Megan Johnson’s first co-op will be hard to beat. The third-year Environmental Sciences student left the Co-op Student of the Year Awards ceremony with two standout moments. Megan won the McMaster Science Co-op Student of the Year for Level 3 and was also nominated for the Ontario Education Work-Integrated Learning Co-op Student of the Year Award.
Megan spent eight months working at Environment and Climate Change Canada as a Student Policy Analyst. Her most notable contribution was completing a comparison of regulatory approaches to managing industrial chemicals in Canada and other jurisdictions. The findings contributed to a Memorandum to Cabinet on chemical regulations.
She also played a key role in improving her team’s hiring process, utilizing social media and her academic network to connect with qualified candidates.
Megan’s supervisor, Riya Sharma, refers to her as a “secret weapon” for getting things done. “Megan’s exceptional work ethic, attention to detail, and deep understanding of the legislative and policy frameworks that shape our work proved to be an incredible benefit to our team,” Riya said.
Co-op Student of the Year Awards were also presented to Maya da Luz, fourth year Chemical Biology student, for her work term with BlueRock Therapeutics, and to Alexandria Mansfield, fifth year Biochemistry student, for her work term with Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network.
Kriesha Eyer, third year Biochemistry student, Dinuri Punchihewa, fourth year Biology & Pharmacology student, and Narges Kalani, fifth year Chemical Biology student, were also recognized for honourable mention for their outstanding contributions during their co-op term.
