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Toshishige Shikata

 

Patty Driscoll (L) Toshi's Supervisor and 2nd year Computing Science and Information Systems student Toshishige Shikata (Right)

(photo taken by Robyn Gill)

When Toshi arrived in Vancouver from Kyoto, Japan in 2006 with a Bachelor's degree in Social System Design and 7 years programming experience, he knew that he needed to upgrade his English communication skills by taking all the ESL upgrade courses first.  "I chose Douglas College because Mr. Tad Hosoi (now retired) in International Education was the first person to respond to my e-mail inquiry in full-detail, among all the other schools I had researched on the internet," Toshi commented.  After hearing from his classmates that volunteering is helpful to gain experience, he applied to about 10 organizations and received one response from the Canadian Cancer Society.  Toshi volunteered as a data-entry clerk for several months while attending school.  He heard about the Co-operative Education program through Mr. Raymond Yu, Chair of the Computing Science and Information Systems (CSIS) Department and decided to apply for Co-operative Education job postings.  Last summer, a paid position was posted for a data-entry clerk at the Canadian Cancer Society, so Toshi decided to apply for the position to develop his communication skills in a Canadian work place.  Toshi embraced the work opportunity with an open mind, and was able to participate and complete an Address Validation programming project to allow for data format consistency.  This system is still being used today at the Canadian Cancer Society.

When asked about what advice Toshi would give to future Co-op students, he states:  1) be open-minded, especially for the first Co-op opportunity and apply to many opportunities, 2) Don't worry about English communication skills too much, since employers are looking for a positive, teachable attitude, and 3) Don't give up easily!

Toshi is excited to start his second work-term in January 2009 as a Data Control Specialist at the Canadian Cancer Society, replacing a staff person on short-term leave.  Toshi's first Co-op position has allowed him to reflect and re-evaluate his interests in Computer programming and expand on his career choices to include Database Administration.  After graduating from the CSIS Diploma program in April 2010, Toshi plans to work full-time and further his studies at BCIT.

Toshi would like to formally thank Canadian Cancer Society Supervisor and staff, Ms. Patty Driscoll and Ms. Lita Cabal for their support during his workterm, Mr. Tad Hosoi who gave sound advice for a smooth transition into Toshi's studies, CSIS faculty Mr. Peter van den Bosch and Mr. Raymond Yu for guidance in course and career direction, and Co-operative Education Co-ordinator, Ms. Dana Wakabayashi and Team Co-op for all the encouragement during one-on-one meetings for specific job search skills.

Team Co-op believes that Toshi will receive multiple job offers by the time he graduates from Douglas College. He is currently on the honour roll for several consecutive semesters, and has a grade point average of 3.88.  Best wishes, Toshi!