Architecture/Construction SHSM

My name is Maxim Belinson and I’m an SRB 2020 graduate. I’m currently in my first year at Dalhousie University in their engineering program. I started the Construction, Architecture, & Engineering SHSM in grade 10 to get a bit of a head start and finished most of it by the end of grade 11. One of my favourite parts of the SHSM program was CO-OP. I did my CO-OP placement in the second semester of grade 11 at an engineering firm called Golder Associates which is a very large global firm that has to do with environmental consulting, mining, construction, and much more. During my placement, I spent roughly 80% of my time in their geotechnical laboratory running tests on soil and aggregate samples, and the other 20% in the office doing administrative tasks like data entry for the tests that I performed in the lab. I absolutely loved CO-OP because it gave me a chance to get out of school and learn about the industry that I’m interested in while receiving credits at the same time. I would often talk to many engineers about their careers, different career paths, and what was required to get where they were which allowed me to learn a lot to do with post-secondary education which is something they don’t teach you much about in high school. I learned a lot about the geotechnical engineering sector and created many great connections at Golder. At the end of my CO-OP placement, they offered me a job for the summer, and of course, I took it. Then, they kept extending my contract and I currently still find myself with Golder after 2 years. CO-OP is a great part of SHSM because it teaches you a lot more than you’d think and gets you out of the classroom for a more hands-on learning experience in the workplace. Regardless of what you want to go into or whether you’re in SHSM or not, CO-OP is a great experience and I promise it’s better than sitting around listening to someone talk about something you’re probably never going to use in your life. Rather, CO-OP teaches you many useful soft-skills you’re most likely to use throughout your career.

Maxim Belinson