Co-op Awards – Co-op

Every year, Co-operative Education recognizes our employers and students with Co-op Student and Employer of the Year Awards. Students can nominate their employer for the co-op awards. Employers can nominate any Carleton co-op student who worked for them over the past year.

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Nomination Guidelines

Nomination Guidelines for Co-op Student of the Year

Nomination Guidelines for Co-op Employer of the Year

2022 Co-op Award Winners

The Co-operative Education Office is pleased to announce the winners of the 2022 Carleton University Co-op Student and Employer of the Year Awards! The Co-op Awards are presented each year to recognize the outstanding achievements, contributions, and performances of our co-op students and their employers. The Co-op Office would like to congratulate and thank all Co-op Awards winners and nominees for their contributions to Carleton University’s Co-op program.

Select an award name below to read about this year’s winner!

Undergraduate Co-op Student of the Year
Graduate Co-op Student of the Year
Co-op Employer of the Year
Nominees (Students and Employers)

Undergraduate Co-op Student of the Year

Abby Ibrahim is a fourth year Bachelor of Cognitive Science student and Winner of the 2022 Undergraduate Co-op Student of the Year Award. Ibrahim has completed two co-op terms as a Software Developer at Ross Video, which powers live video productions for global viewers with high impact, high efficiency solutions and services (this includes cameras, real-time motion graphics, robotic camera systems, augmented reality/virtual studios, video servers, newsroom systems, live event production services, and more). Ibrahim was nominated by Craig Tobias, Software Manager for OverDrive at Ross.

In his nomination, Tobias highlighted that Ibrahim began his role with basic tasks, which soon evolved to working with a small team to start a brand-new project. This project utilized a new common framework developed by Ross and was key to providing a consistent look and feel across all of Ross’s products. The unique element of this project was that no one had ever adopted this framework to the same degree as this team, and Ibrahim soon established himself as the lead for the project by doing research, navigating the challenges that come with trailblazing new paths, and finding solutions.

“It is difficult to put a dollar value on the savings to Ross Video that this initiative has had,” said Tobias, “but all teams that adopt this framework in the future will benefit from the work Abby has done with this team.”

In his nomination, Tobias noted that Ibrahim embodies the values that he and Ross care about in an employee: hard working, raising issues in a timely manner and driving them to resolution, pleasant to work with, and not afraid to speak up and make his point. He provided valuable feedback to the leadership and management team on all types of issues, test automation, development work, and the onboarding process. “His feedback has been great and we have implemented positive changes in several areas of the business due to this.”

Ibrahim was also recognized as a mentor for incoming co-op students, showing them the ropes and helping them achieve their goals. He closed out his nomination by saying, “Abby has done such an incredible job for Ross that he has raised the bar for all future co-op students that join the team.”

Graduate Co-op Student of the Year

Matt MacMurdo has now completed a Master of Arts in International Affairs and is the Winner of the 2022 Graduate Co-op Student of the Year Award. He completed his work term with the Resettlement and Asylum Strategic Operations Branch of the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and was nominated by Carol McQueen, Director General.

McQueen highlighted that MacMurdo proved to be a stellar addition to her office from the moment he joined. She said he jumped right into taking on a critical coordination and tasking role in response to a heavy volume of requests for briefing products, policy recommendations, and strategic planning in support of the Ministry’s mandate to bring resettled refugees to Canada and to manage an influx in asylum flows into the country.

MacMurdo succeeded in developing a more efficient digitized tracking system to help bring more order to an operational branch facing the ongoing pressures of Afghan arrivals and an influx of asylum seekers following the reopening of the land border after the pandemic. He was also involved in organizing the visit to Canada for the International Organization for Migration’s Regional Director for East and the Horn of Canada. In addition to organizing a series of smaller meetings, MacMurdo coordinated with the research branch of the department to create an armchair discussion event that attracted over 900 participants from across IRCC.

Upon joining the IRCC, MacMurdo joined the diversity and inclusion committee, sharing his perspective on the need for cultural change at IRCC and organizing a number of events, including IRCC’s involvement in Ottawa’s PRIDE parade. He was instrumental in inviting a guest speaker to a branch townhall from Rainbow Refugees to discuss their work in referring refugees to Canada who are persecuted due to their sexual orientation. McQueen noted that MacMurdo undertook this work of his own volition and that – beyond the skills he brings to the table – he is a pleasure to work with for his positivity and how he is always willing to lend a hand. She said MacMurdo “stays calm and collected when faced with competing priorities and a somewhat chaotic environment in which demands and pressures are constantly changing.”

MacMurdo’s work term was so successful it resulted in being bridged into a permanent position as a Program Officer in the Office of the Director General, and McQueen noted his performance inspired her to hire other co-op students in the future.

Co-op Employer of the Year

Ross Cheriton, Assistant Research Officer with the Advanced Electronics and Photonics Research Centre (AEP), at the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), is the recipient of the 2022 Employer of the Year Award. The NRC, Canada’s federal research and development organization, partners with Canadian industry to take impactful research from the lab to the marketplace, where people can experience the benefits. Cheriton was nominated by Vlad Artyshchuk, a fourth year Electrical Engineering student who completed three four-month work terms at AEP.

In his nomination, Artyshchuk outlined how his work experience involved creating a drone platform that could be used for remote sensing applications. The goal was to create a performant version, but scale down the cost and size sector so that the technology could be more accessible in the market.

As he worked on this project, Artyshchuk said Cheriton provided him with guidance and support while also ensuring Artyshchuk understood the capabilities of his work and the future implications the work could have on their field and the world at large. Cheriton’s invitations to both his own meetings and team meetings allowed Artyshchuk to see the big picture of the work he was completing during his work term. The team-oriented approach that Cheriton used also stood out to Artyshchuk, who said, “Although I had to do a lot individually, a lot of work was done working together. When problems arose, he was always willing to suggest approaches that could be taken to fix or work around the issue.”

Cheriton also provided opportunities for professional growth. This included introducing Artyshchuk to Cheriton’s research teams, which gave him an opportunity to expand his network and meet new colleagues, and provided him with experience in areas such as writing papers, patents, and even applying for international IEEE conventions so that Artyshchuk could speak about the work he had done. (IEEE is the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity.) Artyshchuk said this was above and beyond what he expected from his co-op placements. He felt Cheriton’s efforts showed he truly cared about Artyshchuk’s career and wanted to give him every opportunity he could to expand on it.

Said Artyshchuk, “This experience showed me the type of mentors the NRC has. I truly believe that the work they put into co-op programs is life changing, as I have seen specifically with Dr. Cheriton’s contribution.” He concluded, “I would highly recommend applying and trying to get a position for a work term at the NRC, as it has truly changed my outlook on schooling and a professional career in the research field.”

Nominees

Students Nominated

Abby Ibrahim (Ross Video)
Abdulwahab Sayyad (Global Affairs Canada)
Adam Ranallo (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission)
Adrian Comisso (Collins Aerospace)
Andrei Farcasiu (Colliers Project Leaders)
Anne Cruzado (The Portia Learning Centre)
Ariana Donnelly-Ma (Canada Revenue Agency)
Arianna Conidi (Madison Taylor Design)
Aristidis Tsotroudis (Office of Auditor General)
Avery Annett (Health Canada)
Bamlak Tiruye (Decisive Group Inc.)
Ben Williams (Ross Video)
Braeden Kloke (Royal Bank of Canada)
Brontee Beesack (Canada Border Services Agency)
Bronwen Marchant (Carleton SSAC – Audio Visual Resource Centre)
Brooklyn Rawlings (Student Experience Office, Carleton University)
Calvin Isenor (Embassy of Canada to Germany)
Carter Brown (Ross Video)
Chantz Sciuk (Collins Aerospace)
Charlie Ham (Web Services, ITS – Carleton University)
Dahlia Lavoie (Global Affairs Canada)
Dominik Parpura (Pratt and Whitney Canada)
Edward Li (de Havilland Canada)
Emma Richard (Carleton University)
Ethan Majidi (Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA))
Ethan O’Connell (MDA)
Gian Salvador (Nokia)
Grace Sample (Perkins&Will)
Hannah Robertson (Colbourne & Kembel, Architects Inc.)
Haoyang Dong (Honeywell – Aerospace)
Heidi Hebb (Environment and Climate Change Canada)
Henzy Dasan Anthony (Employment and Social Development Canada, Labour Program)
Ivy Wu (Ciena)
Jarred Acheson (Ottawa Neurofeedback and Psychotherapy Centre)
Jeneerthan Pageerathan (Fyrefish Technologies Ltd.)
Jennafer Lemieux (Employment and Social Development Canada)
Jessie Nguyen (Public Health Agency of Canada)
Josh Wells (Homicity Inc.)
Joshua Delfin (Math Project)
Juanita Rodelo (General Dynamics Mission Systems Canada)
Julia Boivard (Impact and Innovation Unit, Privy Council Office, Government of Canada)
Julian Nicolai (Advanced Photonics Laboratory (Carleton University))
Justine Coutu (Environment and Climate Change Canada)
Korry Brankin (Carleton University – Department of Recreation & Athletics)
Laura Jin (Royal Bank of Canada)
Laura Spaldling (Treasury Metals Inc.)
Laurenne Tynski (Department of National Defence – Surveillance of Space 2 Project)
Lina Kim (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada)
Lisa Ploeg (Carleton University)
Logan Miller (KF Aerospace)
Lubna Almadi (Cleland Jardine Engineering)
Macie Orrell (SeaTec Consulting)
Marco Borracci (Canada Revenue Agency)
Marie Kelly (Office of the Auditor General of Canada)
Matt MacMurdo (Immigration, Citizenship and Refugees Canada)
Max Campbell (National Research Council Canada)
Michelle Nguyen (EnPowered)
Missy Balachorek (Pomerleau Inc.)
Mitchell Zinck (Assent Inc.)
Nirav Chhaganbhai Pansuriya (Canada Revenue Agency)
Oleksandr Maslov (Searidge Technologies)
Olivia Drummond (Noble)
Omar Fetouh (PCL Constructors Canada Inc.)
Paul Bossert (Public Services and Procurement Canada)
Rebaone (Reba) Molotsi (Invest Ottawa)
Sage Shelton (Department of National Defence)
Saiyara Elahi (Royal Canadian Mounted Police – Digital Realization of Enterprise IM team)
Sebastian Becerril (Curtiss Wright)
Shaun Nortey-Noye (Honeywell Aerospace)
Shing Lok Wong (Aerospace Research Centre, National Research Council Canada)
Sophia Ersil (Royal Canadian Mounted Police)
Spencer Burns (Edison Engineers Inc.)
Spencer Antliff (eSight Corporation)
Sydney Moses (PSPC)
Syeda Rizvi (Public Services and Procurement Canada)
Thomas Wood (Town of Greater Napanee)
Thomas King (Wolf Advanced Technology)
Tomy Tran (Intelliware)
Ujan Sen
Vanessa Jackson (Wiltshire Homes)
Victoria Whitworth (Innovapost)
Volodymyr Artyshchuk (National Research Council of Canada)
William Springle (Reliance Construction)
Xiaoman Lin (ZipGrow Inc.)
Zeynep Kocacenk (Site-Secure Software)

Employers Nominated

Caroline Delisle (Colliers Project Leaders)
Ross Cheriton (National Research Council)
Ryan Griffin (National Research Council)
Paloma Raggo (Charity Insights Canada Project)
Callie Mathieson (Charity Insights Canada Project)
Kaitlyn McDevitt (The Portia Learning Centre)
Nicole Saunders (Fyrefish Technologies)
Jim Siemens (Oxbow Architecture)
Charline Leduc-Marcoux (Department of National Defence)
Meagan Bell (Department of National Defence)
Ursula Holland (Embassy of Canada in Berlin)
Richard Trembinski (Department of National Defence – Surveillance of Space 2 Project)
Guoqiang (Xue Ericsson)
Adam Parsons (Reliance Construction of Canada Ltd.)
Zahir Jina (Treasury Metals Inc.)
Craig Doyle (Decisive Groups Inc.)
Joseph Heide (Shared Services Canada)
Ryan Quesnel (Thomas Cavanagh Construction Limited)
Andree Dion (Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA))
Dave Nicholson (Town of Greater Napanee)
Dongyi Seo (National Research Council Canada)
Darren Wilson (Collins Aerospace)
Matthew Jaynes (Cleland Jardine Engineering)
Andrew Sharpe (Cleland Jardine Engineering Ltd.)
Zachary Van Daele (Immigration, Citizenship and Refugees Canada)