Future-ready talent: Introducing 2026 standout graduates

Each year, students from our local post-secondary institutions bring fresh ideas and real-world skills to City of Oshawa projects through TeachingCity Oshawa and other community-driven opportunities.

This year’s graduates from Ontario Tech University, Durham College and Trent University Durham GTA have contributed meaningful work that supports City services, community engagement and innovation across Oshawa. 

Yosif Iskander, Ontario Tech University

Yosif graduates from Ontario Tech University with a Bachelor of Information Technology (Honours) in Networking and Information Technology Security, with a focus on cybersecurity and security operations.

Through TeachingCity, Yosif applied his skills and knowledge, working on the City’s Security Operations Centre (SOC) project, where he monitored public Wi‑Fi activity using FortiSIEM, reviewed daily events, and flagged issues for City staff. He also helped prepare bi‑weekly reports that identified trends and supported the City’s ongoing cybersecurity efforts.

The experience gave Yosif valuable insight into how cybersecurity supports municipal operations and community trust, while strengthening his skills in monitoring, incident analysis, and reporting.

He is continuing his studies at Ontario Tech in the Master of Science in Computer Science program, with plans to pursue SOC‑focused roles in the cybersecurity field.

Julia Waller, Durham College

Julia graduates from the Photography program at Durham College, specializing in product and commercial photography.

As part of her TeachingCity project, Julia helped visually highlight Oshawa’s Strategic Plan through documentary‑style photography. She captured concerts, sports events, corporate gatherings, and community spaces across the city, focusing on authentic, candid moments that reflect Oshawa’s energy, diversity and growth.

Her work supported the City’s storytelling efforts while helping her build strong technical and creative skills. Julia plans to pursue a career in product photography, continuing to grow her portfolio through sports editing, macro photography, and promotional work.

Mursal Alami, Trent University Durham GTA

Mursal graduates from Trent University Durham GTA with a Bachelor of Social Work (Honours). Throughout her studies, she gained experience working with diverse communities, which strengthened her interest in supporting newcomers, immigrants, refugees, and individuals navigating mental health challenges.

Her hands‑on learning played a key role in shaping her path. As a Peer Health Facilitator, Mursal helped bring the EVERYbody Project—a peer‑led body image intervention program—to Trent Durham, making it the first post‑secondary institution in Canada to offer it. She also served as a Student Crisis Intervention Counsellor with Victim Services of Durham Region, providing crisis intervention, advocacy, and support to victims and survivors of violence and sudden tragedies.

This fall, Mursal will begin the Master of Social Work program at the University of Toronto in the Health and Mental Health field, with a practicum placement at Lakeridge Health Ajax and Pickering. She looks forward to building on the foundation she developed at Trent and continuing to support individuals and communities through social work practice.

About TeachingCity

TeachingCity brings together the City of Oshawa and its post‑secondary partners—Durham College, Ontario Tech University, Trent University Durham GTA, and the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering—to collaborate on urban challenges through innovation, applied research, and experiential learning.

Learn more about TeachingCity at teachingcityoshawa.ca.