When Assistant Professor Asif Khowaja looks out across his classroom, he sees more than students. He sees future leaders in the making.

Khowaja received the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences 2025 Teaching Excellence Award in recognition for his dedication to supporting students’ academic and personal growth.

His own journey brought him thousands of kilometres from his home country of Pakistan. He came to Canada as an international student with the dream of becoming an educator.

The challenge of building a new life in an unfamiliar place shaped his approach to teaching and mentorship, particularly when working with international students.

With the mindset that home is where you make it, he quickly embraced campus life when he moved his family from Vancouver to join the University.

Brock, he says, has become the centre of his community.

“When you treat a place as home, you naturally meet people, collaborate and build something together.”

That openness has led to impromptu hallway conversations that turn into guest lectures, cross-disciplinary research and friendships. He’s collaborated with students and colleagues across campus and from a range of disciplines.

In the classroom, Khowaja quickly recognized the need to engage “digital native”, or Generation Z, students differently.

While he teaches large Health Sciences courses, he weaves through the room instead of lecturing from the front, often sitting among students to create a two-way dialogue.

“You learn together. It’s not a one-way street,” said Khowaja, adding that he’s had positive feedback from students about the collaborative, inclusive learning environment he strives to create.

And his support doesn’t end at the classroom door.

Many who visit his office hours are international students seeking advice about school, career paths and life beyond graduation.

“They see me as a brown person, someone who looks like them and has had a similar journey,” he said. “They ask, ‘How did you get here?’”

These conversations are a meaningful part of teaching, for Khowaja. Having faced similar challenges, he aims to offers empathy, encouragement and lessons from his lived experience.

“Being fully present, especially in today’s distracted world, is a small but powerful gesture,” he says. “It builds trust.”