Connor Scida, a third-year Commerce Co-op student from Waterloo, Ontario, is majoring in International Business. He chose Dalhousie for its accredited program, strong co-op support, and overall student experience. Currently, he is completing his co-op with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), where he manages three key responsibilities: creating a monthly newsletter for over 300 internal clients, creating reports on Canadian Agriculture companies, commodities, and industries, and facilitating communication between international trade officers with the goal of fostering export opportunities for Canadian businesses.

Connor hopes to deepen his knowledge of the Canadian agriculture sector, its challenges, potential for the future, and what needs to be done to better support it. He also aims to have a strong grasp on the government policies, processes, and programs used to help support Canada. “I hope to gain a better understanding of what I’m looking for, and what I want to avoid when it comes to future roles and career opportunities,” he adds.

Looking ahead, Connor sees potential for a full-time career with AAFC. “One of my favorite aspects of working at AAFC is seeing the positive changes we create through our funding, research, outreach, and many other programs and initiatives. From climate change to food security, I strongly value the issues AAFC sets out to fix.” However, he remains open to opportunities across both public and private sectors, not wanting to limit his options.

Through creating research reports during his co-ops, Connor has significantly improved his proficiency with Microsoft Excel, frequently using shortcuts to improve his speed and efficiency. This has been particularly beneficial in his Quants 3 course, allowing him to complete tasks more quickly and focus more on what matters rather than the formatting.

For his next co-op, Connor is interested in roles that involve operations, business development, or project management, where he can collaborate with a variety of departments and take a big picture approach. He values communication and variety in his daily tasks.

From his past co-op job searches, Connor has learned the importance of reaching out to people in fields of interest, regardless of their role, to learn more about potential career paths. He advises that there is no harm in reaching out, you never know where a quick 20-minute conversation can take you. “Even if the organization isn’t hiring at the moment, I have found so much value in learning about others’ experiences within different roles and organizations and what their typical duties might look like.”