Lessons in community, sustainability underpin international grad's UTM journey

The first time Ridwan Iqbal heard a land acknowledgement at university, he knew he was in the right place.

An appreciation of the land and its original occupants was a sentiment he could get behind: Iqbal had travelled 15,000 kilometres from his home in Brunei to study environmental management at the University of Toronto Mississauga.

The acknowledgement – which formally recognizes the unique relationship between Indigenous Peoples and their traditional territories – struck a chord with Iqbal during his orientation in student residence. 

“It was my first meeting in residence, my first-ever exposure to another community, to Canada, and the idea of Indigeneity and appreciating the land piqued my interest,” said Iqbal. “I was in awe.”

Sustainability became a theme of his undergrad

Four years later, as a new UTM graduate, Iqbal said he found many ways to further his interests in sustainability while gaining experiences that have set him up for the future.

“I’d been trying to integrate sustainability into everything I do since middle school,” said Iqbal. “My mother wanted me to become a doctor. Much to her dismay, I was steadfast on becoming the planet’s doctor.”

Thinking about the importance of being a good land steward and a valuable community member was a theme that ran throughout Iqbal’s undergrad. 

He signed up as a UTM sustainability ambassador and food bank volunteer in his first year. He worked at environmental internships with the City of Brampton and Green Brunei, a youth-led organization promoting environmental sustainability. 

On the academic front, he added a second major in economics, worked as a teaching assistant and a research assistant and earned the environmental management award from the department of geography, geomatics and environment this year.

Finding community in student residence

Outside of the classroom, Iqbal found community at UTM's student residences.

In his first year, he was part of an environmentally-focused Living Learning Community – such communities group students from similar programs together for academic and social support. 

During the second year of his undergrad, Iqbal became a residence education facilitator, delivering workshops to support first-year students in their transition to university life. The next year, he became a Living Learning Community program facilitator. 

“Living in residence gave me more than just a place to sleep – it gave me a community,” he said. “Some of my closest friendships and best memories started right outside my door.”

Iqbal said some of his proudest UTM moments have been times when he was able to support his fellow residents. 

In his third year, he teamed with his roommate to host a potluck Thanksgiving dinner for students staying in residence over the holiday weekend. 

“Like a lot of our international students, so far from home, we weren’t going to get to be with our families. And we didn’t want it to just be another weekend for those staying behind,” he said. 

“It was such a good and cozy experience, everyone coming together, bringing food from their culture, sharing their background. We became each other's family for that weekend.”

During his final year, Iqbal has been working with fellow residence education community assistants to run classes for students on cooking, networking, sewing, stressbusters and more.  

“I want them to know that university is not only about learning about academics, but also learning about yourself,” said the 22-year-old, who earned a prestigious leadership award this year for his work in residence.

How the first land acknowledgement has stuck with him

As he looks back at his undergrad, Iqbal still thinks about that first land acknowledgement at his own residence orientation.

“It’s really stuck with me,” he said, adding that he encourages students to make the sentiment behind the acknowledgement meaningful to them. 

“Think about why you are grateful for the opportunity to live and work and learn on this land,” he said. “There’s so many good reasons here and I would choose to be at UTM again, 100 times out of 100.”  

Originally published by University of Toronto Mississauga