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OISE’s recipients of the Arbor Award, the University of Toronto’s highest honour recognizing exceptional and longstanding volunteer service, played a crucial role in supporting our global alumni community. 

Ashleigh Molloy, Jamie Philip, and Shahidul Islam, who are all OISE alumni, have taken on leadership roles at OISE and beyond, developing programming for OISE’s alumni programming and creating high engagement with the university and the broader community, at large. They were celebrated .

“Through their thoughtfulness and determination, Jamie, Shahidul and Ashleigh play a critical role in helping our Institute deliver key programming and services to our global community,” says Sim Kapoor, who directs OISE’s Office of Advancement, Communications and External Relations. “Our global community of 100,000 alumni are lucky to be working with some incredible leaders.

“Congratulations to each of them, for this prestigious Arbor Award is well deserved.”

The awards were created in 1989 to recognize volunteers for outstanding personal service to U of T. Since then, the University annually acknowledges the alumni and friends whose loyalty, dedication and generosity have added substantially to the quality of the University of Toronto experience for students, faculty, staff and alumni.

“Our global OISE community feels tremendous gratitude for our three Arbor Award winners,” said Professor Erica N. Walker, Dean of OISE. “Ashleigh, Jamie, and Shahidul bring their all for their peers, demonstrating bright, selfless, and principled leadership to our community.

“Their excellent volunteer service at OISE is a continuing, shining example of our Institute’s devotion to care for each other. For that, on behalf of this community, I congratulate them for this prestigious honour.”

To celebrate our winners, we share below their Arbor Award citations. We have also asked our winners the following:

• What does it mean to receive this Arbor Award, recognizing your achievements?
• Why do you think volunteerism is so important to you? Why was it important to volunteer as an OISE alumni?
• What have been your most memorable volunteer opportunities here at OISE?
• How do you want to instill a volunteer spirit at OISE and beyond?

Mohammad Shahidul Islam

Shahidul has been a consistent and committed volunteer since joining the OISE Alumni Association in 2020. He has served as a member of the Executive Awards Committee, the Global Diversity in Education Committee and, most recently, the Leaders and Legends Awards Committee. Shahidul also mentors graduate students within his field of research and provides ad hoc event support including, most recently OISE's 2022 Convocation events.

What does it mean to receive this Arbor Award, recognizing your achievements?

As I rewind my memory, the award did not mean much other than just a recognition by fellow alumni whom I meet on a regular basis at the OISE Alumni Association meetings and in various committee meetings. I felt like a ‘thank you’ note from friends and colleagues. I started realizing the significance of it when I got the first email from Dean Erica Walker followed by a series of RSVP requests. 

I felt extremely delighted when I met two other awardees along with the winners of the Arbor Award in the past. I felt extremely humbled when I met other Arbor winners at the main event hosted by the University of Toronto. It was a great honour. Compared to Hitchcock and James’ 65 years of continuous contributions to U of T’s Civil Engineering department (they each graduated in 1958), my three years of contribution to OISE is insignificant and I felt the pressure of doing more and doing better. I felt it was too early to share the stage with Hitchcock and James.

Why do you think volunteerism is so important to you? Why was it important to volunteer as an OISE alumni?

I do not just think it (volunteerism) is an important thing to do, but it is in my DNA. From my village, I am the first student who went to Dhaka University in the mid 1990s. Getting into this university was extremely competitive and being a public university, the monthly tuition fees was less than a dollar (BDT 13 equivalent of Canadian 16 cents at current exchange rate). My father reminded me that these extremely low tuition fees are only possible because of poor farmers, garment workers, and unskilled Bangladesh labourers in the Middle East who pay taxes, earn foreign currencies, and send remittances. I should remember their contribution to my higher education, and I should give it back to the nation. 

Going seven years back from my university (as an undergrad student) in 1988, Bangladesh experienced a devastating flood. For the first time in my lifetime, I saw Dhaka, the capital city, underwater along with the entire country. Fortunately, we used to live in an area that was protected by a dam (created in the ‘70s for irrigation purposes before mass urbanization). My mother sent her 7th grader son (me) and his brother (a 5th grader) to work with adults to fill the sandbags to protect the dam as the water was above a couple of feet over the dam. We guarded the dam and reported to the adults if there were any water leakages. So, volunteerism is extremely important. 

You cannot buy the same service that a volunteer would do. OISE enjoys the full benefit of the demographic diversity of Toronto. At OISE, we met students from all over the world. This extremely diversified group have even more diversified needs and challenges. As Alumni or just students, we can do more for each other than anyone else can do.

What have been your most memorable volunteer opportunities here at OISE?

It is difficult to rank. Since the first semester at OISE in 2018, I have been involved in so many activities and each of those activities are unique and significant in their own right. However, reviewing nominations for the OISE Leader and Legends awards gives immense pleasure of being acquainted with other alumni’s significant works in the field of education. Another volunteer opportunity is reviewing applications for the Pearson Scholarships. It is extremely difficult to score the highly talented pool of applicants from all over the world. This shows the popularity, respect, and interest for the University of Toronto. This gives me an immense pleasure as a U of T alumnus.

How do you want to instill a volunteer spirit at OISE and beyond?

A sense of belongingness and community are important here to promote volunteerism for and at OISE. As we are opening many OISE alumni chapters in other parts of the world – including different cities in the USA – this community feeling will bring our alumni together. Our alumni are doing significant work in their own fields and when these brains join together, their collective thoughts will do greater good for the community. There are pictures of OISE students with a common slogan, “With OISE, I Can.” I am a strong believer of this slogan — I can change my community, my town, my city, the country, and the whole world. This is the spirit that I would instill among my fellow alumni. 

Jamie Natassia Philip

Shortly after joining the OISE Alumni Association in 2020, Jamie was voted Vice President, External and served on the Board for two years. During that time, she represented the Alumni Association at three OISE recruitment events and joined the President's focus group. Most recently, Jamie joined the College of Electors and remains highly engaged with OISE and the broader U of T community.

What does it mean to receive this Arbor Award, recognizing your achievements?

Let me be completely honest. I wasn't aware of the gravity of the Arbor Award until more recently. I love to volunteer. I love to work with and support others, to make change and to learn from others within the field of education. When I showed up to receive my award, I was blown away! There were so many other alumni also receiving awards for their contributions. It was such a wonderful experience. I don’t look at my volunteering as an achievement. Volunteering is something that I love and enjoy doing. The recognition is a true bonus.

Why do you think volunteerism is so important to you? Why was it important to volunteer as an OISE alumni? 

I can’t remember a time when I didn’t participate and enjoy serving the communities that I am a part of. I’ve been volunteering since highschool, supporting students with special needs and participating in student council, facilitating change in my school community. I think we sometimes get wrapped up in our own day to day routines that we forget to ground ourselves within the communities we are a part of. Volunteering is humbling, it helps put life in perspective and it invites opportunities for lifelong learning. I continue to be inspired by other members of the OISE community. I will forever be a passionate educator, and volunteering allows me to remain connected to other educators and those working in the field of education. I am strengthened professionally.

What have been your most memorable volunteer opportunities here at OISE? 

Some of my most memorable volunteer opportunities here at OISE are engaging with virtual Fireside Chats and information sessions with Dr. Cindy Sinclair and as an OISE Mentor. Connecting with individuals early in their OISE journey is amazing! When I meet new students, they often look to me for advice and perspective on my MEd program and professional journey. However, I am the one who is always in awe of the fresh perspective of current students and those considering OISE programs. Connecting with new OISE members is one of the best parts about volunteering at OISE.

How do you want to instill a volunteer spirit at OISE and beyond? 

The energy at OISE is remarkable! When we show others how much we enjoy volunteering, people want to join us. I am constantly promoting OISE wherever I go. As an Ontario Certified Teacher, I continue to network with fellow teachers and OISE alumni. Volunteering at OISE is fun. There are so many opportunities to get out and enjoy the city of Toronto, learn new things, meet new people and engage in new experiences. 

Ashleigh Molloy

Dr. Molloy joined the OISE Alumni Association in early 2020 and quickly became a key leader and dedicated mentor within OISE's alumni community. In addition to forming meaningful friendships with all his mentees, he was also the video ambassador for the 2022–23 OISE Mentorship Program. He rounded out his contributions by developing a lecture for the OISE Alumni & Friends Leadership Series.

What does it mean to receive this Arbor Award, recognizing your achievements?

Receiving the Arbor Award from my alma mater for me was the Honour of Honours. OISE is globally respected and I was proud to be representing it amidst the many other departments. The name of OISE resonates around the world attributed to previous Arbor recipients who have changed their communities through their volunteer service. To have my achievements be counted among them is a privilege. My career follows the servant leader model which is compatible with the service of volunteerism. Wearing my Arbor pin at various events will remind me that as an alumnus I am an emissary of Commitment to the betterment of society. The pin represents the motto “Velut Arbor Aevo” (May it grow as a tree through the Ages).

I plan on being a seed sower of societal inclusion.

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others” — Mahatma Gandhi

Why do you think volunteerism is so important to you? Why was it important to volunteer as an OISE alumni?

As one journeys through life you meet many people in your career willing to lend a helping hand. My learning was facilitated by numerous individuals who shared knowledge, advice and support along the way. Volunteerism is important to me because I am who I am in part to those who mentored me. I firmly believe It is my responsibility to return the favour and being an OISE mentor enables me to meet that goal. The experience is a two- way partnership with both parties working collaboratively in a respectful manner toward achieving the sought after outcomes. I have seen mentorship as mutually beneficial where I too am a learner. I see mentor as the Tik and mentee as the Tock.

“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for

others” — Martin Luther King

What have been your most memorable volunteer opportunities here at OISE?

My mentorship opportunities have been many and all have enriched me. My most memorable was with graduate Aimee Liu. We met at a Tutoring Conference where she asked me to volunteer as the keynote. She expressed interest in pursuing for Masters degree. I encouraged her to join OISE and that I would gladly serve as her mentor. We shared many a Tims Coffee chat and cell phone conversations. All her family was in China and I was honoured to be invited to her graduation. This event was the culmination of a precious friendship that has remained. Her comments on that memorable day about mentorship has been included.

Mentorship Rocks! 

How do you want to instill a volunteer spirit at OISE and beyond?

The well-being of others fosters our own being. Volunteering concerns itself with giving to others and is a selfless deed. The gift given of your time and presence speaks to your generosity of spirit, a spirit that for me has been consistently nourished at OISE. The relationships bring you into contact with the dreams and aspirations of others, what a privilege? You can only taste the spirit of OISE by taking the first step and getting involved. It opens a plethora of opportunities to connect with colleagues from around the world who will widen your perspectives and enrich your lives.

What does OISE mean to me?

O – Opportunity

I – Inclusion

S – Superclifragilisticexpialidocious

E – Exceptional

“I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; And because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something I can do.” — Helen Keller