{"id":53365,"date":"2026-02-03T10:32:25","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T15:32:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/?p=53365"},"modified":"2026-03-26T09:58:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T13:58:25","slug":"carleton-english-student-shares-her-co-op-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/2026\/carleton-english-student-shares-her-co-op-journey\/","title":{"rendered":"Carleton English Student Shares Her Co-op Journey"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Carleton English Student Shares Her Co-op Journey\n <\/h1>\n \n \n <\/header>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n
\"Ayla\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

My name is Ayla, I\u2019m an undergraduate English<\/a> student at Carleton University, and I’m currently finishing up my three-term Co-op<\/a> experience. When I first began, I thought I would be working \u2018English-specific\u2019 jobs like technical editing or working as an intern at a publishing house. Now, towards the end, I\u2019ve learned that the skills I\u2019ve built during my degree have allowed me to contribute meaningfully in a variety of professional environments: the Kanata North Business Association<\/a>, Library and Archives Canada<\/a> and Hydro Ottawa<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kanata North Business Association (KNBA)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It comes as a surprise to some that as an English major, I spent the first of my three Co-op work terms immersed in technology. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My first placement was with the Kanata North Business Association (KNBA). The KNBA represents the 540+ member companies which are in Kanata North Tech Park\u2014a designated business improvement area. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the major events that I helped to plan was the Annual Technata Hackathon. The event focused on sustainability and invited students from Carleton, the University of Ottawa and Algonquin College to participate in group mentorship and problem solving. Planning the event was a test to my time management skills, which were luckily already quite strong from balancing assignments in university. From organizing the catering to organizing the participants and mentors, I learned how to juggle not only my own time and expectations, but others\u2019 as well.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the highlights from this event was interviewing the participants, mentors and sponsors, whose responses I used to write an article on the event. In my degree, the lectures and materials have always invited discussion. The interpersonal skills acquired through these discussions allowed me to interview confidently and effectively. This article led to my favourite project of the work term, which was organizing and editing the KNBA\u2019s annual publication TechTalk<\/em>. This magazine was printed and distributed at the annual partner\u2019s summit, and it included my article on the Hackathon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a few of my written deliverables, I was asked to write on topics which I was not familiar with, featuring \u2018up-and-coming\u2019 technology. One such instance was when I was asked to write a blog post on semiconductors, which was meant to kick-start Chip Month (October). I didn\u2019t have a clue what a semiconductor was, and up until this point, would have guessed it was some kind of semi-truck. However, my degree has helped hone my research abilities. After asking a friend in engineering to explain the concept, reading through various articles and publications and asking AI to help simplify the topic, I was able to write a blog post explaining the \u2018what\u2019 and \u2018why\u2019 of a semiconductor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Working in the Kanata North Tech Park, I learned how versatile my degree was, and how many opportunities there were for an English major that no one thinks or talks about. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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