This summer, eight HBA students took on jobs as part of the Ivey Connects and Canada Life internship program. Run for over a decade, this program connects HBA students who want non-profit experience with non-profits that want to hire bright Ivey students for the summer.
The organizations receive funding from Canada Life to cover the student salaries and get access to a pool of bright and motivated students. In return, organizations must clearly identify the tasks and projects that students will work on and why the internship will be a meaningful learning experience.
This year’s selected organizations included: All Nations International Development Agency, Enactus Canada, Family Services Thames Valley, The Get REAL Movement, London Environmental Network, New Step For You, PHSS – Medical and Complex Care Community, and Pillar Non Profit.
Two HBA students shared their experience with the internship program this summer.
Isabella Ramirez, The Get REAL Movement
Isabella was first introduced to the GET Real Movement when she was acting as an orientation leader and took part in an allyship workshop led by Get REAL. She was moved by the enthusiasm and interaction of the presentation, and so was thrilled when she saw the Get REAL opportunity posted at Ivey.
The GET Real Movement is a non-profit organization focused on combatting 2SLGBTQ+ discrimination, racism, and bullying in school, summer camps, and workplaces. They do this through a series of programming, including educational workshops, youth counselling, and more. Get REAL receives financial support from an array of corporate partners, but also through the sale of merchandise on their website that promote messages of diversity and inclusion.
During her time with Get REAL, Isabella worked on multiple dimensions of the organization. She secured three new merchandise partnerships with bookstores at universities across the country. She managed customer inquiries, plus Get REAL’s Shopify account. On the programming side, Isabella worked with one of the organization’s executive directors to create “Positive Space Group Kits” for elementary students. The kits include stickers, magnets, and flags that help create a classroom environment where students feel accepted and welcomed. Isabella not only designed the kit materials but also researched potential suppliers to ensure the kits could become a reality.
We are so grateful to have been able to work with Isabella this year, thanks to Canada Life’s crucial funding of this program. During her co-op, Isabella contributed to just about every aspect of our organization – our summits, videos, social media, merch, research, graphic design, generating new partners, helping improve internal processes, the list goes on. Isabella brought with her an exceptional work-ethic, professionalism, and positive attitude, as well as amazing entrepreneurial instincts and was a joy to work with! Thank you, Isabella for an awesome term, and thank you Canada Life for making this possible!” – Chris Studer, Executive Director, The Get REAL Movement
Isabella learned a lot during her internship but her biggest takeaway was the importance of adaptability and multi-tasking. Working at a small organization meant she had many projects on the go and had to stay very organized, but Isabella welcomed the challenge. She was grateful for the opportunity to lead and learn and for the trust that the Get REAL staff had in her work.
James Yeretsian, Enactus Canada
James spent his summer with Enactus Canada, an organization that supports student entrepreneurs and social innovators that want to create a more just and sustainable world. They operate predominately through student chapters at post-secondary institutions all over the world.
This summer, Enactus Canada needed help measuring and reporting on their impact. Enactus Canada receives funding through corporate partnerships that then gets funneled to student entrepreneurs and their ventures. James was responsible for reporting back to these corporate partners on the impact that their dollar had. He was involved with the reporting process from start to finish.
He first learned how to centralize and sort large amounts of data, which was then used to assemble summaries of more than 130 student ventures. This process often involved translating highly technical applications into succinct stories that would resonate with the partners. He was also involved with the design of the reports, during which he developed new skills using Adobe Creative Suite. The next and final step of the reporting process that James will be a part of is presenting the report to partners and finding even more ways for the partners to engage with Enactus Canada.
Throughout his internship, James was always looking for ways to improve the impact reporting process. He realized that high-level executives were probably not reviewing the long 60-page impact reports that he was assembling. He knew this was a missed opportunity and so came up with the idea to make one-pagers that highlight key information in a graphically friendly way. He’s even created a template for this one-pager so it can be used by others once his internship ends.
James has been an excellent addition to our team this summer. His work has helped us strengthen our case for funding with our partners, and improve systems and processes for the future!” - Amy Kenyon, Vice President, Partnerships, Enactus Canada
James was thrilled for the chance to work with Enactus Canada and do this impact reporting work. He is passionate about helping others and wants a career that has a positive impact on the community. Not only was he able to achieve that through this internship, but he developed a newfound interest in corporate partnerships that he hopes to explore more in future roles.
A win-win opportunity
The Canada Life and Ivey Connects internship is a powerful program that benefits all of the involved stakeholders. Non-profits get support from bright Ivey students, like James and Isabella, and Ivey students get unique internship experiences where they are given ownership and responsibility over many different types of projects.
The Ivey experience is not one-size-fits-all and this internship program ensures that all types of work experience are offered and valued. There are inspiring organizations doing impactful work in our community and when you mix these organizations with passionate, smart Ivey students, great things can happen.
The Canada Life and Ivey Connects internship program would not be possible without the generous support of Canada Life and the hardworking students of Ivey Connects that collect, review, and accept applications from interested organizations.