Interview written and conducted by Anne Orr, Former Campus Talent Attraction Lead - Enterprise Functions and Strategy
Lors is a data scientist and has had the most fantastic co-op experience. Interested to see how he’s been able to contribute ideas to be a valuable member of his team?
Keep reading!
Anne: So I know a bit about what you do and where you are working, but give me the details about yourself and your time at the Bank. How did you initially find a role at the bank?
Lors: I first met Arina through a friend who had met her at an IT event. I then met up with Arina and she told me about some exciting opportunities at Scotiabank. I followed up and she pointed me in the right direction to find a job! I can’t stress the importance of building a positive relationship with the recruitment team at Scotiabank and not relying solely on your resume to get you a job!
Anne: So you’ve now been here for almost 8 months! Time flies! What have been some highlights for you?
Lors: In my day job, I am a data scientist. I have to work hard, learn a lot and was always willing to learn new things and put my hand up for new opportunities. I’ve been lucky to work on some innovative projects. I never shy away from giving tips and putting my hand up for things. It’s been important to ask questions and challenge the status quo so that we are coming up with the best ideas possible and to add value. Even before starting my job, I was able to meet people! I was able to shoot a video with the Campus Recruitment team for a student welcome video and I could just tell that this work term was going to be like none other! I was able to get very involved on the Student Committee too! I’ve also been able to represent Scotiabank at a hackathon!
Anne: You’ve done so much and definitely made the most out of your experience! How many hackathons have you gone to would you say?
Lors: Overall.. hmm.. probably over 30! 2017 was an intense year of hackathons!
Anne: As you have done so much, what are some words that you’d use, to sum up, your experience at Scotiabank?
Lors:
- Socializing/contacts – These are my two main words for the first couple of months as I’ve been thrown into a bubble of networks that I wasn’t a part of previously and I’ve been lucky to meet so many great people in such a short timeframe.
- Innovation – I’ve learned a lot of new things and how to do things differently. I’ve encountered problems that the Bank is trying to innovate and I love the process of innovation!
- Impact – I’ve realized throughout the duration of my work term how much of an impact I’ve made. I feel like I’ve been given a lot of autonomy and this has allowed me to flourish!
Anne: What was the highlight of your co-op experience at the Bank?
Lors: I’m going to separate my answer into the work perspective and social perspective. From a work perspective, I’ve learned so much and a highlight would definitely be the awesome team that I was able to join. They’ve given me a great deal of responsibility which I’ve been able to learn from. I have the skills to make an impact but it’s been great to be part of a team where I can share ideas and be innovative. Socially, I was part of the Student Committee and that allowed me to be part of organizing every student event! I’ve met a lot of students working across the Bank which was a great opportunity to expand my own social network. The most exciting highlight for me, however, was in the final event of the summer where I was given the opportunity to moderate a panel during the summer send-off event that was held at the Digital Factory.
Anne: What does a day in the life look like as a data scientist?
Lors: In general, we use a lot of Python! Every day we have scrum meetings, similar to working in an agile environment, which is great. Here we discuss what we worked on yesterday, what we will be doing that day and any obstacles that we have and need to work through. At the moment we have been working on a trade surveillance project which is great exposure from an international perspective as well as from the perspective of a data scientist. We have to consider a lot of technical challenges and I’m coming from a technical background so I’ve been able to learn a lot about the Bank and how it runs – especially all the terminology! Being here for an 8-month co-op term, I’ve been able to make an impact and leave my mark on the work that I’m working on.
Anne: How was your co-op placement different from what you initially expected?
Lors: Initially I thought it was going to be a lot of boring data work and manual labour, which is totally expected of data jobs. I didn’t think that I’d be working on real-life problems but I’ve been provided with some amazing work. The biggest surprise for me after being here for an 8-month co-op term is that I’ve been able to make an impact and leave my mark on the work that I’m working on
Anne: So tell me… what are your thoughts on going back to school after your co-op placement here with us?
Lors: To be honest, I’m pretty sad and don’t want to leave! I love being able to feel like a valuable member of the team and apply my learning to real-world problems at Scotiabank. I’ll miss the warm environment and having the ability to share ideas. This has made me feel more comfortable to share ideas and give the job my all! I’ve loved being able to chat and share ideas with my colleagues.
Anne: Who is the coolest person you have met during your time at the Bank?
Lors: This is a tough one but I’d say Maria T who is the EVP in Compliance. She genuinely cared about what we had to say as co-op students and she was very welcoming and keen to have any future chats. It made me realize that I need to keep working and do a great job of adding value!
Anne: What is a word of advice you might want to share with an incoming co-op student?
Lors: Don’t be afraid to propose a solution to a problem. People might give a task for you to do but it might be that you think there is a better way to do it, so feel free to be able to share ideas and apply new knowledge to your work! This means you’ll be able to bring value to the team and then the work becomes more enjoyable! You need to show your worth! That said, making mistakes is ok too…you learn from them! I’ll definitely miss the people the most and the community that I’ve been fortunate enough to work with and encounter during my 8-months at the Bank.
Interested in learning more about our IT / Digital Co-op opportunities or our new grad programs related to the IT / Digital areas of the Bank? Visit scotiabank.com/campus