Celebrating Oshawa's Graduates

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 nearly 30,000 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 2024.  

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. We're highlighting TeachingCity collaborators and Oshawa graduates to honour their many achievements during the convocation season.

Andrew Neary, Journalism- Durham College, 2024

Andrew Neary is graduating from the Journalism – Mass Media program at Durham College, this June. In class, he studied the ethics, skills, and processes that go into the craft of journalism, publishing stories in DC’s school newspaper, the Chronicle, and producing live shows with Riot Radio’s Chronicle broadcast.

As Andrew studied, he was fortunate to have the opportunity to work on several projects with TeachingCity, sharing the stories of a virtual reality firefighter training program developing at the college and highlighting trailblazing women who led the way in the last 100 years of Oshawa’s history. Both experiences provided him with opportunities to put the skills he learned in the classroom to use in a public way. It helped Andrew grow as a multimedia journalist, combining photography, videography, writing, graphics, and audio to share these stories and serve the community. The feedback he received from TeachingCity helped him succeed in the classroom, and in his placement with CBC Toronto, as they provided the perspective of a community partner in a professional setting. It was an incredible experience for Andrew to be a part of these projects.

As a graduate, Andrew plans to continue telling stories and amplifying voices. He recently accepted a job as a journalist with CBC Toronto, and aims to serve the public as a multimedia journalist and story sharer.

Darcy Piercey – Andrews, Bachelors in Political Science, Diploma in Public Policy – Ontario Tech University, 2024

Darcy Piercey – Andrews is graduating from Ontario Tech University with a Bachelors in Political Science and a Diploma in Public Policy. While studying at Ontario Tech, Darcy developed a focus on equity policy, specifically how universities shape the public discourse on equity in their surrounding environments. She credits courses focused on racism and gender-based discrimination with giving her the tools needed to address those issues in both her professional and personal life.

In her final semester, Darcy was given the first opportunity to put her studies into action working with the City’s Innovation and Transformation team through the TeachingCity initiative. Her assigned task was refreshing the City of Oshawa’s Inclusive Language Manual, a 40-page document that hadn’t been updated since its launch in 2019. While doing so, Darcy enjoyed the freedom she was given to research and rewrite the manual, while also receiving feedback and guidance from her City supervisors throughout the process.

Through the experience, Darcy gained insight as to how municipal government works, how her technical knowledge can be applied in non-academic environments, and what it feels like to be part of the processes she had spent her academic life reading about.

Darcy will attend Ontario Tech’s Master of Arts in Social Practice and Innovation Graduate Program this fall where she plans to do more research into equity policy. Her TeachingCity experience has made her even more excited for it!

Chidumebi Chukwuogor, Master of Management- Trent University Durham GTA, 2024

Chidumebi Chukwuogor is graduating from the Master of Management program at Trent University Durham GTA this June. During her time at Trent, Chidumebi gained valuable knowledge and a deep understanding of subjects such as strategic planning, leadership, marketing, and organizational effectiveness, all of which are preparing her to succeed in the business world.

One of Chidumebi’s fondest memories is an Entrepreneurship class project where her team created and pitched a business idea. This exciting experience allowed her to harness her passion for videography and collaborate with teammates to produce a short advertisement video for their business concept. One other exciting experience that shaped Chidumebi’s time at Trent University was a Master of Management networking event organized by students. She networked with industry professionals and had the opportunity of photographing the event. Additionally, all the amazing professors, classes, and interactions with peers and colleagues enriched her academic journey.

To conclude her time at Trent, Chidumebi was honoured to work with Dr. Rob Elkington and other seasoned professionals on a research project that explored E-leadership Practices for Online Learning. This project significantly enhanced her data analysis, research, organizational, and writing skills.

After graduation, Chidumebi hopes to continue using her skills and passion for multimedia production to bridge the gap between the worlds of business and visual storytelling. Many possibilities lie at the crossroads of business management and digital media and she cannot wait to explore further.  

Photo caption: 

Pictured from left to right: Andrew Neary, Darcy Piercey-Andrews and Chidumebi Chukwuogor.