Camosun student wins BC/Yukon Co-op Student of the Year award

Media Release
Release Date: March 14, 2014

Camosun College congratulates Civil Engineering Technology student Ben Lubberts, the 2013 recipient of the Co-op Student of the Year Award, presented by the Association for Co-operative Education, BC/Yukon (ACE BC). This prestigious award includes a cash prize of $500 and was based on grades, community involvement, and letters of support from an employer and the college.

Co-operative education combines paid work experience with in-class theory. Alternating with their academic terms, co-op students participate in off-campus work terms to gain up to nine months of relevant real-world experience.

"Co-op provides obvious value for the student, but it also benefits employers," says Gloria Darroch, director of Co-operative Education and Student Employment at Camosun. "Because of the applied nature of Camosun's programs, our co-op students are able to contribute useful skills and knowledge to the job."

Lubberts completed his co-op work term at the District of Saanich as a Student Engineering Technician and impressed his colleagues with his technical knowledge, creativity, dependability and initiative. With a young family at home, Lubberts also managed to successfully balance home, school and work responsibilities, while maintaining a high grade point average throughout his studies.

This is the seventh year in a row the ACE BC's college award has been presented to a Camosun student. In addition, Camosun students have received national recognition four times through the Canadian Associate for Co-operative Education (CAFCE), either as winners or runners-up.

ACE BC also awarded Honourable Mention to another Camosun student. Andrew Black, a Computer Systems Technology student, completed his co-op work term with Royal Roads University as a Web Support Analyst. Black added functionality and social media capabilities to the RRU website, and was described by his employer as a fast learner who was able to troubleshoot complex issues and clearly present the solutions to all levels of the organization.

Before earning the ACE BC award, Black received Camosun's Yvonne Thompson Page (YTP) Co-op Student of the Year award (for one co-op work term completed.) The 2013 recipient of the YTP award (for multiple co-op work terms) is Ryan Laker, who will soon graduate with his bachelor's degree in Business Administration – Accounting Major. Laker completed four co-op work terms with local e-commerce marketing company Terapeak, where his increasing skills lead to increased responsibilities within sales and financial accounting positions.

Contact

Gloria Darroch
Director, Co-operative Education and Student Employment
250-370-4407
darrochg@camosun.ca