As I looked up at the wave that was about to crash over me, all I could think was “fu-.”
I was in the middle of the ocean with my new supervisor and CEO, Avery Birch, along with two other co-op students, Mikayla Manderville and Nicole Young. It was the third day of our new co-op placement at 365 Experience Inc., a rental property management company in Halifax, and we were surfing as a team bonding activity.
I had never surfed before, and neither had Nicole. That was apparent when we were the only ones who ended up in what surfers call the “whitewash.” Whitewash is the broken white water of a wave moving straight towards shore. It requires a ton of effort to push through as the waves will continually crash in the same spot and push surfers towards the shore.
What I didn’t know at the time was that working as the Marketing, Branding, & PR Manager would be similar to my time in the water. Walking into this job, I immediately become responsible for all communications coming through our startup. This wasn’t unique to my position as Nicole immediately took over all of the company’s finances as Finance Manager and Mikayla started working on a new pricing strategy for all 50+ Airbnbs as Special Projects Manager. Since we were all co-op students, we were nervous but excited to have the chance to prove ourselves.
After one month, I had already helped design and construct a booth for a trade show in San Diego, created a partnership with Good Robot to include their drinks for our guests to enjoy in our Airbnbs, and worked with the executive team to create an internal communications system that would help make the transition easier for co-op students joining the team in the fall. I even got to speak with a journalist about AirScoot, an e-scooter company that the CEO of 365 Experience Inc. co-founded.
“Surfing and business are extremely similar. There are a lot of waves that come and it’s about choosing the ones that are worth it. There might be tiny ones but if you’re patient you’ll catch the perfect wave and ride it all the way to shore,” said Avery, CEO.
If you’re a PR student looking for more responsibility within your co-op, make sure to apply to 365 Experience Inc. during your next work term search!
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Madi Mills
Co-Editor-in-Chief, 2021-2022
