NAME
Madavine Tom
CITY
Montreal, QC
POSITION
Life Cycle Analyst / Analyste en cycle de vie at Quantis Canada Inc.
YEARS OF ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERIENCE
First year in the workforce since graduating.
HOW ECO CANADA HAS HELPED HER ENVIRONMENTAL CAREER
• Internships (EYC Program)
• ECO Job Board
To celebrate that EYC internship funding is now available for recent graduates, ECO Canada touch based with intern Madavine Tom, Life Cycle Analyst at Quantis Canada Inc. on how the EYC wage-subsidy internship program helped her find her dream job in the environment industry.
Madavine also shares the benefits of working in a multidisciplinary field and on challenging projects at her current role. Read on to find out more about Madavine’s story and discover her advice for finding a job in the environmental sector.
Making a Difference
What does your host organization do?
Quantis Canada provides services in sustainable development and specializes in the analysis of the life cycle of products and services. The life cycle assessment is based on a holistic approach to measure the environmental impact (whether through the extraction of materials or through its disposal or recycling) of a product or service throughout its life cycle.
What do you do in your current role?
Since beginning my work with Quantis, I have had the opportunity to work on several life cycle analysis projects relating to various industries such as: packaging, food and beverage, and information technology and communication. I have also had the chance to participate in analyzing all stages of the life cycle as well as familiarizing myself with various measurement tools available.
What do you like best about your job? What is the most challenging part of your job?
Assessing life cycles is an exciting area because it looks at a given system in its entirety and detects interactions between various parts of that system to avoid shifting impacts. Moreover, it is a multidisciplinary field that allows me to work with specialists from various backgrounds as well as work on a variety of challenging projects.
I also find it exciting that Quantis benefits from the expertise of CIRAIG (Centre interuniversitaire de recherche sur le cycle de vie des produits, procédés et services), because it keeps us abreast of new developments in life cycle assessment.
Lastly, the Quantis team is absolutely brilliant. I feel that I am not only benefitting from the experience of my fellow colleagues, but also from the workplace environment as Quantis allows me to explore my interests and bring my own talents to the team.
What have you learned from your job?
Every day I learn something new, whether it’s at a technical level or a more general level, so it’s very difficult to list the knowledge I have acquired. With that being said, while working here I have learned that I am very interested in life cycle analysis and would like to pursue work in this area.
Building a Future in the Environmental Sector
How was your experience with ECO Canada and the EYC program?
My experience has been satisfactory as I have not encountered any problems. The financial support offered through ECO Canada is definitely a benefit and is highly appreciated as it allowed me to have this opportunity.
Do you feel that this experience has helped you in your career development?
This internship solidified my interest in the area of life cycle analysis and I see many possibilities for myself in the future. I like this area of work very much and hope to continue in it!