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By Amy Geddes
Look out world here they come! With undergraduate transcripts chock-full of co-op work experience and glowing references from employers and faculty members, plus a host of other personal and academic achievements, these grads are not only leaving a legacy behind them at UVic—they’re moving on to make their mark on the world.
James Letts
Letts
James Letts is an accomplished Métis student whose co-op work terms with UVic’s Department of Biochemistry led to a number of important discoveries on the x-ray crystallography of proteins.
He’s already been published three times in the leading scientific journals in his field, and one of his recent articles has just been accepted into Acta Crystallographica, a respected biochemical journal.
Letts attributes his success in part to the co-op program that gave him the chance work alongside Dr. Stephan Evans, his co-op supervisor.
“I didn’t know anything about x-ray crystallography before I started working for Dr. Evans,” says Letts. Evans soon had Letts flying to places like Denmark and Honolulu to complete co-op work terms and to collaborate with other leading researchers within their field.
When it came time to apply to graduate school, Letts caught the eye of Rockefeller University in New York, who offered him a full scholarship to pursue his doctorate with Dr. Roderick Mackinnon, winner of the 2003 Nobel Prize in chemistry.
Letts accepted the offer and is looking forward to continuing his work with the x-ray crystallography of proteins in New York.
Matt Cooper
Cooper
Chemistry and economics graduate Matt Cooper will be heading to Montréal this fall for a year-long research position with his most recent co-op employer, Merck Frosst. The pharmaceutical company was eager to hire Cooper back as an intern after he proved his research abilities during his work term. He will continue the force field design research (exploring how virtual molecules interact) that he began as a co-op student.
“By working with Merck Frosst I was able to prove that I could transfer my research skills and academic knowledge into the workplace,” says Cooper. “I was interested in the internship program, and co-op allowed me to make the connection.”
Cooper completed more co-op work terms than required, building up an impressive and diverse résumé in the process. His chemistry-related work experience with UVic’s Department of Chemistry, Boehringer Ingelheim (Montréal), Syncitium (Victoria), University of Waterloo (in an atmospheric chemistry project supported by Canadian Space Agency) and Merck Frosst (Montréal) gave him the competitive edge that helped him secure his
internship.
This desire to go above and beyond is nothing new to Cooper. He has also been incredibly active in campus life as well as the larger community. While maintaining a cumulative grade-point average of 7.54, Cooper volunteered at the Royal Jubilee Hospital, worked as a teaching assistant with University 101 providing a taste of university to students facing barriers to education, served as an elected representative of the UVic Senate and was a director-at-large for the UVic Students’ Society.
Cooper has been awarded a number of scholarships throughout his UVic career and was recently recognized with a UVic Blue and Gold Award, honouring him for the significant contributions he has made in promoting the quality of life on the University of Victoria campus and in the community at large.
Jennifer Richardson
Richardson with daughter Montana
This ability to make a significant impression on the world is shared by co-op graduate Jennifer Richardson. The business student inspired retired business professor Bill Buckwold to include her name on the financial award being established by UVic Business to recognize his contribution to the teaching profession.
The award is called the “Bill Buckwold ‘Jennifer Richardson’ Award” because Richardson’s perseverance in completing her Bachelor of Commerce degree while raising her daughter and working nearly full-time represents the essence of the award.
When Buckwold first met Richardson, he was immediately impressed by her ability to juggle a very busy schedule. “At the beginning of the term Jennifer was struggling, but it wasn’t from lack of interest,” says Buckwold. “It was from lack of sleep.” No wonder—Richardson’s schedule was incredibly hectic: she would come to class, go home to complete her assignments, go to work for four hours, come home to play with her daughter and then sleep for four hours.
Her work initially suffered as a result of her schedule, but once she had Buckwold’s support, her grades improved. Richardson also participated in the Business Co-op Program, working for BMO Financial Group for all her work terms as a customer service representative. The co-op positions helped her put her degree to practise and also helped with her schedule—the regular hours were much more accommodating than her previous job working the graveyard shift as a casino host.
“My co-op experience was a period of discovery,” says Richardson. “It allowed me to experiment with different roles and challenges and provided an opportunity to uncover what it is that I wanted to pursue as my first career.”
Since completing her course work last December, Richardson works as an analyst for the Ministry of Community Services. She is optimistic about the future and hopes her ability to persevere will inspire others. “It is such an honour for the award to be named after me. I hope it will encourage others to hang on to their dreams and not let anything get in the way.”
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