This month’s employee spotlight features two of our summer co-op students from the University of Waterloo. Learn about their experience working in the QA and Development departments as we ask them to reflect on their short but sweet time with Kambeo.
1. What made you choose Kambeo for your co-op?
Samir: Kambeo is a company that distinguishes itself from numerous other businesses, and its key quality of “working to help” rather than “working to earn” is what attracted me. Knowing that every line of code you write further improves the world makes my role much more enjoyable and motivating, thus leading me to choose Kambeo.
Leen: The main thing that drew me to Kambeo was the company’s mission and knowing that I would be contributing to something that helps others make a positive change in the world. It’s really important to me that the company I work for aligns with my values and goals, which is exactly what I found in Kambeo. On top of that, I felt that Kambeo provided a platform I hadn’t found elsewhere, and I wanted to be a part of this exciting and transformative project!
2. Describe a typical day as a co-op student?
Samir: I begin my day at 9:00 am by preparing my environment and any other tools I may require for my duties that day. This usually takes me to our development stand-up meeting, where I find out what I will be doing and resolve any issues I may have with previous tasks. Once the meeting is complete, I begin my work on trying to either fix some bugs, work on new features, or test completed tasks.
Leen: One of the things that I love about my co-op is that every day is a little different in terms of what tasks I’m working on and what my focus is. I start the day by checking any new emails/notifications and working on tasks that are in progress. At 10:00 am, I join the daily development team stand-up, where everyone discusses what they’re working on and tackle any challenges being faced. After stand-up, I have a plan of what tasks I’ll be working on for the rest of that day. Some days that looks like working on one project, and other days, it looks like working on many small bug fixes. Other times, it involves testing many new changes that have just been made.
What advice would you give future co-op students?
Samir: A piece of advice that tremendously helped me prosper in my co-op role is to “seize the moment,” quite literally. Don’t sit around and wait for someone to assign you a task, rather take the initiative to find tasks on your own. By completing more and more tasks, I can affirm that my programming knowledge has vastly expanded. And this can only be achieved by working on a volume of tasks, which isn’t possible by simply waiting to be assigned something.
Leen: I would say don’t be afraid to ask questions and reach out to others! Everyone I’ve worked with has been really friendly and supportive, and reaching out to more experienced developers has taught me so much over the past few months!
What is one key takeaway you will cherish from your experience at Kambeo?
Samir: There is an abundance of skills and lessons I’ve learned from my time at Kambeo, but in particular, an important one I will use for my future co-ops is not to be afraid of asking for help on any particular issue. At the beginning of my co-op, I thought that no one would provide help, so I avoided asking. After adjusting to my role, I soon learned this was the contrary, and everyone was willing to aid in any issues I faced.
Leen: I will always cherish the amazing time I had with the team and how inspiring it has been to see others who are so motivated and driven by the organization’s mission. My time at Kambeo has made me realize that when individuals are aligned with and driven by their company’s values and goals, great accomplishments can be made, and strong team dynamics are formed. The level of creativity, collaboration, and dedication that I’ve seen from everyone around me will continue to inspire me after my co-op has ended!
