By Raymond Tran
For the past 8 months, I’ve been an intern student at an amazing organization.
I remember my first business conference @ Kairos Society in Toronto, volunteering but being a part of the networking session that was taking place.
Business professionals of all kind were connecting and getting to know one another. I saw this man that wasn’t talking to anybody at the moment, and I thought that it would be kind to speak to him and join in on the networking as well. The man’s name was Rick Spence.
I spoke to Rick about entrepreneurship and what I aspired to do. After revealing where I lived, he wrote down a number and passed it on to me. Written on the note was “Yvonne”. I was rather puzzled.
“Who’s Yvonne?”, I asked.
He replied with such a shock, saying “You don’t know Yvonne? Google her. You’ll know.”
And so I did.
After connecting a few times through Make Your Pitch, I finally got to meet Yvonne at OCE Discovery. I thought so much about learning from WEtech but had a fear of being denied. But the worst thing she could do is say “No” so I went for it anyway.
Yvonne seemed interested in taking on a co-op student but was unsure about a student still attending his 3rd year of high school. But she took the chance and by Fall 2015, I was working down on WEtech lane.
This experience has really been crazy. The value that WEtech has given me is seriously unparalleled to any other experiences.
I loved the atmosphere, the team formation. Each member brought a unique special talent to the table that pushed the company forward.
JMV inspires me in design, he is a true artist when he gets his hands on Illustrator.
Irek is just a peoples master, forming connections and relationships with people. He’s the guy you want around in any group, fits in with anybody while being his very own guy.
Don’t even get me started on Deborah, she’s skillful at anything she does.
I had a great time speaking with Uma, you can learn so much by just speaking to her. I learned so many things about networks, social innovation and systems in general by being involved with Uma. Oh yeah and don’t underestimate her ping pong skills or you might find yourself eliminated in the first round of the tournament! (It was so not me).
Michelle is really attentive and willing to give advice whenever I needed. Her business expertise helped me a lot with my own wonders as she runs her own store.
Marco was the one that really gave my business the boost though, giving me all sorts of sources ranging from finances, business plans and the logistics of running a business. I’m really excited for his rock gym to open, which I heard a lot about throughout my co-op experience.
I wish I got to know Cathy our new social innovation director more, but she definitely sounds like a very involved person within the YQG community.
And last but not least Yvonne, the one who always tries to stay positive despite having to attend meeting after meeting. She’s taught me a lot about what it takes to lead a RIC.
The WEteam this has been amazing. Thank you so much for all these experiences from getting to meet Richard Peddie to FIRST Robotics. Becoming co-workers, good friends with all of you really transformed the way I am as an aspiring entrepreneur. My favorite memories would be our ping pong tournament, laser tag and finally the mini golf. It all ended up being such a great experience! I really recommend this placement, but you better be a kick butt high school student with no tech failures to handle the Dragons of WEtech Alliance! Thank you for everything WEteam, won’t forget you guys and will definitely come to visit.
Raymond Tran is a soon-to-be Grade 12 student, captain of the FIRST Robotics Team at Kennedy High School, High School Director at Kairos Society Canada and new graduate of WEtech Alliance.
