Graduate Profiles: Class of 2022

Convocation season is well underway in the City of Oshawa – the proud home of Durham College, Ontario Tech University and Trent University Durham GTA. These globally recognized institutions offer our community access to top talent, are home to world-renowned centres for research and development and generate innovative solutions for our region. With over 25,000 full-time students enrolled annually across Oshawa’s leading institutions, our community is brimming with opportunity for companies across many sectors looking to tap into talent. Today, the City of Oshawa celebrates those achievements through convocation ceremonies and the class of 2022.  

Higher education continues to play a significant role within the Oshawa community; most notably with TeachingCity Oshawa. Launched in June 2017, TeachingCity brings together the City of Oshawa and its education and research partners – Durham College, Ontario Tech University, Trent University Durham GTA, and the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. The partners address urban issues through innovation, collaboration, applied research and shared experiential learning opportunities with the aim of positioning Oshawa as a local, national and global community of urban research and learning. Today, we’re highlighting our TeachingCity collaborators and graduates to honour their many achievements during the convocation season.

Class of 2022 Graduate Highlight: Sierra Sumner

Sierra Sumner is graduating from Trent University Durham GTA with a major in Child and Youth Studies and a specialization in Teacher Education. She served as a workshop facilitator for the “Engaging Youth Through Digital Storytelling” project in collaboration with faculty in the Child and Youth Studies program at Trent University and TeachingCity Oshawa.

Sierra’s project provided high school students with the opportunity to express themselves through the creation of their own short film. Sierra was honoured to be a part of a project that provided young people with a meaningful space to express their voice. She gained valuable experience working with young people and developed a variety of communication, workshop development and computer software skills that she will carry with her for the duration of her education. Sierra will be attending Trent University’s Bachelor of Education program in the fall, with aspirations to become an elementary school teacher. The experience she gained through her role as workshop facilitator provided her with a unique learning opportunity that enriched her personal and professional development along with establishing fundamental connections within our local community.

Class of 2022 Graduate Highlight: Sifatul Mostafi

Sifatul graduated with a MASc in Electrical and Computer Engineering with a concentration in Software Systems from the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science at Ontario Tech University. He has been working as a researcher in the Internet of Things (IoT) Research Lab at Ontario Tech University which is the leading IoT research laboratory in Canada directed by Dr. Khalid Elgazzar (Canada Research Chair in IoT) where he had the great opportunity to participate in a TeachingCity Project in collaboration with the City of Oshawa.

As part of the project, the team applied advanced deep learning techniques to have a better understanding of pedestrian traffic flow patterns to support the City of Oshawa in providing safer roads. The experience of the TeachingCity Project helped his team receive a grant from Northline Canada and win an NSERC Lab2Market Grant as one of 48 recipients out of 108 applications from 32 universities across Canada. Currently, Sifatul is pursuing a Ph.D. in the same field at Ontario Tech to keep himself engaged in cutting-edge research to solve real-world complex problems in the field of IoT.

Class of 2022 Graduate Highlight: Neshya Carvalho

Neshya Carvalho is a second-year journalism student at Durham College. She enrolled in journalism because she loves to write and learn through her research. Neshya enjoys writing about the experiences of others and topics related to social justice. Through her program, she learned how to effectively tell stories through in-depth interviews, gathering research from credible sources and structuring stories effectively. After she graduates, Neshya plans on using her educational background to travel the world and tell people’s stories and experiences. She also wants to get involved in social justice projects to learn more about the lives of others while helping to improve them. 

Neshya participated in TeachingCity projects that provided her with real-life experience in practicing journalism. One of Neshya’s favourite stories written in collaboration with TeachingCity was on the Women of Colour Durham Collective because she learned about an organization in her own community that creates a safe space for its members. TeachingCity also gave her the opportunity to meet new people and build her professional network.  

About Oshawa Post-secondary Institutions:

Durham College

With campuses in Oshawa and Whitby, Durham College offers over 11,400 full-time students access to more than 140 post-secondary programs, including four honours bachelor degrees and nine apprenticeship programs. Applied research at DC – facilitated by the Office of Research Services, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ORSIE) and its five research centres – solves business and social challenges through innovation and collaboration by engaging industry, faculty, students and the community-at-large in research projects to address the needs of a technology-driven knowledge economy.

Trent University Durham GTA

The Oshawa campus of Trent University opened in 2010, building upon 40 years of presence in Durham Region. With 2,000 students enrolled annually, the campus offers Bachelor of Arts and Science degrees, post-graduate certificates and master’s programs. The campus focuses on the needs of business management and community health and wellness, offering community-based research to their partners. Trent University Durham GTA is renowned for the innovative and ground-breaking research conducted by faculty and students, on campus and around the world.

Ontario Tech University

With two campuses in Oshawa, Ontario Tech is a modern, forwarding-thinking university that advances the discovery and application of knowledge to accelerate economic growth, regional development and social innovation. Researchers, students and graduates are inspired and equipped to make a positive impact in a tech-focused world through understanding and integrating the social and ethical implications of technology. With seven faculties, more than 10,000 students in over 115 programs, the STEM-focused University houses more than 80 specialized research laboratories and facilities.

For more information on Economic Development Services, visit www.oshawa.ca/business or follow @InvestOshawa on Twitter.

For more information on TeachingCity Oshawa, visit www.teachingcityoshawa.ca.

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