Student Success

Northern youth learn skilled trades and receive career coaching at Ottawa Campus

Students wear aprons and chef hands in a professional kitchen, holding cookies, salsa and guacamole.

Students showcase their culinary creations, including cookies, guacamole and Pico de Gallo. (DJ Porter/NYA)

Participants from the Northern Youth Abroad (NYA) Next program have returned to Algonquin College to learn life skills and receive individual career coaching. Open to Nunavut and the Northwest Territories youth aged 16-22, NYA Next students reside at the Ottawa Campus for several weeks in July while taking classes in the applied trades and live as a post-secondary student. The twenty-three students in this year’s cohort will leave the program with high school credits, career preparedness and volunteer experience.

NYA Next participants gain valuable experience in constructions skills and culinary arts, where they learn to construct dog houses and mix recipes for cookies, guacamole and Pico de Gallo. New this year is the addition of welding, automotive, music, horticulture and finance classes.

A student welding while an instructor watches nearby

An NYA Next participant practices welding under the watchful eye of an instructor. (DJ Porter/NYA)

Students stand beside plant pots in a garden.

Participants transplant elephant ears (and dodge worms!) at the Horticulture Gardens.

Two students and an instructor look at a car on an auto lift.

Automotive class is a new addition to the NYA Next program. (DJ Porter/NYA)

More information about the NYA Next program can be found on the NYA website.

Photos: Culinary learners assist at the Prime Minister’s annual garden party

On June 10-11, 2025, learners from Algonquin College’s Culinary Skills and Culinary Management programs supported the Prime Minister’s Annual Media Garden Party at Rideau Cottage. The event took place over two days, serving approximately 1,500 political staff members, media, Members of Parliament (MP) and other invited guests.

Participating learners received an official photo with Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Participating learners received an official photo with Prime Minister Mark Carney.

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The importance of community: Overcoming grief and creating a meaningful impact

When Alya Alhalabi arrived at Algonquin College at 19, she was grieving the loss of her father and navigating life alone in a new country, far from her home in the United Arab Emirates. She had no family in Canada and lived independently, moving between rentals and trying to find stability while studying full-time.

Alhalabi landed in Canada to begin again, seeking a community and roots beyond the classroom. She chose Algonquin College for its reputation with hands-on learning, gaining much more along the way than she initially expected.

Despite how vulnerable she felt at the time, the College became the place where she grew into the person she is today — a woman, a leader and a passionate advocate for public safety and emergency management. Beyond her Bachelor of Public Safety education, she also found a home. She was the only Emirati student on campus, yet she never felt alone. Alhalabi credits her professors — Graham Newbold, Mario D’Angelo, Ian Knowles and Dominique Germain — for believing in her and playing a pivotal role in her growth. Her classmates became her family away from home.

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