By Danielle Gallant, Events & Communications Specialist
Working in the Forman-Kay lab at the Hospital for Sick Children, Elise Voskamp, third-year Biochemistry student, accomplished much more than her boss could have imagined.
Andrew Chong, Senior Research Associate, nominated Voskamp for the Science Co-op Student of the Year award and attended the ceremony to celebrate her achievements. Voskamp knew her boss was attending but had no idea that he’d be called upon to make a special announcement. When Voskamp heard her supervisor was called up, her jaw dropped. She was so excited to be nominated that the possibility of winning didn’t even cross her mind.
When Chong was called up to share what made Voskamp stand out among co-op students, he shared that her work was more consistent with the responsibilities of a graduate student.
Voskamp was expected to purify proteins and perform drug dosing assays to measure the effect of small molecule drugs on the stability of the protein. But Voskamp accomplished much more than that. Her work significantly advanced drug feasibility studies.
Voskamp worked faster than Chong could have imagined, so she was given tasks that are not typical of those of an undergraduate student. Her drug dosing experiments combined with her experiments on enzyme variants represent sufficient work for a master’s thesis.
During Voskamp’s time at the Hospital for Sick Children, she was referred to as a “model lab citizen” – a hard worker who helped others and consistently brought positive energy to the lab, even when experiments were not yielding results. Chong went on to present some of her work at the O-GlcNAcylation in Health and Disease Conference in Durham, North Carolina.
While Voskamp was working at SickKids, she was also a member of the Aurora Barbarians rugby Club – a highly competitive rugby club that includes members of the Canadian national rugby team. She’d spend her days in the lab, commute to Aurora, and then spend her nights practicing and weekends playing for the team. She’d stay late or start work early to ensure that her lab work was always done on time, often filling out lab notes after hours even though this was not expected of her. “Elise gives 100% effort to every commitment that she makes, inside and outside the lab,” said Chong.
Before starting her first co-op placement, Voskamp wasn’t sure she could contribute meaningfully to a professional environment. She dedicated significant time and effort to her applications, aware that her limited work experience could present challenges. That journey – and the persistence it demanded – made receiving this award especially meaningful for Voskamp.
“Job searching, adapting to new workplaces and learning new skills at such a fast pace is stressful. There were several moments when I felt overwhelmed or unsure of my abilities. But I kept showing up, asking questions and learning from my experiences,” said Voskamp.
After finishing an eight-month co-op work term, she said she feels like a more capable scientist and a student who seeks out, rather than avoids, challenges. Working in the Forman-Kay lab alongside supportive mentors gave Voskamp the opportunity to truly enjoy her role.
Since joining the co-op program, Voskamp has mentored three co-op students through their first job search, and student athletes who she encourages to apply to co-op. Voskamp never stops singing the praises of the co-op program, even when she’s meeting recruits for the Women’s Rugby Team at Mac.
Voskamp says that the skills and confidence she gained during her co-op term have directly enhanced her performance in her current thesis lab. “Co-op has fundamentally transformed how I approach research and learning. I can’t wait to continue sharing this enthusiasm with my peers”.
Although graduation is years away from Voskamp, this experience significantly shaped her idea of what the future could hold – not just by clarifying her goal of pursuing a career in research, but in giving her the confidence and mindset to continue to work toward these goals.
Co-op
Awards, Co-op