Essential to the team: welcoming the new cohort of co-op students
F&S is proud to work hand-in-hand with the university to provide both work and learning opportunities to students from a variety of academic departments.
Every year, Facilities & Services (F&S) welcomes a talented group of co-op and professional experience year (PEY) students from engineering, computer science and other programs to gain practical experience while supporting the work that keeps the University of Toronto’s St. George campus running smoothly.
With National Intern Day on July 31, it’s the perfect time to highlight some of the talented students bringing fresh ideas and energy to the F&S team.
Angelo Tamayo, electrical utilities student
Currently studying electrical engineering technology at Humber Polytechnic, Angelo is gaining hands-on experience with the F&S electrical utilities team. His role includes integrating third-party devices with energy monitoring systems, updating electrical record drawings and improving protection and control systems. “I chose F&S for the chance to work on real projects that the university will actually use,” he says.
Angelo has especially enjoyed visiting electrical substations across campus and seeing how equipment like switchgears and transformers work together to ensure safe, smart power distribution. “It’s a great opportunity to ask questions and understand how everything comes together.” After graduation, he hopes to build a career in the power or automation sector, ideally with a focus on clean energy or smart grid technologies.
Celeste Moriana, preventative maintenance engineer co-op, asset management
Joining F&S after completing her third year of industrial engineering at U of T, Celeste is working with the maintenance planning and reliability team. She’s supporting mechanical equipment inventories and helping to develop a preventative maintenance plan for mechanical and electrical systems.
A strong interest in preventative maintenance and enthusiastic feedback from past co-op students helped her choose this placement. “They had nothing but glowing reviews about their time here,” she says. “From this, I knew this would be an environment where I would be able to learn and grow as an engineer.” Celeste is looking forward to applying what she’s learned in class while building new skills that will support her future in engineering.
David Kochanski, PEY software developer, IT
With a passion for computers and years of personal coding experience, David is excited to join F&S as a software developer. A computer science student at U of T Mississauga, he’s working with the IT team supporting both front- and back-end development. “I’ve been working on personal development projects as my passion for many years, so I’m excited to get real experience with a wonderful, experienced team,” he says.
David appreciates the chance to work across disciplines — from front- to back-end to database design — and says the experience will help guide his career direction. “It’s helping me try out different areas and see what I’m gravitating more towards for later in my career.”
Ethan Ho, process engineering co-op, continuous improvement
As part of the continuous improvement team, Ethan is using data to drive operational enhancements across F&S. The fourth-year industrial engineering student is supporting process automation, Power BI dashboards and improvements to the service order intake process.
“As a U of T student, I’m most excited about working with like-minded professionals on meaningful, operations-focused projects that improve campus functionality and the overall wellbeing of students,” he says. For Ethan, contributing to U of T campus operations is a chance to give back. “It means helping build a stronger and more sustainable environment for current and future students.” Through this placement, he’s gaining insight into how large institutions manage complex systems while applying his academic skills in a real-world setting.
Nicolas Kondratenko, project management co-op, infrastructure planning and implementation
Nicholas just finished his third year of engineering science and will be working with the infrastructure planning and implementation team to support campus infrastructure projects from planning to commissioning and helping with project close-out.
“I chose F&S to leverage my consulting experience and try out project management, especially after building relationships with project managers in my previous role,” he says.
Since joining the team, Nicolas has been excited to develop his technical expertise while also strengthening communication and management skills. He values the opportunity to contribute to projects that enhance campus operations and engage a range of stakeholders. “It means a lot to see projects move from concept to completion. The teams we work with are often very appreciative.”