The Science Industry Internship Program- Students and Employers Both Gain

Natalia Steciw is a perfect example of how students and employers both gain from the Science Industry Internship Program. She happily joined Manulife Financial, one of the leading life insurance companies in Canada, to explore her possible future and grow both personally and professionally. She has been able to show both Manulife and herself what she is capable of. Manulife has been able to meet the talent of the future and to help a student to prepare for the move to the ranks of the professional. They have met a potential recruit as well.

As an actuarial science major, Natalia was placed with Manulife where she is gaining "valuable work experience with an established company". Manulife is even helping her in the process of passing her Society of Actuary exams by giving paid study time and paying her exam fees. As her supervisor, Lisa Miolo, says, "Internship programs give Manulife Financial an excellent opportunity to work with talented students, and this term was no exception. Natalia approached her internship with much enthusiasm and directly contributed to a number of projects which impacted the design of our products. She has an important role on our team."

Natalia has already worked on a variety of projects for Manulife, which have challenged her skills by giving her the opportunity to "explore different projects and areas of the company,” and to "make a difference to the workings of her department”. She has found the work interesting and rewarding. Natalia has gained a "wealth of knowledge" and has had a "fulfilling experience".

Originally she hesitated to do an internship because she did not want to graduate without her class or move. Ultimately Natalia chose the program. Today she is carrying out work “that is meaningful for the stellar reputation of this department” and is finding “answers to questions that co-workers and senior management pose”. In the process she has discovered the differences between work and student life and been surprised by the changes to her lifestyle.

Natalia has enjoyed getting to know her colleagues and even helped to organize a summer fun event for her department. She has discovered how important relationships with fellow workers are to performance. She is glad for all the supportive people she has met and formed friendships with. Natalia has learned that a good supervisor is important, too and feels lucky to have had a supervisor who has given constructive feedback and assigned her "interesting assignments to work on". Natalia is “looking forward to continued success at Manulife” in another success story for the Science Industry Internship Program.

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