Ridwan Iqbal grew up in Brunei, and when he arrived at UTM's student residences, the first land acknowledgement he had ever heard came at his first residence meeting. His mother had hoped he would become a doctor; he told her, only half joking, that he intended to become the planet's doctor instead — an environmental management major with a second major in economics.
He spent his first year as a UTM sustainability ambassador and food bank volunteer, then lived in an environmentally focused Living Learning Community. Internships followed with the City of Brampton and Green Brunei, a youth-led organization back home, before he became a residence education facilitator and, the year after, a Living Learning Community program facilitator.
In third year he co-hosted a Thanksgiving potluck for students who stayed in residence over the holiday. He graduates at 22 with the department of geography, geomatics and environment's environmental management award and a leadership award for his residence work — and says he would choose UTM again, in his words, 100 times out of 100.
Reported from Lessons in community, sustainability underpin international grad's UTM journey, by Kate Martin (U of T Alumni News, August 4, 2026).
More from the original reporting: alumni.utoronto.ca/news/lessons-community-sustainability-underpin-international-grads-utm-journey