At Parkin, we deeply value the contributions of our co-op students and the fresh perspectives they bring to our teams. Their energy, creativity, and eagerness to learn enrich our practice while giving us the opportunity to live out our vision, mission, and values in mentorship and collaboration.
We are grateful to each student who chooses to complete their placement with us, and we’re proud to share the reflections of one of our recent co-op students, Karyn Colenutt, on her experience at Parkin:
“Completing my co-op placement at Parkin has been an incredible learning experience. Throughout my work terms I had the opportunity to contribute to real projects, including the Advanced Medical Research Center (AMRC) and the New Surrey Hospital Lab. I worked on both projects while they were in the construction documentation stage and was able to see the AMRC project reach the important milestone of Issued for Construction.
I supported the project teams using software such as Revit and Bluebeam for detailing, modeling, implementing client feedback, and reviewing schedules. I attended team meetings, sat in on client presentations, and visited a project site. The wide range of tasks helped me improve my software skills and gave me valuable insight into laboratory design, functional planning, and equipment specification.
I also gained a deeper understanding of how architects work within practical constraints—codes, standards, functional requirements, and contracts—to realize successful projects. I saw how architectural firms operate, from office communication to coordination with other disciplines and engagement with user groups.
Everyone at Parkin has been welcoming, approachable, and generous with their time and knowledge. This created an ideal environment for students like me to learn and contribute. More than anything, this experience showed me the many roles architects take on as managers, coordinators, and designers.”
— Karyn Colenutt, Co-op Student at Parkin
We are proud of the impact our co-op students make during their time with us and look forward to supporting the next generation of architects as they grow in their careers.
Rendering of: AMRC