Award Winning Co-op Student
Kathryn and Brie
Brie Ansell began her career as a finishing carpenter and although she enjoyed the work, after a few years she began to recognize the physical toll the work took on her body. Due to her long time interest in environmental science, Ansell investigated the possibility of returning to school to explore that avenue. Upon discovering the Environmental Technology program at Camosun, she knew that was the program for her and made the move from Kelowna to Victoria. Ansell, who has now completed her Environmental Technology diploma with an internship option, has been widely recognized for her co-operative education accomplishments. Not only did she receive the provincial Co-op Student of the Year Award at the college level, she also received an honourable mention nationally from the Canadian Association for Co-operative Education.
A new challenge…
Ansell’s winning work term was with an environmental department of the Department of National Defence (DND) at the Canadian Forces Base in Esquimalt, where 70% of her time was spent developing Best Management Practices (BMP) for the chromium electroplating processes in the metal finishing shop. A by- product of chromium electroplating is hexavalent chromium gas, which is toxic and known to cause cancer. Despite having no previous knowledge of this industry, Ansell greatly impressed her supervisor, Environmental Technologist Nicole Schaaf, by her ability to grasp such a highly technical and complex topic in a very short period of time. “Her level of understanding was far beyond that expected of a co-op student,” says Schaaf.
An incredible employer…
Ansell was not sure what to expect when she accepted a co-op position with the DND. She was thrilled with how it turned out as she had a wonderful work experience. “The DND is an incredible employer. Students are treated very well, and it was an amazing learning experience,” says Ansell. While working as a co-op student at the DND, Ansell had the opportunity to participate in five different training sessions including technical writing and Excel.
A complete change of pace…
Ansell’s next work experience was vastly different as she chose to volunteer in Nicaragua at Laguna de Apoyo, a non-profit research station for ecological research into birds, plants, insects, rodents and fish. This was not her first time in Nicaragua, but her third! She worked on a fish research project, studying nesting behavior and sampling algae and mollusks. Laguna de Apoyo is a lake contained inside a volcanic crater and has a unique thermal ecosystem, home to species found nowhere else in the world. Ansell enjoyed diving twice daily in the consistently warm waters to obtain data to analyze with the project scientist.
More information about Environmental Technology and Co-operative Education at Camosun…
