Meet The Team: Sarah Canning, People Operations Specialist

Tell us a little about yourself, Sarah!

I was born in a small town, and I live in a small town. (Any Mellencamp fans out there?) I was born and raised on the Northeast Coast of Newfoundland in a small town called Cottlesville, formerly known as Cottles Island.

Fast forward to today: I live in a slightly bigger small town just outside of St. John’s. I have a love for music and spend a lot of time listening — 70,351 minutes in 2022 to be exact. Other times, you’ll find me deep into a documentary or true crime series all while admiring my cat, Juno, from afar; get too close and she’ll politely excuse herself.

‍How did you first get into people operations?

I always knew that I wanted to explore a career in business. When I started my business degree at MUN, I wasn’t sure which concentration to choose. But that decision became easy when I had my first work term in people ops. Having the ability to work with and help people each day is so very rewarding.

Why did you first join CoLab? What’s the most exciting thing about working here?

Back in 2021, I started to see all of this buzz and excitement around CoLab with their series A announcement. Each day I would find myself heading back to their social pages, scrolling through old posts and re-reading each one. It seemed like such a wonderful place with great people and a special culture. When I saw they were looking to expand their people team, I had to take the jump and apply. 

To me, the most exciting thing about working at CoLab is all of the wonderful people I have the opportunity to work with each day — the most genuine group of people who are so incredibly passionate about the problems we’re solving.

If you had to be shipwrecked on a deserted island, but all your human needs—such as food and water—were taken care of, what two items would you want to have with you?

Hmm I would say my phone and a way to charge it forever. Mainly for music and so that I could continue to call my mom every day.