{"id":50014,"date":"2018-03-20T12:35:48","date_gmt":"2018-03-20T16:35:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=50014"},"modified":"2018-03-20T12:45:30","modified_gmt":"2018-03-20T16:45:30","slug":"brock-announces-recipients-of-co-ops-highest-honour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2018\/03\/brock-announces-recipients-of-co-ops-highest-honour\/","title":{"rendered":"Brock announces recipients of Co-op’s highest honour"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s no set mould for co-op excellence.<\/span><\/p>\n

Meghan Birbeck and Jake Berec are from different hometowns, studying different programs and at different points in their Brock careers. But they share a common bond \u2014 winning Co-op Student of the Year.<\/span><\/p>\n

The prestigious Brock honour will be awarded to both students on Thursday, March 22 at the Co-op Recognition and Celebration Luncheon where the above-and-beyond effort the winners put in while completing their work terms will be highlighted.<\/span><\/p>\n

For Birbeck, a 24-year-old Master of Sustainability student originally from Guelph, the journey to co-op success required determination from the outset.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTo get to my work term at the Town of Lincoln, I had to use public transit or ride my bike,\u201d she said. \u201cThe trip took me nearly two hours each way.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

However, once she arrived on the job, Birbeck made the most of every opportunity she was given as the Town\u2019s master of sustainability intern.<\/span><\/p>\n

As well as completing the tasks assigned to her by the Town\u2019s planning, development and public works department, she pursued additional projects and exceeded expectations.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was invested in learning from those around me and contributing to what they were doing as well,\u201d she said. \u201cThe council meetings I went to were not something I had to attend, but it showed the managers and directors that I was dedicated to learning what was going on and what we needed to do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The extra effort led to the chance to make a real impact in the community.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe mayor mentioned that she wanted a bylaw on trees,\u201d said Birbeck. \u201cSo I looked at other bylaws and then wrote one about tree removal. My success on that project led me to be included in the public transit working group and eventually to present my findings on public transit to town council.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While Birbeck was excelling at the Town of Lincoln, Berec, a 21-year-old Bachelor of Business Administration student in Brock’s Goodman School of Business, was making similar waves during his work term in RBC\u2019s Caribbean Banking digital team in Toronto.<\/span><\/p>\n

The team was tasked with building the online platform that all of RBC\u2019s clients in the Caribbean now use.<\/span><\/p>\n

To best contribute to the project\u2019s success, Berec knew that he needed to bring a fresh set of eyes to the task at hand.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think what led to my success was being able to dive in and take the lead on projects while not being afraid of breaking old processes and causing a little bit of disruption,\u201d said the Simcoe native. \u201cI brought value by giving a new perspective to old problems.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Berec used his co-op experience as an opportunity to improve his interpersonal skills.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was not the most outgoing person, but co-op has helped me break out of my shell and make my opinion heard when I can add value to a conversation,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Having received the highest honour the University can bestow on its co-op students, the pair hope to continue the legacy of the program by employing co-op students of their own some day.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI would definitely hire co-op students and I would try to make sure they were from Brock,\u201d said Berec.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hiring students offers employers the chance to build bonds with prospective hires in the early days of their career, he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Though neither winner is currently in a position to hire students themselves, they have learned from experienced leaders who will also be honoured by the University this year.<\/span><\/p>\n

Berec\u2019s RBC supervisor, Daniel Caplan, Senior Manager, Mobile Banking, and Birbeck\u2019s Town of Lincoln supervisor, Carrie Beatty, Senior Communications Advisor, will both receive formal recognition for their efforts as co-op supervisors during the Summer and Fall terms respectively.<\/span><\/p>\n

Berec attributes his success to support from the management teams as well as those who oversee co-op programming at Brock. \u201cI couldn\u2019t have done it without all of the support I had,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

While she will cherish the co-op award, Birbeck said it\u2019s the experience she received that is truly invaluable. She hopes to inspire others at the University to choose a co-op route.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great to have the theoretical background from your undergrad or master\u2019s, but if you want to get into a professional job or career you need to be able to show employers what you are able to actually do,\u201d she said. \u201cCo-op gives you the chance to get that professional experience.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Co-op Student of the Year presentation will take place Thursday, March 22 during the Co-op Recognition and Celebration Luncheon. The celebration will also recognize the Spring\/Summer and Fall terms distinguished co-op supervisors.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s no set mould for co-op excellence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":50018,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[39,3319,4052,1,4,38],"tags":[5050,5051,1727,607,522,594],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50014"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50014"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50014\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50020,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50014\/revisions\/50020"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}