Stephanie Hill

Did you always know you wanted to do co-op/Internship?

No

Did you have any concerns or hesitations before you started?

Yes, I had hesitations about going on Internship and I actually had to be convinced to apply for Internships and not just co-ops. One of the main reasons was that I had a good group of people to work with on Capstone and other 4th year projects and labs. However, I found out that some of those friends were going on Internship or taking a 5-year program. This helped me feel confident that I would know at least a few people and once I returned I realized that there were many more students that I knew in my classes. Another large hesitation or concern for me was if I would have the motivation to come back to school after an Internship however the Internship also gave me a much-needed break from my studies and motivated me to finish my degree so that I can go back out into the workforce.

What were your expectations?

I was expecting to assist Engineers with various day to day tasks and learn how to work in an engineering office environment.

How did your experience compare with your expectations?

My experience was better than my expectations as I had the opportunity to work on special assignments that gave me the opportunity to work with people in various departments.

How would you say you enjoyed your experience?

I really enjoyed my experience at OPG.

In a few sentences, explain your position. Please provide details about your daily tasks, projects, and responsibilities.

My position was to assist the Technical Officers, Engineers and Management with various tasks including reporting on the status of current and upcoming tasks, reviewing past reports and creating new reports. I also assisted with planning for future maintenance windows.

What was your work atmosphere like? (flexibility, formality, team-centric, supportive)

My work atmosphere was a supportive environment with some flexibility in your hours of work.

Did you feel that any training and/or support available to you was helpful or beneficial to you?

The training at the beginning of my Internship was very helpful to learn about the policies and procedures of OPG. As well, I had the opportunity to attend other training throughout my Internship to help me become more productive with some of the tasks that I was assigned.

What previous skills and/or competencies (professional or volunteer related) helped you in your role? 

Time management and organizational skills that I had from previous volunteer experience helped as I was able to keep track of various projects or assignments that I had on the go and be able to complete all the tasks on time.

What previous skills and/or competencies did you develop during your placement? Are there any strengths or weaknesses that also fall into these skills/competency development? 

I was able to improve my communication (written, and oral) skills. Also through working on teams, I was able to improve my confidence in my work and learnt to take pride in all tasks that I completed.

What advice would you offer to students thinking about pursuing a co-op or Internship?

I would suggest doing an Internship. It was a great experience not just professionally for me but I was able to gain soft skills as well. Coming back from Internship to complete your 4th year (including capstone) can be scary but I found that many of my friends either took an Internship or took a reduced course load which then led me to have many friends in classes for 4th year.