Asia Bernabo is a second-year Bachelor of Commerce Co-op student from Ottawa, Ontario. When choosing universities, flexibility was an extremely important factor for Asia. “I chose Dalhousie specifically because of the co-op program—I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, so the opportunity to work various jobs was very appealing.”

Asia has started down the path to becoming a consultant and secured her first co-op at IBM, a global technology and consulting company. She currently works as a Consulting Intern on the federal team, which is directly responsible for selling to and consulting with the Government of Canada. “I am responsible for learning and understanding the federal sales process, identifying areas that can be made more efficient, and brainstorming and implementing solutions that will help expedite the sales process and improve the quality of proposals being submitted. It’s not a traditional intern role, where often students work alongside teams and assist on projects, but I find it extremely fascinating because I am essentially taking on the role of a professional consultant!”

While on her work term, Asia has learned to use many tools available to her through IBM. One of these tools is watsonx, IBM’s in-house artificial intelligence. “I am currently evaluating different watsonx models to determine which will be the most efficient for the federal team, and if all goes according to plan, soon I’ll be helping to develop an AI ‘assistant’ that is tailored to the needs of the federal team!”

One aspect of the job Asia is enjoying the most is working in an office. “I love working in the office because it gives me the opportunity to work with such smart people. All consultants work on one floor, so it’s very easy to collaborate with people of all ages and all positions—I’ll often chat with executives in the kitchen and lunchroom in between meetings!”

When securing her first work term, Asia chose to self-develop her job. However, she was not without support. Asia attended MCS’ Toronto Corporate Tour in 2023, where she was able to network with business professionals. It was there that she met representatives from IBM. “I met the leader of the associates (and intern) program, among other consultants, and those connections helped me meet the right people and ultimately land the job.”

Outside of her co-op, Asia is an executive on two student societies. She holds the role of VP Marketing both with Dalhousie’s Women in Business Association and Consulting Association. “I am primarily responsible for managing social media, creating posts and advertisements, and expanding the reach of the societies across both the student community and corporate landscape. I’m not actually a marketing major, but I pursued the positions because I have an eye for design, and I enjoy creative work.”

When asked about advice for other students, Asia says, “Network, network, network! Networking gave me the opportunity to explore many different industries, and really helped me discover which path I wanted to take,” she says. “Don’t be afraid to try everything out! First year, I joined five different societies as a general member because I wasn’t sure where my interests lay. Once I learned what each association represented, there were naturally some that piqued my interests.”