Cooperative Education Program
I began the Cooperative Education Program (Co-op) at the University of Manitoba in September 2014. I completed the first portion of the course at the end of April 2015 and finished the second portion in December 2016 once a technical presentation based on my job experience was completed.
The Co-op Program allows for real work experience in the environmental field while earning an undergraduate degree. The benefits of this program are numerous considering what a great learning and networking opportunity it presents. Co-op provides the tools and opportunities to improve professionalism both on paper, in resumes, cover letters, and also in person with skills necessary for communication and interviews. The Cooperative Education Program has allowed me to be knowledgeable about different environmental professions and their roles. Also to be effective in communicating my various skills and how they can be applied and integrated into a company’s set positions. In addition, to identify the requirements of a job posting and customize my resume and cover letter to describe how my accomplishments fit the company. The program also allowed me to create this online accessible professional portfolio to describe my achievements and goals throughout my university experience. Co-op is the reason this online professional portfolio/website was created, first as part of an assignment and has now expanded due to new experiences and skills acquired. Details on Work Placements: |
As part of the co-operative option in my undergraduate program, I worked with the Province of Manitoba in the Wildlife Branch, participating in a variety of field work as a Game Bird Technician, which included but was not limited to, waterfowl breeding bird surveys, Snow and Ross’s goose dissections, Canada goose banding and duck banding, WMA assessments along with copious amounts of meticulous data entry. For more details on this work placement please click "2016: Game Bird Tech".
In addition to my employment with the province, I also worked with a graduate student as an Avian Technician after successfully receiving a National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada Undergraduate Student Research Award (NSERC USRA) where we researched blood parasites and fragmentation on Golden-winged Warblers in Manitoba. For additional details on this work placement please click "2015: Avian Tech". |