Engineering Co-op and Career Services (ECCS) is introducing 18 Co-op Ambassadors to increase engagement and build a stronger community spirit amongst members of the engineering co-op community.
The abrupt transition into an online world left co-op students with many questions. How do I stand out in an online interview? What are best practices for virtual networking events? How can I find a co-op in this challenging job market?
This year, the biggest cohort of ambassadors were recruited to provide students with additional support and to help answer these questions.
“The Co-op Ambassador team is here to support fellow students in their pursuit of experiential learning opportunities,” said Julee Minniti, a Lead Co-op Ambassador.
“We are passionate about assisting our peers by answering questions, sharing our co-op experiences, and by connecting students to our Engineering Co-op and Career Services and other McMaster resources.”
Co-op ambassadors will help at virtual events such as the Co-op Return to Campus event, employer meet and greets, career fairs, and open houses. They will also share bi-monthly career tips and new opportunities on social media.
The co-op program provides students with the opportunity to gain valuable skills, apply their academic knowledge, and get engineering work experience before they graduate. In the 2019/2020 year, McMaster Engineering students completed a record total of 3,500 co-op work terms.
“With our program growing, we decided to expand our relationship with the student community and invite student representatives to support our team in our faculty, employer, and student facing activities,” said Sam Stewart, Career Development and Relationship Manager at ECCS.
The co-op ambassador program was launched in 2019 and is now in its second year. Stewart and ECCS Career Resource Coordinator, Elysia Somogyvari are leading this initiative.
Here are the 2020/2021 co-op ambassadors. Meet them at virtual events and connect with them on LinkedIn to stay updated.
Name Program
Josh Lawrence Lead Ambassador
Julee Minniti Lead Ambassador
CJ Chaunkaria BTech – Automation Engineering Technology
Jordan Di Pietro BTech – Automotive and Vehicle Engineering Technology
Harsh Patel BTech – Biotechnology
Gurkeerat Gill Btech – Gentech representative
Tracy Huynh Chemical Engineering Co-op
Rania Murshed Civil Engineering
Alex Austin Computer Engineering Co-op
Shervin Manzuri Shalmani (Graduate) Computer Science
Fuad Ali Electrical Engineering
Desmond Kennedy Engineering Physics Co-op
Maddison Konway Materials Engineering Co-op
Leisha Fernando Mechanical Engineering Co-op
Colleen Lam Mechatronics Engineering Co-op
Jason Li Software Engineering Co-op
Ariana Hurley iBioMed
Prakhar Garg Graduate (Computer Engineering)
