Spring Convocation 2026: Inspiring Graduating Students Share Their Stories
Carleton University’s campus will be in a late spring bloom and buzzing with energy from June 8 to 12 as the community comes together to celebrate Spring Convocation. Well-wishers will cheer on more than 6900 students as they receive their degrees.
Every academic journey is one of perseverance, inspiration and achievement. Below are the stories of five graduating students from each of Carleton’s faculties.
Sean Joe-Ezigbo
Sprott School of Business
For Sean Joe-Ezigbo, strong family ties and the university’s iconic tunnel system built for Canadian winters helped bring him to campus from Lagos, Nigeria.
Initially drawn to economics, Joe-Ezigbo switched into the Bachelor of Commerce program so that he could join the Sprott Student Investment Fund — a student-run investment portfolio where students get the rare chance to manage real money and build practical investing skills.
“I really like the way the business program is set up and how interactive it is,” he says.
“It prepares you for the real world.”
That decision marked the start of a personal commitment to push beyond his comfort zone. By second year, he set out to, “do more things, meet more people and just explore”, a mindset that led him to the Carleton University Students’ Association. He first served as vice-president Finance before being elected President, helping launch student-focused initiatives like the CUSA Breakfast Club and the Student Discount Card Program.
Joe-Ezigbo also volunteered with his church and the Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa, deepening his commitment to community service. His leadership earned him the 2026 Board of Governors Award for Outstanding Community Achievement.
As he prepares to graduate, Joe-Ezigbo plans to return to Nigeria to give back to his community, with long-term goals of pursuing graduate studies and contributing to Nigerian politics.
His advice to future students is simple: embrace opportunity.
“If someone else can do it, they are human just like me, so I can do it too,” he says.
“Anything is possible with faith.”
Esquay Masty
Faculty of Public and Global Affairs
For Esquay Masty, her pursuit of a career in the legal field has been guided by a commitment to advocating for Indigenous communities and creating opportunities for future generations.
A member of the Cree First Nation of Waswanipi in Eeyou Istchee, Masty arrived at Carleton with a clear goal: prepare for a career in law. Now graduating with a master’s degree in Law and Legal Studies, she is one step closer to that dream as she prepares to begin law school this fall.
Masty found flexibility in her master’s program to focus her research on Indigenous rights and policy. Her recent research paper explored the competing interests of Quebec nationalism and Indigenous sovereignty.
“The French language law impedes upon Indigenous people,” she says.
“In order to become a lawyer, you have to know French. But, if you’re in a Cree community like mine, our primary languages are Cree and English.”
While still completing her degree, Masty was chosen to be a member of a delegation from the Cree Nation Youth Council and attended the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. There, she helped create and present the panel From Agreement to Action: 50 Years of Implementation and Indigenous Mobilization Under Canada’s First Modern Day Treaty, highlighting the land claim agreement’s history, governance and impact.
The presentation resonated with audiences and led to another opportunity: an invitation for Masty and her fellow delegates to share their work at the Yale School of the Environment.
“We’ve been stewards of the land since time immemorial,” explains Masty.
“If the government wants to do natural resource development, it has to be through consultation, consent and a feasibility assessment.”
Following graduation, Masty is set to represent her community in Miss Indigenous Canada. Her platform focuses on education, justice and youth empowerment. She has also organized a ribbon skirt-making workshop in her community and hosted fundraising events for Sunshine House, a community drop-in and resource centre dedicated to harm reduction and social inclusion.
As she looks ahead to the next chapter, Masty advises future students to pursue their ambitions with confidence and determination.
“Sometimes you just have to push yourself and have that determination to get your end goal,” she says. “You can do it; the only limit you have is the one you set yourself.”
Thomas Bujaki
Faculty of Science
A two-time Carleton graduate — first with his bachelor’s degree and then his master’s — Thomas Bujaki was juggling a full life. He was an expectant father, civil servant and PhD candidate in Biology, focusing in Genomics and Bioinformatics.
Working with his supervisor Prof. Nicolas Rodrigue, Bujaki studied complex genetic models that help scientists understand evolutionary history and how closely different species are related.
In the middle of this busy chapter, everything changed. At 29, Bujaki learned he had stage two testicular cancer.
“The two weeks in between learning the results and visiting a urologist were some of the most stressful times in my life.” says Bujaki.
“I really wasn’t able to get any work or research done because I just kept thinking: these things that I’m working on, am I going to be able to finish them?”
Often called a young-man’s cancer, testicular cancer led Bujaki through two surgeries and nine weeks of chemotherapy.
And life didn’t slow down. Five weeks into chemotherapy, his first daughter was born.
“I remember sitting in the oncology room waiting to see the doctor with my wife who was very obviously pregnant,” says Bujaki. “The doctor walked in and said, ‘Oh, that’s a heck of a time for all this.'”
Bujaki stepped away from his research and work to focus on recovery. After months of treatment and follow-up tests, he was cleared of cancer.
“Because I received so much support from the department and I had such a wonderful supervisor, there wasn’t a question of if I was going to continue the research,” says Bujaki.
He encourages young men to take action when something feels off.
“Unfortunately, bad things can happen to people at any time,” he says. “This is one of the more treatable cancers if you’re able to catch it early.”
Now a father of two, Bujaki looks forward to crossing the graduation stage.
“Convocation will be a really meaningful opportunity to celebrate what I’ve made it through and what I’ve what I’ve been able to do,” says Bujaki. “To have my family and my daughters in the audience – I’m really looking forward to it.”
Ilhaam Barrow
Faculty of Engineering and Design
Ilhaam Barrow had always loved science, but it wasn’t until her high school counselor suggested engineering that she decided to take a chance and try something new.
“I’m going to be the first engineer in my family, so I didn’t really have anyone to ask about it,” says Barrow, who is now graduating with her bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering.
“I enjoyed being able to make things, using all the logic and theory that we’ve learned in class and applying it to a real problem or product.”
Barrow spent much of her time at Carleton in the faculty’s machine shops, including the Engineering Design Centre.
“It gave me the chance to experiment and try to build things,” she says. “I could use their resources to take my ideas and bring them to life.”
For her capstone project, Barrow coordinated 10 projects across a team of 21 students, all working on a variety of innovative designs to support Ravens Racing.
Outside the classroom, Barrow stayed active in engineering clubs and societies. She served as the mechanical lead for Carleton’s BioCARE team, helping design an affordable prosthetic arm. She also connected with her community through the Somali Student Association.
“I found it very fulfilling to be involved in different areas and I got to meet a lot of people,” says Barrow.
“Carleton has many communities and you can open your horizons if you reach out.”
After convocation, the Provost Scholar winner will begin working as a robotics engineer at a high-tech firm. Her advice to future students is to stay open to new people and experiences.
“It’s really easy to just get stuck in your niche of friends,” she says. “I wouldn’t have had as many experiences, had I only stayed with the mechanical engineering students. It’s valuable to have many different parts forming your identity.”
Tamim Ansar
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Tamim Ansar never expected to restart his university education in a new country, but when rising security risks forced him to leave Afghanistan in 2021, everything changed.
He had been preparing to write his undergraduate thesis at Kabul Education University. His work with Canadian-funded environmental projects, along with personal ties to Canada, made it the safest place to rebuild. Only months later, the sudden Taliban takeover forced his family to flee as well.
Two years after arriving, Ansar transferred his credits and entered Carleton as a third-year student in Environmental Studies and Geomatics. The program let him return to what mattered most — environmental education and climate justice.
“Environmental education was something that I was inspired by in Afghanistan,” Ansar says.
“Farmers knew their products were not dealing well and their crops have a lot of issues, but they didn’t know why.”
Even while adjusting to academic‑level English, Ansar immersed himself in campus life. He joined student government, became President of the Carleton University Geography and Environmental Studies Student Association, and represented both Afghanistan and Canada at climate justice conferences in Mexico and Costa Rica.
“I believe our actions, no matter how small, can go a long way,” he says.
Inspired by his father, a community leader in Afghanistan for nearly 20 years, Ansar has stayed committed to helping others. He volunteered as a notetaker for the Paul Menton Centre, served as an interpreter for newcomers and worked with Ecology Ottawa to map community gardens.
Soccer also helped him find community during a lonely time. Wanting to offer that support to others, he founded the Ottawa Avalanche Soccer Club, giving newcomers free access to soccer and a welcoming social network. The club has trained more than 100 people.
This fall, Ansar will return to Carleton to begin his Master of Science in Geography, supported by a full scholarship, a Teaching Assistantship and a Research Assistantship.
His advice to students is to remain resilient when life alters your plans.
“Work hard toward your goals but remember that life will throw unexpected events at you,” Ansar says.
“Use your resources, try your absolute best, and be happy with the results — even if they aren’t exactly what you hoped for.”
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