultant, but by hiring a co-op student we were able to access someone who was learning everything that was happening in the industry and was up-to-date with current practices.” Dabora was very pleased with the results. “I’ve suggested co-op to at least three companies I’m involved with,” he said.

 

While participation in co-op is a common thread in this family, there are other familial similarities. In addition to having a sense of adventure, each sibling has given back to Concordia and to the co-op program. Michelle took the bold step of leaving home to complete two work terms in Ottawa. Ariel and Daniel studied abroad in the south of France. Ariel participated on the John Molson School of Business Faculty Council, was an independent director on the Commerce and Administration Students Association and on the Board of Directors of the Concordia Student Union. Daniel served two years as vice-president finance of Hillel Concordia and, like his sister Michelle, was involved in the co-op mentorship program both as mentee and mentor. Michelle also exhibited at the Co-op Student Showcase, and was a member of the speakers’ panel for the 2012 Co-op Orientation in front of some 400 co-op students across all disciplines.

 

Most important, each member of the Dabora family has enjoyed added value from Concordia’s Institute for Co-operative Education. Says Michelle: “It was very interesting to have Ari and Daniel in co-op at the same time as me. I was able to give them advice on the process and help them write their cover letters and resumes. It seemed that everyone in the co-op office that I hadn’t met knew my brothers and would quickly recognize our name. It was fun for us to all be involved in the same thing together!”

 

• Concordia's Institute for Co-operative Education