Andela Acic, a Bachelor of Science student majoring in Computer Science with a minor in Psychology, has been named the 2024 UBC Okanagan Interdisciplinary Co-op Student of the Year. Beyond this recognition, Andela was chosen as the sole UBC nominee for the prestigious ACE-WIL BC/Yukon Student of the Year Awards—an honour given to just one out of 9,600 eligible UBC Co-op participants. She went on to receive an Honourable Mention in the university category at the provincial level.
Reflecting on her journey, Andela shares, “Moving from undergraduate education to a career in just four years can be daunting. You hope that the manager looking through a stack of job applications will distinguish you from other equally qualified peers. As a Computer Science student, I knew securing work experience early was essential, so I applied for the Interdisciplinary Co-op Education Program at UBC Okanagan. This is one of the best decisions I have made in my life.”
Excelling in Industry and Innovation
Andela has completed three co-op work terms with TD, Morgan Stanley, and Amazon, each refining her technical expertise and leadership skills. At Amazon, her supervisor noted, “Andela far exceeded expectations for an intern by actively engaging with stakeholders beyond her team, a rare initiative in her role. Through Amazon’s Ride Along Program, she gained firsthand insight into how delivery drivers interact with the application, which directly informed her project design. As a result, her work laid the groundwork for a large-scale future initiative.” Through this, Andela identified a critical inefficiency and developed a feature projected to save the company $250 million annually.
Beyond her assigned projects, Andela showcased her technical and leadership skills by competing in two company-wide hackathons. She won first place in the Career Development category of the ‘Emerging Innovators Challenge’ with ‘Idea Interrogator,’ an AI-powered tool that helps employees refine and present ideas. She also placed in the Top 5 out of approximately 9,000 interns in ‘Hack Your Internship’ with ‘TestingCopilot,’ a tool that streamlines workflow setup for engineers, saving hours of work.
Commitment to Community and Mentorship
Andela’s impact extends beyond technical achievements—she is deeply committed to mentorship and community engagement. She secured a $1,000 United Nations Foundation grant for the Girl Up Program, supporting STEM students in job application preparation. As part of the UBCO Scholar to Scholar program, she mentors fellow Computer Science scholarship students and frequently shares her co-op experiences at faculty and program events, inspiring others to pursue experiential learning.
Bridging Disciplines and Driving Change
Andela’s interdisciplinary mindset is evident in her work. Her minor in psychology allows her to design user-centric applications, ensuring technology is intuitive and accessible. She applies this perspective to her academic projects, including leading her Capstone team in developing an AI-driven tool to evaluate aesthetic sensitivity.
A Future Shaped by Co-op
Through her co-op experiences, Andela gained industry certifications, honed her leadership skills, and built confidence in her technical abilities. Her contributions left a lasting impression, leading to a full-time offer as a Machine Learning Software Engineer at Amazon, where she will return after graduating in June 2025.
“The Interdisciplinary Co-op Education Program has been the catalyst of my personal, academic, and professional growth and the most important part of my career journey so far. Co-op allowed me to bridge disciplines, gain industry experience, and make a meaningful impact.”
Andela’s journey showcases the transformative impact of co-op education in launching successful careers. As she embarks on the next phase of her career, she continues to inspire fellow students to embrace experiential learning and maximize their university experience.