R+T Park Co-op Students Bond Over Board Games

By: Lee Faris

Creating a sense of community is a priority for everyone in the David Johnston Research + Technology Park. That’s why when  Anne-Katherine Le, User Assistance Developer and co-op Student at SAP, suggested a collaboration to combine our July Beer Garden with a Co-op Student social, the R+T Park team jumped at the opportunity.  

The co-op students from across R+T Park, along with many others from the Park and Work Integrated Learning communities bonded over board games from the SAP co-op students, delicious tacos from Los Rolling Tacos, and refreshing drinks from Block Three Brewing. For Le, bringing co-op students together at R+T Park events is an extension of her community-building efforts at SAP, where she has been planning social events, such as intern lunches.  

“I volunteered for different events in SAP,” Le commented, “and now I’m trying to broaden my horizons and bring co-op students together from different companies as well.” 

Events in R+T Park bring together diverse groups of people from large corporations to emerging startups, university employees to members from the broader community; and of course, co-op students. For students, these social events facilitate new connections they may not otherwise have made. 

“I think knowing that you’re able to make a community wherever you go is really important”

– Anne-Katherine Le, User Assistance Development Intern (co-op), SAP

“It’s interesting to me to be able to bridge the gap between different disciplines and different kinds of personalities,” Le told us. After seeing the impact of the R+T Park socials, she plans to continue them in future workplaces. “I think knowing that you’re able to make a community wherever you go is really important” 

Judene Pretti, the Interim Associate Provost for Co-operative and Experiential Education, was excited about the positive environment that R+T Park’s social could build for co-op students. 

“I’m so grateful for the support of R+T Park’s employer community,” Pretti commented, “and I think there’s opportunities for us to find ways to support that community. It’s exciting to see an event that’s focusing on co-op students. Wherever we can create communities for co-op students, it benefits both the companies and the students.” 

For Le, being in a large network is one of the things that makes working in R+T Park so rewarding.  

“I found it really nice being in a network of so many co-op students, not only from SAP, but also the co-op students downstairs who use the cafeteria or co-op students I’ve met in passing at beer gardens,” she commented. 

To her, the co-op program has acted not only as a way to build her network, but has also shown her how important that network can be to her growth in a workplace setting. 

“Wherever we can create communities for co-op students, it benefits both the companies and the students.”

– Judene Pretti, Interim Associate Provost, Co-operative and Experiential Education, University of Waterloo

“I’m coming out of it not only with work experience, but also experience interacting with people in the workplace, and understanding what I want in the workplace,” she told us. “I learned that I really do value relationships. If you had asked me when I first started co-op, I would not have said the same thing. I probably would have just told you I want to go to work and then go home.” 

The great news? This co-op student social is only the beginning. Co-op students from SAP and OpenText‘s are already collaborating to plan an upcoming board game social. Stay tuned for future R+T Park events.