Fabiana Peschiera
Major in Political Science
2025 Undergraduate Arts Co-op Student of the Year
As the winner of the 2025 Undergraduate Student of the Year Award, Fabiana Peschiera’s co-op experience with the Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) highlights her exceptional initiative, professionalism, and leadership while driving meaningful organizational impact.
Making an Impact
As a part of the Abilities Management Team, Fabiana made a lasting contribution to human resources operations within a complex public sector organization. Working closely with a variety of internal stakeholders, she supported a range of HR functions including policy analysis, reporting, and administrative process improvements. Her supervisor emphasized that she was an “essential contributor” to their team, as she was relied upon for her excellent judgement, discretion, and analytical rigour.
Fabiana took the initiative to assess and organize fragmented and inconsistent internal documentation, streamlining and standardizing reporting structures while improving accessibility for staff across the organization’s different departments. She created new reporting and data visualization tools, which allowed for more accurate tracking of accommodations, workplace safety, and sick-leave trends—a key contribution during her work term that transformed the efficiency and reliability of HRPS’ processes. Her supervisor emphasized her work as having “directly supported senior leadership decision-making.”
Links Between Work & Academics
Fabiana leveraged her strong academic foundation for her success in this role. She credits her Political Science and Public Policy coursework with sharpening her critical thinking and research skills, which she directly applied to policy interpretation and decision-making. In particular, Fabiana’s background in Public Policy gave her the tools to efficiently translate a new collective agreement into operational practice, ensuring compliance and fairness. Throughout the work term, she demonstrated her ability to seamlessly apply her academic knowledge in practice, as well as an exceptional work ethic.
Fabiana’s experience with HRPS has helped her “find purpose” in her academics. When returning to campus from her work terms, she tailored her courses to fit her goal of applying evidence-based decision-making into institutional reform. Her academics informed her work which then provided context for her academics—which she described as a “perfect feedback loop.”
Impact on Career Development
Before joining co-op, Fabiana was unsure about her career path and passions. The experience allowed her to rediscover her interests and what inspired her. Through her work with HRPS, Fabiana now recognizes that learning happens when you leave your comfort zone and turn your knowledge into action.
With a newfound clarity on her professional career, Fabiana is now pursuing a Human Resources Certificate and a Certified Human Resources Professional designation. Her co-op experience not only gave her a new perspective on her academic learning but also built her identity as a professional. “It transformed uncertainty into direction and curiosity into confidence.”
About the UBC Arts Co-op Student of the Year Award
The annual award recognizes outstanding achievement in all aspects of the UBC Arts Co-op student’s performance, including academic achievement, job achievement/employer evaluation, personal statement, contribution to co-operative education, and contribution to extra-curricular activities.
Fabiana Peschiera
Major in Political Science
2025 Undergraduate Arts Co-op Student of the Year
As the winner of the 2025 Undergraduate Student of the Year Award, Fabiana Peschiera’s co-op experience with the Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) highlights her exceptional initiative, professionalism, and leadership while driving meaningful organizational impact.
Making an Impact
As a part of the Abilities Management Team, Fabiana made a lasting contribution to human resources operations within a complex public sector organization. Working closely with a variety of internal stakeholders, she supported a range of HR functions including policy analysis, reporting, and administrative process improvements. Her supervisor emphasized that she was an “essential contributor” to their team, as she was relied upon for her excellent judgement, discretion, and analytical rigour.
Fabiana took the initiative to assess and organize fragmented and inconsistent internal documentation, streamlining and standardizing reporting structures while improving accessibility for staff across the organization’s different departments. She created new reporting and data visualization tools, which allowed for more accurate tracking of accommodations, workplace safety, and sick-leave trends—a key contribution during her work term that transformed the efficiency and reliability of HRPS’ processes. Her supervisor emphasized her work as having “directly supported senior leadership decision-making.”
Links Between Work & Academics
Fabiana leveraged her strong academic foundation for her success in this role. She credits her Political Science and Public Policy coursework with sharpening her critical thinking and research skills, which she directly applied to policy interpretation and decision-making. In particular, Fabiana’s background in Public Policy gave her the tools to efficiently translate a new collective agreement into operational practice, ensuring compliance and fairness. Throughout the work term, she demonstrated her ability to seamlessly apply her academic knowledge in practice, as well as an exceptional work ethic.
Fabiana’s experience with HRPS has helped her “find purpose” in her academics. When returning to campus from her work terms, she tailored her courses to fit her goal of applying evidence-based decision-making into institutional reform. Her academics informed her work which then provided context for her academics—which she described as a “perfect feedback loop.”
Impact on Career Development
Before joining co-op, Fabiana was unsure about her career path and passions. The experience allowed her to rediscover her interests and what inspired her. Through her work with HRPS, Fabiana now recognizes that learning happens when you leave your comfort zone and turn your knowledge into action.
With a newfound clarity on her professional career, Fabiana is now pursuing a Human Resources Certificate and a Certified Human Resources Professional designation. Her co-op experience not only gave her a new perspective on her academic learning but also built her identity as a professional. “It transformed uncertainty into direction and curiosity into confidence.”
About the UBC Arts Co-op Student of the Year Award
The annual award recognizes outstanding achievement in all aspects of the UBC Arts Co-op student’s performance, including academic achievement, job achievement/employer evaluation, personal statement, contribution to co-operative education, and contribution to extra-curricular activities.