ECO Canada Internship Program helps Waterloo architecture grad land her dream environmental job

By Cassandra Jowett, Internships/Co-ops, Launch Your Career, Q & As, Top Career Tips

March 07, 2011 - While Kimchi Ho was a student in the University of Waterloo’s architecture program, she continuously added to her experience by completing more than a half a dozen internships with a variety of firms.

But when she graduated in August 2010, she specifically wanted to work for one particular architecture firm that integrates sustainability in everything it does.

“The ECO Canada internship was integral to the success of securing this job opportunity as it provided financial support for me to take on what would have been an unrealistic position with the employer.”
    —Kimchi Ho, University of Waterloo architecture graduate

The 24-year-old was drawn to the very small Waterloo-based sustainable design firm Whiting Design because of the owner’s outlook on sustainable building and design, and the company’s commitment to innovative green design, but she knew it wasn’t realistic for the company to take on an inexperienced intern like her out of the blue.

She had heard about the ECO Canada internship program through a friend and, after doing some research online, learned that she could be eligible for a wage subsidy of up to $12,000 to ease the small company’s burden of taking on a new grad employee.

She applied to be pre-approved for the internship funding through ECO Canada, which is a resource for environmental employment, and the rest is history! She’s been working for  Whiting Design as a Senior Sustainable Designer since September 2010, and generously agreed to share her experience with the ECO Canada internship program below.

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