News

Explore the work of ACE-WIL BC/Yukon. Here you will find inspirational stories from students, profiles of all our award winners, news, events, resources and wisdom from the wonderful humans that contribute to the vision of ACE-WIL.

Award Winners, Success Stories
2022 ACE-WIL STUDENT OF THE YEAR AWARDS | HONOURABLE MENTION | CO-OP UNIVERSITY: Mary Thomson

Mary is a Capilano University student in her third year in the Tourism Management Program. She spent her summer co-op on the Sunshine Coast working at the Gibsons Public Market; a not-for-profit establishment with local food merchants, a bistro, collect -hold-release aquarium and offering community programs and events.

As the…

Award Winners, Success Stories
2022 ACE-WIL STUDENT OF THE YEAR AWARDS | HONOURABLE MENTION | CO-OP COLLEGE: Paterson How

Paterson How is currently in his final term of his Associate of Computer Science degree at Langara College, after completing an 8-month Co-op with the software company, Workday. The position as a Quality Assurance engineer cemented his love for technology and he was very pleased to get the opportunity to…

Award Winners, Success Stories
2022 ACE-WIL STUDENT OF THE YEAR | CO-OP UNIVERSITY: Bethanea Chou

As a second-generation immigrant who persevered through financial adversity, Bethanea strives to make the world more equitable and emotionally intelligent through education. Bethanea exceeded expectations for a first-term Co-op student by co-creating a 1-year leadership training program for all 1,000+ Yukon Government employees in her department. By creating 20+ hours…

Award Winners, Success Stories
2022 ACE-WIL STUDENT OF THE YEAR | WIL UNIVERSITY: Mishal Arif

Mishal Arif is a Royal Roads master’s candidate and a dedicated research technologist at the Centre for Innovation and Research into Unmanned Systems (CIRUS) at SAIT. She specializes in developing innovative solutions using remotely piloted aerial systems (RPAS) for a wide range of industry applications.

Mishal recognized a disaster risk…

Award Winners
2022 ACE-WIL Student of the Year Award Winners

The Association for Co-operative Education and Work-Integrated Learning BC / Yukon is pleased to announce the recipients of the Co-op/WIL Student of the Year Awards for 2022. These awards recognize BC or Yukon students who demonstrate an outstanding level of achievement in their co-operative education or work-integrated learning experience; combined…

Award Winners, Success Stories
2022 ACE-WIL STUDENT OF THE YEAR | CO-OP COLLEGE: Molly Mifsud

During Molly’s time at Tall Tree, she had the chance to work on projects that helped the organization thrive. She made administrative changes that improved the efficiency of their care, such as revising their intake process to handle a larger volume of inquiries. The revision of these systems allowed the…

Award Winners, Success Stories
2022 ACE-WIL Student of the Year | WIL College: Jacqueline Sperber

Jacqueline Sperber, a Post-Degree-Diploma Business Administration in Marketing student, did not only stand out in her co-op achievements through cross-functional teamwork and a solid understanding of the field she was working in, but she also was able to apply tools and strategies learned in her program to succeed in every…

Humans of ACE-WIL
Meet Nina Bennett – Striving to create new opportunities for students

Author/Interviewer: Nina Bennett

Preamble: As part of the Humans of ACE Project, I have been invited to reflect on my journey in the field and my service to ACE-WIL. It has been exciting to take the time and think about how I have got here and what keeps me motivated…

Humans of ACE-WIL
Meet Claudia Sperling – Having the Courage to Take the First Step

Interviewer: Cristina Eftenaru

Cristina: I’d like to first thank you for taking the time for today’s interview, Claudia. I’m excited to learn about your career journey. Could you please share where it all started and how you’ve got to where you are today?

Claudia: It all started in August 1994,…

Member resources
New BC-designed framework helps PSIs understand socio-economic impact of WIL

While those deeply connected with work-integrated learning (WIL) programs often see examples of how WIL students have made an impact on the organizations they work with and the BC economy, the lack of a structured approach to gathering data has meant that post-secondary institutions (PSIs) may not have the data…

Humans of ACE-WIL
Meet Stephanie Greaves – President-Elect 2022-2023

How on earth did I get here? Like most of you, I didn’t set out to be part of a co-op program. Looking back, however, it all makes sense – in reverse.

When I was a kid, I spent a lot of time inside cardboard boxes (willingly, in case you…

Award Winners
2021 ACE-WIL Outstanding Contribution Award

Helena Prins, BC Campus

Helena has been contributing her time, energy, and ideas to the ACE-WIL Professional Development committee since 2017-2018. When Helena left her post at Royal Roads University and moved to BC Campus in 2019, she continued her involvement on the committee and brought BC Campus in as…