At TMU’s graduation ceremonies, it’s particularly moving to see in the faces of parents the culmination of a dream to send a child to university.
Often, our grads are the first in their family to attend post-secondary education. I cannot think of a better representation of our purpose as educators than to provide an opportunity to change lives and uplift families in this way, and that is everything.
In fact, as I conclude my tenure as president later this year, the last several months have had many such moments of reflection. I have given a lot of thought to our university’s impact, and how the work we do fulfills the vision for TMU as innovative, accessible and grounded in student success—in careers and in life. In our summer 2026 stories, there are profiles of alumni who embody this vision.
I also want to share a personal experience about a student whose journey to TMU included seemingly impenetrable boundaries, but who has succeeded in a way that demonstrates his personal strength, and the role of the university in fostering achievement despite every obstacle.
Obaid Mahmoodi came to Canada in 2014 as a refugee from Afghanistan. He had an engineering degree from his home country, but it was not fully recognized in Canada. Driven by his experiences in a war-torn landscape, he sought to develop building materials that perform much better than standard materials in extreme conditions. At TMU, he was accepted as a master’s student under my supervision and, because he and I share a passion for sustainable and innovative construction materials, I was also a faculty supervisor of his doctoral thesis.
He is one of the best students I have encountered in my career. Together, we published research in leading journals. He completed his PhD at TMU last year, and is now a senior concrete specialist in tunnelling at the international construction firm, AECOM.
Obaid’s story is remarkable, but there are countless similar examples of TMU’s impact on the lives of students. For me, their stories demonstrate why we in academia do what we do. I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to play a role in contributing to this wonderful work.
