The co-op program has been part of my work life at Liberty from the beginning. In my final co-op term at the University of Waterloo, I started working for Liberty Power, then Algonquin Power, in Business Development as a GIS and Planning Co-op. I worked closely with an interesting team of professionals and had the opportunity to see the workings of the renewable industry in Canada. I created maps and figures for renewable projects across the country and learned about the development process and life cycle of a wind or solar farm.
While working with Liberty as a full-time employee I’ve been lucky enough to hire co-op students to work with me directly each term over the past few years. Co-op students in our group work with wind and solar projects from early stage development through to construction and help create new processes and refine existing workflows. As our team has continued to grow, each co-op student has been able to contribute something unique and lasting to our work. In the coming months, I’m excited to welcome back one of these co-op students as a full-time employee and hope to do so again in the future.
I always enjoy working with co-op students, learning new things from them, showing them a new industry and potential career path. I’m excited to continue taking part in the co-op program in the future.
-Dana Thompson | Senior GIS Analyst