Over four years, we’ve welcomed 36+ co-op students to join us on our mission towards a future of fulfilled potential (that’s 9+ co-op students per year). Each year, transitioning between terms means saying farewell to one cohort of co-op students and hello to another. Our co-op program is a natural investment for us, as we know work-integrated learning and skill development not only get students career-ready but elevates team success. We’re fortunate for our co-op students, whose ideas and fresh perspectives invigorate Orbis and the technologies you use. Faced with our current environment, we quickly adapted to remote onboarding/offboarding and a work-from-home co-op program. It’s proven to be a great success, and we’re thankful to our co-op students for their consistent performance, and willingness to learn and adapt. A part of what makes our co-op program effective is that we put people first. We recognize each member of our co-op team are unique individuals with distinct post-secondary learning experiences and skill development journeys. Priyanka Kundu Muomi, Evan Mulrooney, and Scott Da Silva spoke to us about their Orbis co-op experiences and unique higher learning and skill development journeys. Here’s what they said.
Meet Priyanka Kundu Muomi
1.
Q: What university or college are you attending, and what are you studying?
A: I am currently studying Software Quality Assurance and Test Engineering at Conestoga College.
2.
Q: What Orbis team are you a part of, and skills have you used in your work with us?
A: I am part of the Outcome team at Orbis. My work mostly involves testing the Outcome product. My typical day at Orbis would include testing JIRA tickets, testing the functionalities, writing test documents, etc. My academic knowledge of maintaining software quality and testing processes are helping me perform better at my job. Overall, in addition to software testing experience, my role requires me to have an inquisitive and persistent nature.
3.
Q: What’s the most rewarding thing about working at Orbis?
A: The best thing about working at Orbis is its supportive culture and the people I get to work with. As I started my co-op term during lockdown (due to Covid-19), I had to work-from-home from the very beginning. My whole idea of getting a professional experience out of my co-op term changed and I was nervous about how it would work to communicate remotely with my new coworkers. But as I started my co-op, my worries melted away. I received all the possible help and direction I could have hoped. This filled the gap of having a physical workplace and getting to meet my coworkers. Although I was hesitant to reach out to my coworkers, at first, the accepting and supportive culture at Orbis really made my transition as smooth as possible.
4.
Q: What is the most significant takeaway from your Co-op experience with Orbis?
A: My greatest achievement from working at Orbis is gaining confidence in my work. This co-op is my first exposure to a professional environment in my field. I am excited to finally apply all my academic knowledge. The abundance of professional and technical skills that I learned from this co-op made me confident in my ability to perform better in my career.
5.
Q: Do you have any advice for students looking to develop their skillsets right now?
A: Transitioning from an academic environment to a professional one is already challenging enough. Instead of burdening ourselves, thinking that we don’t have every skill set required, we should make learning a regular part of our lives. There is always going to be some skill that we don’t have. But as long as we are always ready to learn, that should not come in the way of succeeding.
Meet Evan Mulrooney
1.
Q: What university or college are you attending, and what are you studying?
A: I’m entering my last semester at Mohawk College in the Software Development program.
2.
Q: What team are you a part of and what skills have you had to use in your work with us?
A: I’m on the UI/UX team. This term, my work has involved improving accessibility, working with Outcome and Outcome Campus Connect, and participating in design meetings to identify ways to improve the end user’s experience.
3.
Q: What is the most rewarding thing about working at Orbis?
A: Everyone on the UI/UX team brings a different mix of skills to the table. I love contributing to something that I couldn’t build alone and knowing that our combined efforts resulted in a product that thousands of students across the country will interact with.
4.
Q: What is the most significant takeaway from your Co-op experience with Orbis?
A: A lot of programmers enjoy explaining why they made specific technical choices. Asking why they took a particular approach usually leads to an even better understanding of a problem than just asking how something works.
5.
Q: Do you have any advice for students looking to develop their skillsets right now?
A: If you aren’t taking good notes, now’s a good time to start. When you have an assignment in a school, or on the job, write out what you know and don’t know, who to ask, and what you should ask. Then, make sure you record the answer and why the task is essential in the first place. There are no stupid questions, but you’ll ask better ones if you figure out the who, what, and why in advance.
Meet Scott Da Silva
1.
Q: What university or college are you attending, and what are you studying?
A: I currently attend Mohawk College, and I’m studying Computer Systems Technology – Software Development
2.
Q: What Orbis team are you a part of, and skills have you had to use in your work with us?
A: As part of the UX/UI team, I’ve had to use my skills in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript – for the most part.
3.
Q: What’s the most rewarding thing about working at Orbis? What is the most challenging?
A: The most rewarding thing about working at Orbis is getting the opportunity to work on meaningful projects. Orbis makes everyone working here feel valuable, which I think goes a long way for morale. The most challenging thing would be working with code that I’ve never seen before. I’m learning new things every day, and I’m grateful for the team members who help me understand the code to complete tasks.
4.
Q: What is the most significant takeaway from your Co-op experience with Orbis?
A: The most significant takeaway from my Co-op experience with Orbis is the amount of knowledge and skills I’ve gained while working here. I feel as if my skills have improved significantly over my two work terms at Orbis.
5.
Q: Do you have any advice for students looking to develop their skillsets right now?
A: My advice would be to not be too hard on yourself and keep pushing. Not everything will come easy, and you just have to keep at it. Also, don’t be afraid to ask questions!
