UPEI 2008 Cooperative Education Students of the Year honoured
The UPEI Co-operative Education Student of the Year Awards for 2008 were awarded to three students on Wednesday, March 25, at a special event held in Don and McDougall Hall.
The guest speaker of the event was Dave Perry, Director of Radiology Information Systems Research and Development, for Carestream Health Group in Summerside. His presentation focused on the importance of having interdisciplinary skills, coming to work with the right attitude and being able to work well in a team.
The 2008 Co-op Student of the Year Award for Business went to Julie Mutch of Earnscliffe, who recently completed her 2007-2008 work term at the Greater Charlottetown Area Chamber of Commerce. As special events and communications assistant at the Chamber, she worked on several projects including monthly business mixers, fundraising and sponsorship events, and the members' magazine. Previous work terms included working with UPEI's Advancement Services and Service Canada's Communications Division. She will graduate in May 2009 with her Bachelor of Business Administration from UPEI. She is currently employed with Service Canada in its Nova Scotia-PEI Integrity Services Division and is involved in her community.
Nathan Christensen of North Wiltshire, received the Co-operative Education Student of the Year Award for Computer Science. A third-year mathematics and computer science student, Christensen worked at in the Provincial Treasury's Infrastructure Information Technology Shared Services Division for his 2007-2008 work term. He produced an online database for the division that has proven to be a valuable tool for the server team. He is keenly interested in computer gaming and was pleased to experience the infrastructure behind a large organization. This May, he will begin an eight-month work term with Longtail Studios, a developer of video games, at their Charlottetown studio in the Atlantic Technology Centre. He will graduate in 2011.
Carolyn Ward of Springfield, Nova Scotia, won the Co-operative Education Student of the Year Award for Physics. A fourth year physics co-op student, Ward worked at Defense Research & Development Canada in Dartmouth in 2007-2008 where she was involved in a complex sonar classifier project. Her work earned her recognition as co-author on a paper being presented to the Acoustical Society of America. Previous work terms were at Omega AAT Wind Site in Quebec and the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Dartmouth. An award-winning student, she tutors grade 10-12 students in math and physics. Ward is a member of the UPEI Physics Society and the Atlantic Undergraduate Physics and Astronomy Conference planning committee, and is involved in her community. She will graduate in 2010.
The recipients are selected based upon a variety of achievements -- job performance, academic performance, academic/school involvement, writing skills, responsibility, and particular contributions to their employers during co-operative education work terms.
For more information, please contact the UPEI Co-operative Education Office at (902) 628-4395.
Photo: Award recipients from left are Carolyn Ward, physics; Nathan Christensen, computer science; and Julie Mutch, business. Looking on is guest speaker Dave Perry (right), Director of Radiology Information Systems Research and Development for Carestream Health Group in Summerside.
