Honouring AC Co-op Students on the National Day of Work-Integrated Learning

Posted on Wednesday, March 23rd, 2022

The National Co-op and Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) Month in March showcases the value of co-op programs across Canada. On March 23, the National Day of WIL, we celebrate Algonquin College learners currently on co-op placements, as well as a recent co-op program graduate.

Shifting from a career in business to programing, Sukayna Dawd applied to the co-op version of the Web Development and Internet Applications program to acquire practical experience in the industry. Now in her second and final year, Dawd will complete her two co-op terms at Nokia before her final study semester in Fall 2022.

“I thought I could add more to my resume by getting actual experience to get my foot through the door,” said Dawd. “I had my eyes set on a private company for my co-op terms because I’ve had government experience and wanted to know what it was like to work in the private sector.”

In her Nokia co-op placement, Dawd is gaining on-the-job skills by working with software such as React, a front-end JavaScript library and GitHub, an Internet-hosting provider for collaborative software development.

“This placement helped me learn new things and be comfortable with the unknown,” she said. “This is one of the main traits someone who’s trying to enter the IT field needs to have, because no matter how much experience you have, there’s always more to learn.”

Dan Johnston wanted to further his education following completion of a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Justice and Peace Studies at King’s University College at Western University. He applied for the Technical Writer program at Algonquin College after researching positive reviews from program graduates. The co-op version of the program appealed to him to acquire practical experience in the industry. Now in his final semester, Johnston will graduate this spring.

“I think a co-op is quite vital to learning the realm of technical writing,” said Johnston. “Once you learn all the skills in the classroom, you can really apply those skills to the workplace and knowing how these skills help in the workplace can further your career.”

In his current co-op placement at Nokia, Johnston is working with a team of six writers located throughout North America. He is learning authoring tools like Oxygen XML Editor and working on customer documentation for SR Linux, a network operating system.

“One thing I really wanted to understand was how multinational corporations are able to work together and what it was like to work for such a big organization,” said Johnston.

As student ambassadors in their co-op placement with Nokia, Dawd and Johnston organize events for the semester’s co-op students to connect virtually outside of the workplace. Events range from breakout room chats, trivia with prizes and company guest speakers, including Luis Maestro, principal engineer of the Nokia LTE/4G network being deployed on the Moon in late 2022.

A graduate of the Computer Programmer program, Katarzyna (Kasia) Gocal was recently awarded the Student Changemaker Award for her establishment of the Women In Computer Science Club at Algonquin College. After completing two co-op terms with Nokia and graduating in December 2021, she was offered a position with the company as a software designer, programming with ReactJS, TypeScript, Java and other state-of-the-art technologies.

“I ended up working for Nokia full-time while I was on my second co-op placement with them,” said Gocal. “It reassured me that this is the job I want to do and allowed me to expand my network.”

Gocal is grateful for the career resources she received as a learner at Algonquin College. From interview preparations with her co-op officer, career coaching at the Employment Support Centre, to workshops with the Student Leadership Program, various teams at the College supported Gocal to achieve her career goals.

“Algonquin College has transformed my hopes and dreams into success, now it’s my job to let it last,” she said. “AC is not just a college, it’s a game changer and if you take advantage of the services that are offered you will succeed, I guarantee, just trust the process.”

Click here to learn more about co-op programs at Algonquin College.


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