Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority is pleased to provide valuable work experience and professional development opportunities to post-secondary students through WDBA’s co-op program. This term, 21 students have been hired from four post-secondary educational institutions: the University of Windsor, Western University, the University of Waterloo, and St. Clair College. The students come from different faculties and programs including Business Administration, Engineering, Computer Science, and Information Technology.
Since the program began in 2016, over 100 placements have been offered with several students coming back to WDBA for a second co-op term.
“WDBA is thrilled to provide these opportunities to students and provide valuable learning experience,” says Deanna Santos, WDBA’s Human Resources Coordinator. “WDBA has learned a lot from our students and we look forward to continuing our student placements and their contributions to this iconic project and our organization.”
While some businesses were forced to close due to an unprecedented pandemic, WDBA continued to hire students to work on this legacy project.
“During COVID-19, WDBA remained committed to our co-op program and successfully transitioned all existing co-op students to work from home and onboarded new students to work from home,” says Deanna. “We did not eliminate any student positions and continue to provide co-op opportunities in each of our departments.”
The co-op placements program not only provides students with essential workplace skills but also helps them to make decisions about their education and career path so they make a successful transition into the job market.
“We have heard from all of our students that they have found their experience with WDBA incredibly rewarding and have helped them in their career decisions,” says Deanna. “One of our former students, Kiefer Wright, changed faculties following his co-op term with us and was successful in competing for a full-time job at WDBA. We are thrilled that his work experience with us not only helped him choose a career path, but also resulted in him working with us after graduation.”
Some words from our students:
“I joined WDBA as I believe this is a great opportunity to gain valuable corporate business experience while growing my network.” – Jeron Kir, Marketing & Communications Co-op Student
“Knowing we are working on such an influential project drives me to learn new things and put my current skillset to the test.” – Jonathan Ruggiero, Stakeholder & Community Engagement Co-op Student
“WDBA has allowed me to gain more formal work experience and once the project is completed, it will be gratifying to be able to say I had a part in building that, regardless of how small my part may be.” – Natalie Barcic, Process Improvement Co-op Student
