19-year-old newcomer to Canada graduates from University of Windsor after starting degree at 15

CBC

13 hours ago

As post-secondary educational institutions in southwestern Ontario hold their spring convocation ceremonies, one student is celebrating a particularly significant achievement.
At just 19 years old, Richard Nonso has graduated from the University of Windsor with an honours degree in computer science and a gold medallion in the university's LEAD Medallion Scholars Program, which honours leadership, engagement, research and internship and co-op work outside the classroom.
He enrolled in the university when he was 15 after emigrating to Canada from Nigeria with his family.
"It feels great," he told Amy Dodge on CBC's Windsor Morning.
"I'm very excited to finally walk across the stage. There's been a lot of sacrifice and effort and support from people around me like my dad, my mom, friends, family. So I feel very accomplished knowing that the people around me are proud of what I've accomplished."
Nonso is one of hundreds of students who are walking across stages to collect their degrees and diplomas this month.
The University of Windsor wraps up its ceremonies on Friday, according to its website. Lambton College holds its convocation on June 17, and St. Clair College is holding a series of ceremonies through June 18.
Nonso's father called himself a "proud dad" and said his eldest son serves as an example for his younger siblings.
While at school, Nonso began working on a project to expose young members of underrepresented groups to careers in technology, he said.
Now he's living in Toronto, working for a media technology company, and planning to continue his studies this fall by pursuing a master's degree at the University of Toronto.
He says it may sound like a cliché but he hopes that people who hear his story will learn that anything is possible as long as they put their minds to it.
"As long as you're interested and put in the work, it's possible to achieve a high fit," he said.
This year's convocation ceremonies at the University of Windsor were notable for another reason too: there was a different chancellor shaking the hands of the graduates.
Mary Jo Haddad passed the torch to Dwight Duncan earlier this week after becoming the first female chancellor at the school six years ago.
"I am absolutely enjoying my moment," she told CBC Windsor Morning.
The chancellor role is ceremonial and involves overseeing convocation, spending time with students and trying to inspire the next generation, Haddad said.
But everyone tries to make a difference in their own way.
"For me, I tried to spend a lot of my time advocating for leadership, supporting leadership development of students and engaging them in what's potentially possible, in that role," she said.
Haddad said it's a thrill to be on stage with each graduating student, knowing that many of them have overcome adversity to make it to that place.
"There was an international student who was at her own convocation, by herself, no family there," she said.
"She came up, she was anxious, she looked at me, she was teary-eyed, and she just said, 'Thank you so much for inviting me to Canada. Thank you so much for having me, can I hug you?'"
Asked if she had any advice for new Chancellor Duncan, Haddad said she hopes the school will continue to invest in leadership for the future.