Written by 2017-2018 Co-op Affairs Commissioner Hannah Beckett

These last twelve months have been a whirlwind of all things co-op! As I wrap up my term as the Co-op Affairs Commissioner this month, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the last year and what students can expect coming up.

For Feds, this was the first year this role has existed, so it has been a slow transition shifting recognition across campus that all matters related to co-op should come to me. However, students, faculty, staff and admin have all shared their excitement that this role now exists and I am incredibly optimistic about all the great things that will come out of this new working relationship.

In the last year, my primary objective was the co-op fee “deep dive” or “comprehensive review” as it had been something I had been hoping to see underway for several years. With the help of the recently retired Associate Provost of Cooperative & Experiential Education, Peggy Jarvie, Co-op and Feds launched the deep dive in July of last year. For those of you who are interested in the progress we’ve made so far, check out the fee review website here.

In my role, my responsibilities included forming and running the Co-op Fee Review Student Advisory Panel (which will be looking for new members shortly, so keep an eye out on Leads!), liaising with students to get additional feedback on the progress we have made and spending a lot of time on Reddit (but all work related, except for /r/aww).

In December, we started on the Current State Analysis, which was remarkably time consumptive, but was really important for us to understand how the co-op fee is currently being spent, where it is being spent and break down the current fee for students. We launched the website in January with all of our initial findings, with the understanding that we wouldn’t be able to answer every question right away, and that it would likely only trigger more. However, I advocated to have the website go up sooner than later so that the answers we had so far were available to students.

Shortly after, with the help of our good friends at Co-op, we released the breakdown of the current fee into several buckets, to allow students to see what parts of their $709 fee go where. Each of these buckets has an additional detailed breakdown available on the website with more information about how that money is allocated and why. All throughout this process, we’ve understood how important it is to help students understand where their fee is going and what value they’re getting out of it.

I would really like to thank the people from co-op on the fee review steering committee who have given significant amounts of their time, both personal and professional, to get the project this far and who have been deeply committed to transparency and understanding. As someone who used to be a student frustrated with some of the processes within co-op, I can honestly say they are a truly wonderful group who will see this project through to completion and beyond.

For students who might be asking “but what’s next?”, keep an eye out for the student consultations that are expected to begin in May. We have moved to the consultation phase of the project, and this is the opportunity for all 20,000 of our co-op students to have their say on the fee and the future recommendations that will be formed. These consultations will play a huge role in informing what the steering committee does next, so make sure you take part!

In terms of other wins over the last year, we were able to add my role to the Cooperative Education Council, we had great conversations with the Mental Health & School-to-Work Transitions Research Lab housed at St. Jeromes, and worked with the nominating committee for the new Associate Provost of Cooperative & Experiential Education. We developed strong working relationships with leaders within the University administration and within Co-operative & Experiential Education, which will lead to a more open dialogue about co-op in the future. We also recently recognized some of our really phenomenal co-op students at the Co-op Student of the Year Awards on April 6. I had a very long action plan heading into this year and I’m excited to hand that off to the next Co-op Affairs Commissioner, who will do a phenomenal job representing students on all things co-op.

For me, I am also wrapping up my role as a Governor on the University’s Board of Governors, the Undergraduate Senator for the Faculty of Arts, the Co-Chair of the Arts Endowment Fund Board of Directors and attended my 7th and last Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance General Assembly, representing Feds and UWaterloo. I also had the opportunity to co-author on a policy paper on Student Mental Health and Wellness with OUSA which will now be used to lobby the provincial government for improvements within the post-secondary sector.

My big personal win was seeking out counselling services for the first time in the fall when life got too overwhelming, and I’m really grateful for their help in getting me back on track during a particularly tough time. Now I’m headed off to start my Master’s at the University of Victoria. This is as much a wrap-up blog for this role as it is a wrap-up for my entire undergrad.

When I started at UWaterloo, I wanted to get involved right away because I saw my undergrad as a stepping stone to law school and a robust extracurricular record was pretty important in looking well-rounded. However, what I found in my extracurriculars wasn’t something to beef up my resume, but actually things I loved doing and felt incredibly passionate about. It took my education and made it an experience. I reflect on the shy girl who moved from a small-town into a floor on REV in first year and I almost don’t recognize her because my time at Waterloo has helped me grow and flourish.

My parting wisdom to my fellow students, such as it is, is to get involved. Your education isn’t limited to the four walls of a lecture hall or a lab, it’s all around you and all across this campus. Your academic achievements are important, but the memories you make are what will stick with you for the rest of your life. At Waterloo, I found my new family and I hope you all experience the same while you’re here. Best of luck Warriors, in exams and beyond!

Photo credit: One for the Wall Photography