Roj Ali will cross the stage at Convocation Hall this week to receive a bachelor's degree from the Faculty of Arts & Science - an education shaped by lived experience.
Born in Syria, she was eight years old when she and her family arrived in Canada in 2012.
"I came to Canada as a refugee, facing displacement and poverty throughout my life," says Ali, a member of Trinity College who is graduating from the peace, conflict and justice program in the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy with a minor in history.
Ali's parents were human rights activists who fled Syria for Macau, China where they lived for five years before coming to Winnipeg through a sponsorship from a local church that learned of the family's struggles.
"My family faced a lot of hardship, and I had a very personal understanding of conflict and displacement and what that can do to people - and how differently cultures can intersect when you're placed into a dynamic you're not familiar with," Ali says.
"Living with parents who were human rights activists was a huge push for me to pursue this work more seriously and try to give back in a way that was meaningful. Peace, conflict and justice felt like the accumulation of all the personal grievances and difficulties I've faced in my life. I've channelled that into something meaningful to try to help people in similar positions."
Once at U of T, Ali found a home and a platform to pursue her studies and explore her passions. She embraced her classes and was moved by professors who drew on their own lived experiences.
"I saw them as academics and incredibly brilliant minds but also as people with stories and experiences that were so human and real," she says. "Sometimes they would be vulnerable, sharing personal anecdotes, and I appreciated that.
"That gave me such a beautiful experience at the Munk School and gave me a lot of inspiration for what I want to do later in life."
Ali was also impressed by the diverse fieldwork her instructors had undertaken across the globe.
"A lot of my professors were economists, and they bridged that with peace work. That interdisciplinary approach gave me a new perspective."
Ali's involvement with conflict resolution began long before she arrived at U of T.
From age 16, she has worked with Reverse the Trend - an international organization committed to supporting communities affected by nuclear weapons testing and uranium mining.
"Over the years I've been able to work with people from the Marshall Islands, Kazakhstan, the Republic of Kiribati, and other communities that bear difficult stories about the effects of nuclear weapons testing and use," she says.
In Canada, she's also worked with Indigenous communities, learning about how uranium mining has affected their health, environment and future.
"Getting to work with Indigenous Peoples, hearing their stories and meeting them in moments when it's difficult to talk about what they've been through, then being able to say, 'You can do this,' has been the most rewarding part of my work. Being a partner to these communities and sharing in that experience means everything to me."
With a focus on nuclear disarmament, Ali also served as a youth adviser for the Canadian Council of Young Feminists , a national network founded by retired senator Marilou McPhedran that aims to empower youth across Canada. "I've been able to bring other young people into the fold and challenge this idea that politics in Canada is inaccessible, and that it isn't a space that young people are part of," she says.
After convocation, Ali plans to take a gap year back home in Winnipeg.
"I look forward to connecting with the newcomer community there, including refugees, and inspiring them to find an outlet for sharing the effects of living through displacement and war," she says.
She later plans to pursue a master's degree in global affairs or global governance, and hopes to build a career in policy and risk assessment that connects international organizations, governments and front-line communities.
"What's important to me is to give a voice to people like myself who have those stories to tell, [and] that are part of the diaspora. I hope to spend my gap year doing that and giving myself room to explore the arts and just nourish my soul, so that I can really give my all to this work."
