I am delighted to share this story, written by our fourth year student Carla Pineda who completed her Summer Work Integrated Learning as a Junior Data Analyst at Publicis Canada.

The following post is written by Carla Pineda (LinkedIn)

On October 18, 2023, I stepped into a WordPress Meetup at Humber Polytechnic, unaware that it would lead me to the connection I needed to land my co-op position for the summer. Regina Azevedo (LinkedIn) delivered an inspiring presentation that introduced me to the exciting world of data analytics at Publicis Groupe, discussing topics such as digital and social analytics and search engine optimization (SEO).

Regina’s enthusiasm for uncovering data-driven insights motivated me to approach her after the presentation. Although there weren’t any co-op opportunities available at that moment, she graciously invited me to connect on LinkedIn to keep in touch regarding future openings. I was so inspired by her talk that months later I reached out to her, and to my delight, I learned about a co-op position that had recently become available. I applied, interviewed, and was thrilled to be offered a role as a Junior Data Analyst for the summer of 2024.

As I embarked on my journey with the Publicis co-op program, I never anticipated how quickly four months would fly by. Throughout my rotations, I engaged in a diverse range of activities that included developing social media and web reports, conducting client survey research, creating dashboards and visualizations in Excel and Looker, and performing in-depth keyword research. I cherished every moment—from the incredible people and workplace culture to the enriching learning experiences. Publicis provided me with the ideal co-op that only reaffirmed my desired career path.

The DBSA’s WordPress sessions were instrumental in helping me make valuable connections that ultimately led to my co-op at Publicis. This remarkable experience with their ROOT team expanded my understanding of the data analytics field beyond anything I had imagined. I truly believe this opportunity would not have been possible if I hadn’t attended that WordPress meetup in October.

I encourage others to participate in these sessions and take advantage of on-campus initiatives to connect and grow professionally. You never know where they might lead you.