Bruce Yao
Major in International Relations, Minor in Geography
Where did Bruce work?
Work Term 1:
Administrative Assistant, Transport Canada
Work Term 2:
Policy Analyst, Environment and Climate Change Canada
Work Term 3:
Political & Trade Intern, Embassy of Canada to the Netherlands
We asked Bruce to share a few thoughts with us as he begins his term as the 2023/24 President of the Arts Co-op Students’ Association (ACSA). He tells us about his co-op journey and some helpful advice for students applying to Arts Co-op.
Arts Co-op played a pivotal role in helping me explore careers in my field of study. In first year, I heard that most UBC Arts students end up working outside of their fields of study, and felt that I would end up doing the same thing. However, throughout my 3 co-op work terms within the Federal Public Service, I discovered not only a passion for international environmental politics, but also a clear path towards a career in that field.
Throughout my work terms at Transport Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and the Embassy of Canada to the Netherlands, I worked with Canadians from around the world on issues at regional, national, and international scales. I had always been passionate about what I studied at school, and these work terms gave me opportunities to apply my academic knowledge to current issues. They say you should never discuss politics at work, but I ended up getting paid to do just that.
However, the highlights of my experience were undoubtedly the environments and the people. In my current work term, I have an entire office to myself, which has helped me to feel more at home here in the Netherlands. Yet it is the people that I worked with who had an even larger impact on my co-op experience. I am fortunate to have had excellent supervisors and incredible coworkers for all of my work terms, and learned more from them than I could have imagined. Having the opportunity to shadow people who are experts in their field is the most underrated part of the co-op experience, and helped me to decide the kind of career I wanted to pursue.
Prior to getting into the Arts Co-op Program, I had very little work experience, and my resume struggled to fit a page. The support provided by the Arts Co-op office proved to be invaluable. During my first search term, my one-on-one appointments with my Co-op Career Educator, Kathy, helped me land my first position. She helped me refine my resume and provided me with some mock interview questions, which ended up being asked during one of my interviews. Without the support of Kathy and the Arts Co-op Office, I would not have the valuable work experience that I do now. Arts Co-op exists to help Arts students succeed. My advice to anyone applying to the program this year would be to remember that you’re not expected to be a perfect candidate with extensive internship experience. What’s more important is to clearly identify your strengths and apply with a focus on discovering your passions and improving your abilities.
Bruce Yao
Major in International Relations, Minor in Geography
Where did Bruce work?
Work Term 1:
Administrative Assistant, Transport Canada
Work Term 2:
Policy Analyst, Environment and Climate Change Canada
Work Term 3:
Political & Trade Intern, Embassy of Canada to the Netherlands
We asked Bruce to share a few thoughts with us as he begins his term as the 2023/24 President of the Arts Co-op Students’ Association (ACSA). He tells us about his co-op journey and some helpful advice for students applying to Arts Co-op.
Arts Co-op played a pivotal role in helping me explore careers in my field of study. In first year, I heard that most UBC Arts students end up working outside of their fields of study, and felt that I would end up doing the same thing. However, throughout my 3 co-op work terms within the Federal Public Service, I discovered not only a passion for international environmental politics, but also a clear path towards a career in that field.
Throughout my work terms at Transport Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and the Embassy of Canada to the Netherlands, I worked with Canadians from around the world on issues at regional, national, and international scales. I had always been passionate about what I studied at school, and these work terms gave me opportunities to apply my academic knowledge to current issues. They say you should never discuss politics at work, but I ended up getting paid to do just that.
However, the highlights of my experience were undoubtedly the environments and the people. In my current work term, I have an entire office to myself, which has helped me to feel more at home here in the Netherlands. Yet it is the people that I worked with who had an even larger impact on my co-op experience. I am fortunate to have had excellent supervisors and incredible coworkers for all of my work terms, and learned more from them than I could have imagined. Having the opportunity to shadow people who are experts in their field is the most underrated part of the co-op experience, and helped me to decide the kind of career I wanted to pursue.
Prior to getting into the Arts Co-op Program, I had very little work experience, and my resume struggled to fit a page. The support provided by the Arts Co-op office proved to be invaluable. During my first search term, my one-on-one appointments with my Co-op Career Educator, Kathy, helped me land my first position. She helped me refine my resume and provided me with some mock interview questions, which ended up being asked during one of my interviews. Without the support of Kathy and the Arts Co-op Office, I would not have the valuable work experience that I do now. Arts Co-op exists to help Arts students succeed. My advice to anyone applying to the program this year would be to remember that you’re not expected to be a perfect candidate with extensive internship experience. What’s more important is to clearly identify your strengths and apply with a focus on discovering your passions and improving your abilities.