Marco doesn’t hesitate when recalling his proudest moment on the job.
As a Protection, Security and Investigation (PSI) co-op student with the City of Hamilton’s Animal Services, he helped launch a new outreach initiative to help keep pets and their owners together. The program provides essentials like dog food, collars and leashes to vulnerable community members. It also offers access to animal welfare clinics for people experiencing homelessness.
For Marco, it underscored just how much responsibility students can earn through co-op.
“There were days that we were working on the project nonstop for 10+ hours, whether that was doing all the paperwork … to do the assessments or going from encampment to encampment to assess the animals,” reflects Marco. “I’m definitely proud of the work I’ve done here, and I’ve been very grateful to have this opportunity. I don’t want to leave.”
Co-op clarifies career paths
Marco wasn’t always certain about his professional route. After taking a year off following high school, he enrolled in Mohawk College’s Police Foundations before transferring to PSI a year later. The two programs share a common first year, making it easy to change paths.
At first, Marco considered private investigation. But the more he learned about bylaw enforcement, the more it appealed to him. It offered what he valued most: helping people and making a difference in the community, without the high physical demands and unpredictable schedule of frontline policing.
It was Marco’s co-op work term that turned his interest into a clear career goal.
“[I am] prioritizing to come back here as an animal control officer,” he says. “I love the work that’s being done here. I want to do more.”
Joseph, a supervisor at Hamilton Animal Services, witnessed that shift in real time. It wasn’t the first time the 30-year veteran has seen Mohawk College students gain confidence and passion for the bylaw field. Having worked with co-op students for years, he says Mohawk College students consistently arrive prepared and ready to contribute.
“…They come to us with a real strong understanding of the judicial process, which is undoubtedly something they’ve learned through their studies at Mohawk College,” he says. “They also have skills in note-taking and evidence gathering. Those are all things that they’re going to use here … Through their education at Mohawk College, they are uniquely prepared to be law enforcement officers and serve the community.”
The skills Marco gained from the college’s industry-led learning approach made a difference from day one. Courses such as Essential Communication Skills, Conflict Resolution Skills and Canadian Law gave him the technical foundation to contribute right away. Beyond coursework, he credits Mohawk’s professors with connecting learning to real-world experience.
“Mohawk College definitely does stand out … because they have opportunities like this for students to pursue experience in a career,” he says. “The courses … showcase a lot of the things that happen in the real world. A lot of the professors … are also great, and they share their personal experiences and tie them into a lecture and show what you might be doing in a field like this.”
Embedded in the community
Opportunities like Marco’s don’t happen by chance. They’re built through a strong partnership between Mohawk College and the City of Hamilton. At Animal Services, it’s a relationship championed by manager Kelly, who has expanded the co-op program to give students meaningful, hands-on experience while serving the community.
“When students first came, they would learn licensing, and that was their goal,” she says. “…I’ve expanded [co-op] to the point where they’re getting hands-on experience with enforcement. They’re in vehicles with the officers. They go, and they enforce and issue orders … They’re issuing charges. They’re issuing notices for non-compliance with the license … So, bringing these students in has been an outstanding value to the City of Hamilton.”
It’s this kind of real-world experience that allows Marco to apply what he learned at Mohawk College while sharpening skills he’ll need for his future career. He’s noticed improvement in de-escalating situations, taking clear notes, and juggling multiple tasks at once. Marco has also taken full advantage of the expanded opportunities Kelly created.
“I've been lucky enough to have a bunch of different types of training and certifications while I've been here,” says Marco. “One of them that was just offered to me … is called nonviolent crisis intervention training … I thought it would be both beneficial to what I’m doing now and to have on the resume as well.”
As Kelly puts it, “I’ve always said to [students and staff], don’t treat it like it’s just a job. This is your career. Treat it like that, and you’ll own it, love it, and have the passion and want to come in every day … That’s what we do, empower them to feel confident.”
