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Calling all Co-op students! Do you want to learn more about your co-op options? Wish to connect more with alumni who have gone through the co-op process? Want to discover your opportunities to pursue entrepreneurship as a co-op student? E co-op is one of the many options offered by the University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ, in which students work on the creation of their own business for the opportunity to earn a co-op credit. You will be provided with all the support and mentorship you need to turn your innovation into reality.Ìý

Join Alumni Relations and Co-operative and Experiential Education for a free virtual interview event featuring Enterprise Co-op (E Co-op) alumni! Tune in to hear about their experiences as they navigate their path to entrepreneurship, including stories, lessons, challenges, and more! Learn more about how the E Co-op option, offered by the University, may be beneficial and a good fit for you.

Your hosts/moderators of the event will be Hamisha Ramesh and Christine Yang.

Registration opens April 4th. We look forward to seeing you there! 
More information on our interviewees can be found below.

Youssef Mekhail is an entrepreneur with a passion for Accounting & Finance. Graduating on the Dean's list with a degree in Accounting & Financial Management in 2020 from the University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ, Youssef has gained extensive knowledge and experience in the field. From a young age, Youssef had an entrepreneurial spirit and started his first company at the age of 17. Since then, Youssef has worked for both startups and major corporations in Accounting & Finance, gaining valuable insight into the industry. Currently, Youssef serves as the Co-Founder and Chief Financial Officer of JY Group Inc, a successful company that has achieved profitability since its second year of operations. Under Youssef's leadership, the company has experienced tremendous growth with an average YoY growth rate of over 100%. One of Youssef's notable accomplishments was the landing of Cushman & Wakefield in 2018, which remains one of the company's biggest clients to date. Additionally, Youssef created a Service Pricing Strategy to capture as much of the market as possible early on, further contributing to the company's success. Youssef is always open to making connections with the UÀ¶Ý®ÊÓƵ community; you can connect with him on to learn more about his career, accomplishments, ask questions, and more!

Hyeseong Jun is a current student in the University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ’s Faculty  of Mathematics, in his final year of studies, focusing on statistics, computing, and management studies. On top of being a student here at the University, Hyeseong is a budding entrepreneur with extensive experience on his hands. During his time as a co-op student, he had worked in a number of professional positions, including software development at AKA, and data analytics at Manulife. Eager to challenge himself and explore his entrepreneurial interests, Hyeseong had also taken on multiple terms of Enterprise co-op (E co-op). Hyeseong is currently on a 12-month E co-op term with the University, and is working to facilitate a start-up of his own. As the CEO and Co-Founder of Escape Platforms Inc, Hyeseong is working on a social networking service that fosters meaningful relationships through in-person interactions. Hyeseong is open to connecting with UW students, alumni, faculty, and the general community, and enjoys sharing about his start up, hobbies, interests and more online through , as well as .Ìý

Dr. Keean Sarani is the co-founder and COO at Avro Life Science, a clinical stage biotechnology company developing novel therapeutics and RNA drug delivery systems for rare skin conditions. Keean earned his Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ, where he was president of the Society of Pharmacy Students and the 2021 class valedictorian. Keean is an active angel investor and startup advisor, currently sitting on the City of Kitchener’s Economic Development Advisory Committee and Velocity's Investment Committee. He is also a proud alum of Y-Combinator, Creative Destruction Labs, and Velocity. As a former E Co-op student with an abundance of entrepreneurship experience and University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ graduate, Keean is always looking open to connecting with the UÀ¶Ý®ÊÓƵ community. You can follow Keean on to learn more about his entrepreneurial, professional and academic interests and stay connected with him.