A new Faculty award has been introduced to honour the resilience that carries many doctoral researchers through periods of profound personal or systemic challenge.
This year’s inaugural recipient, doctoral candidate Ahmed El Ashmawy, was recognized for completing major milestones in his electrical and computer engineering PhD while navigating extended family illness, caregiving responsibilities and significant personal loss.
Left to right: Dr. Omar Alshehri, whose doctoral journey inspired the Dean of Engineering Doctoral Perseverance Award; inaugural recipient and doctoral candidate Ahmed El Ashmawy; and Dean Mary Wells.
A journey shaped by responsibility and loss
El Ashmawy began his doctoral work remotely in early 2021 as pandemic restrictions took effect. While completing coursework across time zones, he supported his family abroad after all three contracted COVID-19. During the same period, his twin sister, her husband and her son were also ill, and the siblings cared for one another while assisting their families. As his father gradually recovered, El Ashmawy continued his research while helping with daily caregiving at home.
His mother’s sudden death in October 2021 marked a turning point he described as overwhelming. Encouraged by both parents to pursue graduate studies, he stepped away for a term to care for his father and regain stability. After his father recovered enough to insist he not delay the dream their family had long supported, El Ashmawy returned to his program with renewed determination.
Throughout this period, he received steady guidance from his supervisor, Dr. Catherine Rosenberg, whose understanding of his circumstances and flexibility in allowing him to travel to support his family enabled him to continue his studies during prolonged uncertainty. He said her care and encouragement were essential to sustaining his progress.
When he arrived in Canada in spring 2022, his father’s health declined again, prompting repeated trips home until his father passed away in 2024. Although this loss affected the final years of his degree, he continued to move his work forward. His marriage in 2025 brought renewed motivation, and his wife’s support from abroad has helped sustain him as he nears the completion of his degree.
“Despite the hardships we face, our perseverance is what determines our worth,” he said. “I was truly thankful for the support and encouragement I received from everyone who cares about me, and I aimed to achieve my PhD dream and dedicate it to my parents who I truly cherish.
This award is not just a financial award, but it is also a motivational one to remember my parents and their dreams for me.”
A legacy of perseverance
The award was inspired by the 12-year doctoral journey of alum Dr. Omar Alshehri, whose experience illustrated how life outside one’s studies can shape a PhD trajectory. His path prompted Dr. Mary Wells, dean of engineering, to establish an honour that recognizes the often unseen perseverance that shapes a student’s path to graduation.
“This award reminded us that resilience is not only the ability to withstand hardship, but the courage to keep choosing hope when it feels out of reach,” said Wells. “So many of our doctoral students faced personal and academic pressures that never appeared on transcripts. By acknowledging their perseverance, we recognized the strength that fuelled progress, discovery and the belief that challenges could be met with determination.”
Valued at $1,000, the Dean of Engineering Doctoral Perseverance Award is presented to a PhD student who has completed the comprehensive exam, is approaching graduation and has demonstrated resilience, sustained academic commitment and meaningful contributions to peers or their community.