Our co-op program started in 2010. Over the course of a decade, co-op students at Orbis have logged thousands of hours in the program and contributed greatly to our success. The Orbis co-op program involves learning, mentoring, training, and teaching, and is one of our most valued investments. In recent years, we’ve welcomed 9 co-op students annually (12 last year). Facilitating this program has given our leadership team direct experience understanding co-operative learning and a distinct appreciation for all that co-op team members bring to the betterment of our team.
We’re happy to say that we recruited our newest co-op team members, Ariel Chen, of Conestoga College (and, soon, Durham College), Lakshay (aka Lucky) Arora, of Conestoga College, Josh Russell, of Algonquin College, and Cedric Zheng, of Wilfrid Laurier University, and Alesia Lozito, also of Wilfrid Laurier University, through OCC again. The team is starting strong and we’re grateful to have them with us.
Experience matters. Meet the individuals gaining relevant work experience at Orbis!
Meet Ariel Chen, QA Tester
I currently live in Toronto. I studied computer application development at Conestoga College will soon take Artificial Intel Analysis at Durham College. My first professional field was Chemical engineering and Environmental engineering, which led me to 7 years of work experience in the semi-conduct industry.
I chose to take my co-op at Orbis because it has an excellent reputation, an open and friendly working environment, and the product is highly related to students’ daily life. (My instinct also told me that this would be a fantastic company for learning and working when I first interviewed Sandy and Mike.)
The skills I hope to attain during my co-op with Orbis include, networking, communications ( a challenge in a remote environment), automation testing, coding, manual testing, and culture adaption skills.
Meet Lakshay (aka Lucky) Arora, Automation Test Developer
I live in Waterloo, Ontario, and grew up in Jaipur, India. I did my Bachelor of Technology in computer science. After completing my bachelor’s, I started my career in the software engineering field and worked for 1.5 years in India. I came to Canada in December of 2019. Currently, I am pursuing a post-graduate certificate in software quality assurance and test engineering from Conestoga College. In my free time, I like to work on my skills, reading books, and I love to travel.
When seeking cooperative learning opportunities through OCC, I learned about Orbis and read all about its projects and required skills. I had always wanted to learn more about OCC and recognized that it was the perfect job to apply my education and acquire all the skills required to start a successful journey for my career.
So far, working with Orbis is going well. During my experience, I want to work more on my soft skills like problem solving, creativity and communication. I would like to thank Orbis, especially my supervisors Mike and Michael, for giving me such an amazing opportunity. I feel like I am making a difference while working as an Automation Test Developer which will improve the quality of Orbis’ software and look forward to learning more.
Meet Josh Russell, Technical Writer
My name is Josh Russell, and I live in the nation’s capital – Ottawa, Ontario. Currently, I am enrolled at Algonquin College in their Technical Writer Graduate Certificate. This co-op at Orbis is the final stage of the program as I am looking to finish in August.
It’s somewhat ironic I was hired at Orbis Communications. During my second semester, I used Orbis’ Outcome system for numerous things, namely applying to jobs, setting up career advising meetings, and interacting with the co-op coordinator. I never imagined that I would be hired by the same company responsible for my co-op job applications.
I am satisfied with this opportunity to gain real-world job experience at Orbis as technical writers often find themselves writing for software companies. This means my initiation into the field at Orbis has me gaining relevant and valuable experience writing on and dealing with a software program.
At Orbis, I am hoping to revise my writing skills. During my undergraduate and graduate degrees, I wrote numerous academic papers, cumulating into an M.A. Thesis. Writing Academic work for a particular audience is vastly different than writing technical documentation for a large audience. It is my hope that during my time at Orbis I am able to refine my writing ability to conform to the ideals and needs within the Technical Writing field.
Meet Cedric Zheng, Junior UI/UX Product Designer
I live in Brantford and am currently in my last year finishing my Bachelor of Design degree in User Experience Design with a Business Technology Management Option at Wilfrid Laurier University. Growing up, I was always interested in the arts and how technology impacts people’s behaviors. It made me think about how new and innovative technologies have the potential to create joy and curiosity in people, and that by designing everyday technology in new and interesting ways, I could inspire that same joy and curiosity in day-to-day life.
When I started looking for my potential co-op job, the opportunity of working at Orbis came across. I did some research and realized that Orbis has been building products for students like me who look for jobs. I thought that I could relate to their target users’ experience and I loved the idea of using what I learned at school to make those experiences even better.
So far, I’ve had a great experience working at Orbis! As a Junior UI/UX Product Designer, I have learned a lot of things about Orbis’s Outcome and OCC product building process and I’ve improved my design skills such as prototyping, personas, user flows etc. while working on different tasks and projects. I also love the people and the company culture that make me feel like I’m part of the team.
Meet Alesia Lozito, Junior UI/UX Designer
I live in Burlington and am currently completing my undergrad in User Experience Design at Wilfrid Laurier University. I am also working to complete a double minor in psychology and leadership, as I believe that these minors can provide me with a wider perspective and understanding of users.
When seeking co-op opportunities, I was looking for something where I could have a focus in the design aspect of my field of study. I found that this opportunity precisely aligned with my interests, values, and post-secondary experience.
So far, working at Orbis has been amazing! I feel I have learned a lot over my time here. With the help of the UX/UI team, I have realized that it is the little details that can make a design go from good to great. The team has helped me develop as a UX designer by widening my perspective of a users’ wants or needs. I have learned the importance of being efficient when designing, whether that is by using components or pulling elements that have already been created and used somewhere else. I am also currently using the Outcome system as a student, which is making the experience exceedingly interesting and relatable.
