Since joining Akelius Canada in 2016, Jeffrey Huang, (BAcc \u201910) has been responsible for hiring 21 co-op students from Brock University.<\/p>\n
For his willingness to go above and beyond to advocate for his alma mater, and provide opportunities for students, Huang has been named this year\u2019s recipient of the Brock University Alumni Co-op Employer Award.<\/p>\n
It was one of a series of awards handed out by Brock\u2019s office of Co-op, Career and Experiential Education team, as well as Alumni Relations recently.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing a Brock alumnus, giving back is very important to me,\u201d Huang said. \u201cBrock has provided me the knowledge to succeed in my professional life, so I want to provide the same to its future students.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen hiring from Brock University, we know that all the candidates are very strong both from a knowledge perspective and also personality\/attitude\/professional perspective,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have interviewed and hired students from other co-op programs, but their quality of work cannot be compared to Brock students.\u201d<\/p>\n
Huang initiated the recruitment engagement between Akelius and Brock. Many of the 21 co-op hires he was responsible for had extended work terms, and many were international students with little or no Canadian work experience. Huang made a conscious effort to discover their potential and provide them with an opportunity.<\/p>\n
He said many international students bring a different perspective as a result of their work experience from their home countries.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing an international student, it can be extremely challenging to get your foot in the door,\u201d said Huang. \u201cI have first-hand experience with this. And my wife, who was a Brock international student, had a really hard time finding her first job.\u201d<\/p>\n
Huang said, in his experience, international students have \u201cgreat work ethics and attitude.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot only do they complete their work on time with great quality, but they are always willing to learn more and take on more responsibilities,\u201d he said. \u201cOne thing I have noticed from being a manager is that you can teach your staff many things, but you can\u2019t teach them attitude.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tess Sun (MBA \u201918),\u00a0a former co-op student now working full time at Akelius, said Huang \u201cprovides an exceptional student work term experience term after term.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cMore than half of the co-op students land full-time jobs after their terms here,\u201d Sun said. \u201cNot only does Jeff create a successful learning opportunity and supportive working environment, but he leads by example, showing team spirit, caring and professionalism. Being an outstanding mentor, Jeff offers tremendous help to our career path and professional designation as well.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to the Huang\u2019s award, other awards were also handed out:<\/p>\n