2024 Co-op Student of the Year Awards

• First Prize: $1000
• Second Prize: $500
• Third Prize: $250

These prizes are awarded in recognition of the exceptional work and contributions these students have made during their co-op placement.

Winter 2024 co-op term with Stemcell Technologies

During two co-op placements, including in winter 2024, fourth-year biochemistry student Stéphanie Belliveau worked with pluripotent stem cell (PSC)-derived liver organoids, which are used to predict how a patient may respond to a drug, designing a scoring system to evaluate culture quality. When she noticed defects in some of the cultures, Stéphanie systematically monitored and tracked samples, which identified and resolved the issue. All of this while maintaining a CGPA of 9.86 and competing on the Gee-Gees alpine ski team from 2020 to 2023. In November 2024, she also competed with uOttawa’s Triathlon Club against other universities at the Queen’s Triathlon Invitational.

Stéphanie is currently conducting research on colorectal cancer cells in the laboratory of uOttawa assistant professor Dr. Yannick Benoît.

“Her diligent efforts not only safeguarded the integrity of our research but also led to the timely resolution of the problem, ensuring uninterrupted progress in our projects.” — Jennifer Christie, Stemcell Technologies supervisor.

Winter 2024 co-op term with the Department of National Defence

The power of mathematics was enlisted by fourth-year computer science and mathematics student Jack Quirion to create a model simulating the career paths of Royal Canadian Air Force pilots and apply it to a specific fleet that was undergoing changes. He also created a Python web tool based on the model that helped RCAF decision makers. Jack’s model led to him being the first author of a research paper on the subject, which was accepted for the 2024 Winter Simulation Conference.

With a GPA of 9.97, Jack has mentored high school students in mathematics and computer science as a volunteer for two years with Scholars Inc. and he’s training to compete in a full Ironman competition this year. Jack seems well on his way to achieving his dream of pursuing a PhD in theoretical computer science.

“Jack is a highly capable, motivated and personable individual. In a few short months, he effortlessly became an effective team member and productive employee, quickly learning the required skills in a specialized context (military).” — Jillian Henderson, Canadian Department of National Defence.

Winter 2024 co-op term with Department of Finance Canada
 

How do you handle the media on federal budget day? After supporting Finance Canada’s media relations team during the Budget 2024 media lockup, fourth-year communications and sociology student Katie Rodger has the professional know-how. She recruited volunteers from various government departments to assist, facilitated training sessions and prepared communications products. 
 

During her time with Finance Canada, she also prepared monthly media relations reports, statistics and media lines, demonstrating a level of professionalism that was invaluable to the team. Indeed, her co-op supervisor said Katie stepped in as a professional when the team was short-staffed, demonstrating “great understanding of government processes and policies, and a natural gift for public relations.” Katie maintained a 9.2 CGPA on top of volunteering with UNICEF uOttawa and as a note-taker helping students with learning accommodations. She also took four classes a week with the uOttawa Dance Club.

“Katie is fully operating at a professional level and has exceeded all our expectations.” — Caroline Theriault, Department of Finance Canada supervisor.

Fall 2024 co-op term with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
 

Third-year civil law student Émile Carpentier developed his skills in privacy law and administrative law during his placement, drafting investigation reports on decisions made by federal institutions. He did such a great job that he signed a part-time contract to continue working there as he studies. 
 

Émile credits some of his success to his unique professional career path, having worked for two years as an educator specializing in dependency, helping people with substance use disorders and suicidal tendencies at the CISSSO (Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de l’Outaouais) in Gatineau. The experience taught him how to take the initiative and adapt to complex situations. With a CGPA of 8.79, Émile also worked with people experiencing homelessness while on a placement with the Clinique interdisciplinaire en droit social de l’Outaouais (CIDSO), co-founded by uOttawa professors, reinforcing his interest in providing judicial support to marginalized groups.

“Right from the start, he was resourceful and autonomous, going beyond the tasks we assigned him.” — Julie Duguay, Office of the Privacy Commissioner supervisor.

Winter 2024 and summer 2024 co-op terms with KPMG
 

An international student from Mauritius, Aatiqah Auleear, now in her fourth year of a BCom in accounting, is proud that eight months of successful co-op placements with KPMG have led to her securing a full-time contract with KPMG as a senior auditor as of January 2025. 
 

In addition to gaining experience on diverse files across multiple industries, such as financial services, technology, manufacturing and non-profit organizations, Aatiquah led client meetings and created testing procedures. She says an exceptional opportunity to work closely with audit partner Bailey Church on ESG-related files fuelled her passion for sustainability and showed how auditors can have an impact on communities by promoting accountability and ethical practices. With a CGPA of 8.92, Aatiqah also volunteered with the Benevolent Club, supporting special education opportunities for disadvantaged children, and was a student ambassador for the University of Ottawa.

“She is keen to learn and explore, raises the right questions and concerns, comes up with a solution. Our clients like to have her in the field because she brings a positive vibe.” — Ruchika Ahuja, KPMG supervisor

Summer 2024 co-op term with PCL Construction
 

Fourth-year communications student Zach Lee says he followed in his father’s footsteps by coming to uOttawa in 2020, although his passion is communications, not mathematics like his dad. He thrived in virtual classes throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, achieving a 10 GPA in fall 2022 and completing all of his compulsory courses while working part-time for StatsCan, where he helped publish two external newsletters. 
 

During his co-op term last summer with PCL Construction, a 100% employee-owned company, he scripted, filmed and edited a three-part series of how-to videos to inform staff about a big office move, among other projects. The videos received high praise from his teammates, even though he had never done videography or editing before and had to learn those skills himself.

“Zach has shown that not only does he have the ability to excel in communications, but he’s got the drive for learning that puts him head and shoulders above his peers.” — Margaret Sheridan, PCL Construction

Winter 2024 co-op term with Health Canada
 

Brianna Arundine, a master of arts student at the Graduate School of Public Policy and International Affairs, received high praise for contributions during a placement with Health Canada. Brianna managed complex work with little guidance, developing definitions and performance indicators across several projects, thus ensuring that Indigenous anti-racism projects maintained their integrity for the communities they serve. Brianna showed exceptional dedication, a strong work ethic, a keen eye for detail and a proactive approach, consistently going above and beyond to support the team. 

Brianna was also awarded the 2022 Pearson Scholarship and works at a teaching assistant at the University of Ottawa.