![[University of Waterloo]](/goldbar.gif)
| Friday |
Monday, September 22, 2003
|
Editor: Chris Redmond credmond@uwaterloo.ca |
![[D'Agnillo]](/images/2003/0922dagnillo.gif)
"While the Greens may not have the resources of the old parties," says D'Agnillo, "there are home-grown candidates in every riding in Ontario (that's 103 of them), working very hard with what they have to give every Ontarian the opportunity to make an important, relevant political choice that is not offered to them by the old 'grey' parties." He'll be the standard-bearer in Kitchener Centre riding.
Originally from Calgary, D'Agnillo received a master's degree from UW in 1997 and is now finishing his PhD in chem eng. He says that on coming to Kitchener-Waterloo in 1994, he "quickly came to recognize the need to protect this region rich in agricultural, natural and industrial wealth from unsustainable development."
His online biography adds that his chem eng background "has raised the eyebrows of some environmentalists, Luigi counters by saying that all big environmental questions can be boiled down to chemical engineering problems; only politics stands in the way, and hence his interest in the political movement of the Green Party.
"He has a short history of environmental activism in the Kitchener-Waterloo area, including two-years as a volunteer coordinator and media spokesperson of a citizen's group battling the Ontario's Ministry of Transportation over the construction of a new freeway through wetlands and farmlands between Kitchener and Guelph. He has also served three years on the Region of Waterloo's Cycling Advisory Committee, which advises road planners on the implementation of a cycling network and other transportation alternatives."
D'Agnillo adds that he's campaigning hard this month: "I have been fundraising, distributing pamphlets, staking up hundreds of signs, studying policy platforms and attending all-candidates meetings."
A written announcement reminded the campus that "Co-operative Education & Career Services (CECS), together with the Information Systems and Technology Department (IST), is developing an online system to handle student job applications, employer job postings, candidate selection, interview scheduling and database management.
"The system is being designed to efficiently handle the co-op records and transactions of more than 4,000 co-op students and 3,000 employers as well as approximately 15,000 interviews per term."
| Story about CECS Online from Friday's Imprint |
Now, CECS said, "A second, more comprehensive pilot is being planned for a yet-to-be-determined group of students in the January 2004 term. Whereas the May 2003 pilot involved only a partial version of the new system, the one in January 2004 will include all components to be used by co-op students during the job application/interview process.
"The projected implementation date of the full system is now the May 2004 term."
In setting this date, Friday's announcement said, "the CECS.online project team is taking into consideration allowing enough time to complete any remaining development and properly testing the entire system; deal with any outstanding functional and technical issues; train various user groups."
There's more information, including progress reports from time to time, on the CECS Online web site.
![[Yari]](http://www.cecs.uwaterloo.ca/employers/uwrecruiter/current/images/carole.jpg)
An article headlined "From Success to Success" focuses on one of
them, Carole Yari (left), who earned a co-op math degree in 1986 and
is now president of a national financial services company,
Programmed Insurance
Brokers.
The article, by Declan Kelly, notes that "For the past decade UW has led the way in the Maclean's National Reputational category of Best Overall University. This distinction is a direct result of producing top graduates who in turn go on to lead the way in their respective fields.
"One major factor that sets UW grads apart in this area is their co-op experience. Whereas other graduates enter the workforce relatively inexperienced, UW Co-op grads already have up to two years of solid work experience. With learning curves being steepest at the outset of any new position, this experience proves invaluable to both the graduates themselves and the companies that hire them."
Then the article turns to Yari, noting that her co-op experience led to her first permanent position with Software AG, an XML company in Cambridge, where she spent her final two co-op terms.
"The co-op experience was instrumental in paving the path for my career destiny," says Yari. "What it gives you is a real world experience as to what the specific job options or opportunities are. And from there, you can quickly decide if this is an industry you want to be in, or an industry that you don't want to be in, without jeopardizing full-time options. Once you've started your profession, you don't have the luxury of that type of 'career experimentation' without long-term effects."
With a window into a variety of industries during co-op including two co-op terms with Crown Life, the article continues, "Yari eventually combined her experience in software with her knowledge of the insurance sector. It was a highly beneficial move. Yari spent the next two years as a private consultant, helping insurance companies streamline their IT services. . . . Her skill-set was so strong that one of her clients, Programmed Insurance Brokers (PIB), a multi-line insurance and financial services brokerage company, offered her a full-time position. Today, Yari is President of PIB and oversees company operations, including 140 employees across Canada.
"Yari traces her current professional success back to the foundations she established as a co-op student."
It quotes her thoughts: "Co-op gives you the discipline and the ability to set objectives -- to set your sights on something and to accomplish it."
Some plumbing work is being done today in Biology I building, with the result that there will be no water for several hours in the greenhouse and the fish laboratories. I wondered how the fish were going to get along without water, and whether anybody had warned them. Biology technician Martin Ryan kindly explains that although the fish are used to running water, they can probably cope with a few hours of stagnant water in their tanks. "It's been done before." He notes that -- to avoid chlorine, which is toxic to fish -- the labs aren't connected to the municipal water supply, but to a private well that's sunk deep into the local aquifer just west of the building.
Al Cheyne, chair of UW's department of psychology, is the noon-hour speaker today in the Monday series at Kitchener Public Library downtown. His topic: "The Nightmare and Its Progeny: From Ardat Lili to Harry Potter." Cheyne gained some publicity earlier this year as the author of a chapter in The Science of Harry Potter, explaining some of young Harry's experiences as the result of "lucid dreaming", on which he's an authority.
Today's career services seminar starts at 10:30 and will explain "Making the Career Fair Work for You". The fair in question is scheduled for Wednesday at Waterloo's RIM Park.
Monthly draws for prizes among Keystone Campaign contributors have resumed, and the latest list of winners is posted on the Keystone web site. "When you donate to the Keystone Campaign," writes Bonnie Oberle from the development office, "UW wins and you can win too!" She reports that Keystone has raised $2.35 million towards the five-year goal of $4.5 million, "and every donation moves us closer to building a talent trust."
Anne Kinney, a staff member in UW's finance office, is about to retire after 14 years at Waterloo, and colleagues will be hosting a party in her honour on Thursday. It's scheduled for 3 to 5 p.m. at the University Club. Anyone who would like to join in Friday's celebration should be in touch with Elizabeth Monachan, emonacha@uwaterloo.ca, by tomorrow.
The licence that allows many thousands of photocopies at UW -- covering copyright material for use by students, staff and faculty -- comes from an agency called Access Copyright -- formally CanCopy, and more formerly the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency. UW's current licence expired on August 31, but "has been extended until the end of September," I'm told, while negotiations for a new licence are completed. Details of the new arrangement should be public shortly, says Susan Bellingham, UW's rare books librarian and also the resident copyright expert.
The information systems and technology department sends a reminder of an announcement that was made in the summer: old versions of the Windows operating system, on desktop computers across campus, will no longer be supported. IST support for Windows 95, 98 and ME ends September 30. "Windows 95/98/ME systems have become a support and security issue," an IST memo says. "Many of the newer services that IST provides are not supported by Windows 95/98/ME, and these PCs running the older operating systems remain vulnerable to attacks because they are no longer supported by Microsoft." More information is available on the IST web site, and anyone with "concerns" is invited to get in touch with Bob Hicks (ext. 2194) or Pat Lafranier (ext. 6433).
Brief notice of some things that will be happening later this week:
CAR