Student Blog 2010

July 23 - Last Day!

2010-07-26T06:03:00.000-07:00

This day had to come eventually. If experiencing all the emotions of the past 24 hours wasn’t hard enough, I now have to relive them and attempt to sum them up in a single blog entry. Impossible? Pretty much. It seems like words can only trivialize the full extent of emotion that we all felt during our last hours together as a Shad community. However, I guess I’ll have to try:

Our final day started with the closing of our variety show curtains at 12 am. We did a quick clean up of the church hall before meeting back at the Cameron Room for our last surprise shad event. No one knew quite what was in store when our house leaders placed blindfolds on each of us, but we trustingly followed them through the streets of Dal to the secret location of our closing ceremonies. What happened in those next two hours was incredibly special. We cried, laughed, smiled and cried some more, and I can honestly say that I’ve never felt so close to so many people. The reality that we would soon be parting ways truly hit us when we left that room, with the first Shad set to leave in just under an hour. Back at Cameron, we frantically signed monthbooks and tried to say our last goodbyes as one by one our new friends headed for home…

So, what’s left to say? This month was like no other. Although I left the doors of Howe Hall with tears streaming down my face, I also left with many things that will stay with me for the rest of my life. I’ll keep with me the countless memories that we shared; the self-confidence I gained in our completely positive and supportive community; the invaluable teamwork skills that I learned; and, of course, my Canada (and Maine)-wide, 49 person support network.

Goodbye friends, I know we’ll be saying hello again soon.

Annie Pike, Shad Valley Dalhousie University 2010
Hometown: Victoria, British Columbia

Vendredi le 23 juillet 2010

2010-07-26T06:02:00.000-07:00

Après une très courte nuit de sommeil, je me suis levé tôt ce matin avec un pincement au cœur en pensant que c’était déjà la fin de cette merveilleuse aventure qu’est le programme Shad Valley. J’ai terminé de faire mes bagages et je me suis dirigé vers la salle commune pour dire une ultime fois bonjour à mes 47 nouveaux et merveilleux amis. Le tout premier jour du programme Shad @Mac 2010, notre directeur de programme, Kingsley Hurlington, nous a présenté les valeurs fondamentales de Shad Valley international en insistant sur celle de la communauté. À ce moment-là, je ne croyais pas qu’il était possible de devenir aussi proche d’autant de personnes.

Puis, à sept heures trente, est venu le temps de se dire à la prochaine. La voix pleine de sanglots et les yeux en larmes, j’ai dit à chaque Shad à quel point ils sont importants pour moi.

Lors du processus d’inscription au programme, les dirigeants de Shad Valley insistaient énormément sur le fait que Shad@Mac 2010 serait un mois déterminant dans notre vie. Pour être franc, j’étais un peu sceptique. Aujourd’hui je peux vous affirmer que le programme Shad Valley a enrichi ma vie sur le plan des connaissances, mais surtout sur le plan humain.

Je tiens à remercier du fond du cœur tous ceux qui, de près ou de loin, ont rendu possible le programme Shad@Mac 2010.

I want to thank all the Shad people who contributed in making my experience one of the best. I am proud that I completed the program and I am thankful to my pod who was always on my side ready to give a hand and truly supportive. Shad has changed me forever and I will always cherish the memories of this month spent at McMaster.

I will miss you all but I am sure we will see each other again very soon.

Jérôme Laflamme, Shad Valley McMaster University 2010
Hometown: Lévis, Quebec

July 23 2010 - Last Day!

2010-07-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

Today didn’t actually begin. Yesterday continued. With no curfew, we stayed up all night, eating pizza, signing MUNTH books, and crying over departures that we hoped would never come. As 8:00 am rolled around, the last 15 of us stumbled down to breakfast to enjoy our final bagels and bowls of cereal. We chatted about our plans for August and prepared ourselves for the last few goodbyes. Little did we know, a large majority of us would soon be reunited as we waited for a seven-hour fog delay to Toronto. However, the sleep-deprived Shads all chose this time to snooze on the airport floor, knowing that nothing else needed to be said. We all knew we wouldn’t forget this unbelievable experience and the people who made it so incredible.

After all is said and done, I have one piece of advice for the Shads: don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.

Rachel Kirby, Shad Valley Memorial University of Newfoundland 2010
Hometown: Guelph, Ontario

July 23 - Day 27

2010-07-23T06:49:00.000-07:00

What an unforgettable experience. When I arrived at the UNB campus, I did not think that 60 people could get so close in a month.

After all of the Open day festivities were over, we stayed up all night, and talked about the great experience that we all had. Unfortunately, at 5:00, the Shads of UNB started leaving. It was very emotional, and everyone was in tears. The first day of Shad, we talked about community, and how when one of us was missing, the whole group suffers. I definitely felt that empty space when people started leaving. At 7:30, another large group of people left for the airport, and everyone broke down in tears again.

People talk about events being life changing. I’ve only had a few. This was definitely one of them. I don’t think I realized it until early this morning, and I don’t think I’ll ever forget the experiences that I had at Shad. The lectures, the labs, the meals, but most of all, the people. It’s the people that make the program, and with the best and the brightest from around Canada, there will always be a great bunch of teens at Shad.

When I think about who I spent the month of July with, I don’t think that there could have been a better group of people. I know that we’ll stay connected forever, and that this is not the end, but the beginning of a new experience. Shad Valley brought us closer together then anyone could have imagined.

Colin Hardy, Shad Valley University of New Brunswick 2010
Hometown: Hamilton, Ontario

July 22 - Open Day!

2010-07-23T06:40:00.000-07:00

So, I’ll see you at the airport in a few hours!
Sounds good.
But before I go, one last question…
Ok…
On a scale of 1 to 10 how was Shad?
11.

This response was not a mathematical error due to lack of sleep, but my honest evaluation of Shad. Before I get to the general stuff – a bit about what I’m supposed to be talking about – July 22^rd. The day continued from the night before as we all tried to get some last minute practising in for our Variety Show acts or put finishing touches on the monthbook. Eventually, most of us found our way to bed for a few hours of sleep before Open Day.

As with most days of Shad, we woke up tired and made our way to the cafe for breakfast. After saying the first of our goodbyes to probably the only fruitless cafe in existence, we went to get ready for our big day. The variety show committee went to go get set up and the rest of us dressed up for our big day; the girls looking gorgeous in dresses and skirts and the guys in dress pants doing what they do best – looking handsome.

We then walked across the beautiful UBC campus to explain our projects one last time to the Open Day guests and congratulate each other on jobs well done. Parents were greeted with hugs and the sight of them brought about the realization that we would all be leaving soon. This sparked a flurry of picture taking, which only ended when we were hurried out for lunch.

The food at lunch was amazing, and meeting the parents, Shad supporters and others who had made Shad so fantastic was equally amazing. There were closing speeches and recognition from one of our program directors and our valedictorians. Our valedictorians presented in verse, reminding us of our memories and jokes and summing up the experience.

Next, was the variety show with piano, vocal, zither, guitar, band and dance performances of everything from traditional music to recent hits. There was even a ‘comedy’ performance from the Handsome Men’s Club and a “Love You Tender” music video remake. As was demonstrated throughout the month, the talent amongst our group of 51 students was immense and another reflection of incredibleness of Shads.

After the variety show, we headed back to res for a different kind of closing ceremony. I want to keep the ceremony a surprise for next year’s Shad’s, so I won’t give away too many details, but I will say it demonstrated the connections we had all forged and left us all even more attached to each other.

We were then presented with our super cool Shad clothes and monthbooks and settled in for a long night. We signed each other’s monthbooks, trying to put our relationships and memories into words for the rest of the evening and forget that we would have to leave in the morning.

Shad was truly the experience of a life time – it taught me about life, myself and many other things. It helped me make friendships with people I will stay in touch with for the rest of my life and truly changed my life. As our valedictorians said:

It’s about the experiences we have and the people we meet,
It’s about the friendships we build and the times, oh so sweet!

As we stare into the stars at night and breathe the same air,
We will know that all of us stand under the same sky, even if unaware;

We feel warmth upon reflecting on all the great memories we had,
We realize that none of this would have been possible if it wasn’t for SHAD!

Julie Van de Valk, Shad Valley University of British Columbia 2010
Hometown: Waterloo, Ontario

July 22 - Open Day!

2010-07-23T06:37:00.000-07:00

Well today was absolutely insane. The Program Assistants were not lying when they said that Open Day would be the longest day of Shad. Before today, I would never have believed that there could be a “Longest Day of Shad”. Every day here at Shad Valley Waterloo is so jam packed with activity that we wake up exhausted, go through the day exhausted and fall asleep exhausted. And you know what the best part is? We love every minute of it. Open Day turned out to be one of the most amazing days of Shad yet. What is Open Day you might ask? Well, we woke up to our customary 7 A.M. alarm, dozily fumbled through breakfast and then shuffled in to our first Whole Group Session of the day. But instead of the standard lecture from one of the faculty, we were presented with a schedule for the day. Man, I thought the “usual” Shad day was busy? This was RIDICULOUS. It seemed like we had a new thing to do every 15 minutes.

In true Shad form, we did not let this overwhelming schedule phase us. Instead, we pulled out our Waterloo Crew notebooks and calmly copied down the entire schedule. After that, we went to work. The next 13 hours (9:00 am to 10:00 pm) would consist of set up and cleanup, a tree planting ceremony, an awards lunch, Open Day, the banquet and finally Variety Night. Open Day was a chance for people from outside of Shad such as family members and representatives from RIM to come check out what Shad Valley is all about. We had all of our design projects on display as well as posters that described some of the lectures and workshops we participated in. The banquet consisted of some delicious food from the Conrad Grebel cafeteria. Variety Night was an incredible display of Shad Valley Waterloo talent. There was singing, piano, magic tricks and even a Korean pop dance performance.

I couldn’t have asked for a better way to celebrate the end of a journey that has brought together 48 amazing individuals and pushed us out of our comfort zones and into our growth zones. Shad Valley has been an absolutely incredible experience. It is sad to see this come to an end, but at the same time I know that I have learned so much and made so many great connections with so many people.

Bryson out.

Bryson McLachlan, Shad Valley University of Waterloo 2010
Hometown: Whitehorse, Yukon Territory

July 21

2010-07-22T10:45:00.000-07:00

24 days gone. 2nights left. Nothing could compare to this unforgettable experience at UBC. Today marked another memorable time together at Crescent beach! We gathered in the common room at 0845 hours and boarded the yellow school bus with high hopes for a nice tan, good weather and fun under the sun. Our wishes were answered. While some lay on their beach towels to soak up the rays of sun, others played a game of soccer. The low tide provided us with ample space to run around and kick the ball. Unfortunately, I had a minor sprain of my left wrist during a game of FIFA World Cup back at rez the previous night so I was side-lined for the beach game. I occupied myself by collecting purple seashells and arranging them to spell “Shad Valley UBC”. Halfway through the first ‘l’, a Shad cut her right foot on a shell while attempting to gain possession of the soccer ball. Blood immediately spewed across the sand and the game was ‘cut’ short. She was swept up in a Shad’s arms and taken to the safety of a nearby log. The unconcerned lifeguard calmly sauntered over and placed gauze on the red mess. The Shad hobbled away from the incident with a poorly dressed wound and the guarantee of unlimited piggy-back rides for the remainder of the day. Lunch was enjoyed at a quaint Italian bistro followed by a sweet ice cream to satiate our hungry stomachs. At 1630 hours, we sadly ‘waved’ goodbye to Crescent beach and returned to Totem Park for Shad Speaks.

I presented my topic on optical illusions and how they can be perceived differently. Several Shads were interested in my closing YouTube video. It’s a palindromic sequence called Lost Generation. Here’s the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42E2fAWM6rA. Other Shads taught us about the rules of rugby, the controversy on underage drinking and the Hindu dance called Bharathanatyam.

We then headed off campus to the Celebration of Lights, an international competition of fireworks, on the Jericho beach. The United States proudly performed their colourful display for 30 minutes. We were delighted with the beautifully lit view of the Vancouver skyline and the feel of the sand in between our toes. The tired yet satisfied group came back to home base for a midnight snack of potato chips and organized ourselves for Variety Show and Open House. We are excited to showcase our work to our parents and friends. Signing off for today.

Alicia Leung, Shad Valley University of British Columbia 2010
Hometown: Stittsville, Ontario

Wednesday, July 21st 2010

2010-07-22T08:45:00.000-07:00

It’s almost over.

The more I repeat it the less reality the statement can hold. Time reveals the concept that in less than 48 hours, spread across a nation and measurable as locations on a map, we will be dots hundreds of kilometres apart.

It’s hard to wrap our minds around that.

When my plane bursts through the clouds again Friday morning on my return to smoggy, stylish, rude, urban (and beloved) Toronto, it’s immeasurable how quickly the past month will seem as if it had bolted by.

Snapshots in words. The glimpse:

0845 - A scurried dash to breakfast. Sausages. Pancakes. Coffee .

0900 – A visit from the Registrar’s Office. Energetic Shad alum working as Dalhousie staff brings a sampling of university life to the seminar room

1000 – Friendly jostling relay race (complete with eggs and spoons) pits House groups against one another.

1200 – Usual buffet lunch in Howe Hall Dining Room. Old-fashioned hamburgers. Taco casserole. Grapeseed icecream.

1330 – Final meeting of Shad Valley House groups. Enter CuED Inc.’s lingering thoughts; the debrief of the House Cup competition closes under the sun with a group hug

1430 – Penultimate committee meeting. Different Shad groups struggle to bring together their different parts of our month’s final impression. Banquet. Monthbook. Open Day. Variety Show.

1630 – Free time to daydream for a short window of half an hour.

1700 – Dinner and a stolen bean salad.

1830 – A winner is chosen for the House Cup competition to represent Dalhousie at the Shad Cup. Intense voting. A split of 50/50 down the middle between two final projects

1900 – Packing time is allotted on the schedule. Staff must patrol the halls to curb the number of Shads sitting hopelessly on their beds staring listlessly at their cluttered floors of memories.

2000 – A secret event pulls back the veil to reveal swing dancing. Lessons given by the Dalhousie Swing Dance Society complete with jazz music and a live band.

2200 – Broomball, a game with sneakers on the hockey rink. Shads organize themselves into groups to play until after midnight on Dalhousie’s glossy ice.

0030 – Dazed walks back to the dorms in search of warm beds and slumber.

0100 – A goodnight and the dreamy collapse

Lucy Liu, Shad Valley Dalhousie University 2010
Hometown: Markham, Ontario

Le Moment Fatidique Approche

2010-07-22T06:28:00.000-07:00

Le moment fatidique approche! Plus que deux jours avant la fin de notre formidable expérience à Shad Valley Queen’s 2010. Tous s’affairent aux derniers préparatifs de la journée porte ouverte, du banquet et du spectacle de variété qui se dérouleront demain. Je ne peux être qu’épaté par l’énergie et le dévouement dont font preuve mes compagnons. C’est incroyable ce que 48 personnes d’exception peuvent accomplir en mettant leurs talents individuels en commun!

Disons que ma matinée a été plutôt « académique ». En effet, nous avons eu la chance d’assister ce matin à des conférences tout à fait passionnantes données par deux professeurs invités. D’abord, Brian Amsden, docteur en génie chimique, nous a présenté ses sujets de recherche, notamment la reconstruction de tissus avec des cellules souches et les différents mécanismes biologiques associés au rejet des prothèses biomédicales. C’était captivant! Par la suite, Christoph Richter, docteur en biologie, nous a fait découvrir le monde irréel de l’acoustique sous-marine. Pendant près d’une heure trente, nous nous sommes laissés bercer par les sons mélodieux des chants nuptiaux des baleines, par les cris d’écholocation des dauphins et des cachalots et les doux chants des magnifiques bélugas surnommés « canaris des mers ».

De plus, cet après-midi, j’ai participé à un atelier portant sur les techniques de négociation employées dans le monde du business. Nous avons été plongés dans une mise en situation captivante développée par le professeur Norbert S. Jacker de l’université DePaul et qui est généralement soumise aux étudiants de l’école de droit d’Harvard. Je me suis imprégné à 110 % dans le rôle de gérant d’artiste que l’on m’a assigné. Malheureusement je me suis fait avoir comme un débutant!

Moreover, I just want to say that I have spent an awesome month here at Shad Queen’s. I have developed really strong friendships and learned a lot about myself. I certainly have grown throughout my journey here. I think that I have become a better person, more confident, curious, and eager to learn about everything. At Shad, you don’t just learn general knowledge, you learn about yourself.

Tonight was the Shad Valley Queen’s 2010 dance. It was one of my favourite moments. Let’s do a bit of simple maths. If you add good music + awesome PAs as DJ + a bunch of good friends, it can only equal FUN!!!!!!!

Finally, I will share a quote from Albert Camus, a French philosopher, which will summarize what the Shad adventure is about: Sharing and friendship

“Don’t walk in front of me, I may not follow. Don’t walk behind me, I may not lead. Just walk beside me and be my friend.”

Goodnight everyone!!!

Louis Laflamme, Shad Valley Queen's University 2010
Hometown: Lévis, Québec

Wednesday July 21

2010-07-22T06:22:00.000-07:00

Today instead of sleeping in to the last possible moment, I woke up at 5:40 to go on the 5K morning run; as I promised one of my fellow Shads that before the program ended, I would go on a morning run with her. As we stepped out into the cool morning air, we realized that we were the only Shads who were going on the run this morning. During the run, Kinsley Hurlington, one of our Program Directors, did “runosophy” with us. Runosophy is a thinking game in which you are given a complex scenario with two different possible outcomes, from which you must choose.

After breakfast we headed back to our residence, Hedden Hall, for the second last edition of ShadNews48. Following ShadNews48 we had our last pod meeting where we celebrated and discussed our personal and group successes throughout our DE project. We also put together our poster board display, which showcases the product we came up with for our DE project. Following this we had an enlightening lecture from Eileen Dahl about “stuff”. This lecture was very informative because she showed us that we should not ignore things and let them build up and because they will not go away, they will only become bigger. We then ate lunch at Bistro.

Next, we traveled to the Juravinski Cancer Centre in Hamilton to carry out our Shad Do. While there, Shads preformed many different musical pieces. This included “You Raise me Up” which was performed by a mass choir consisting of all of the Shads, including the staff. After that, we went to back Webster Falls to see the waterfall. On the second day of Shad Valley McMaster, we went for a hike to Webster Falls but unfortunately due to heavy rain the day before the path was washed out. We only spent about an hour there, however we took many group pictures under the blistering heat of the sun and the cooling mist of the falls.

After our last supper at Bistro we had a mass choir rehearsal to practice for our performance tomorrow on Open Day. This was followed by two hours of committee time in which we had to finish our poster board presentations, which are also for Open Day tomorrow. After this it was time to pack our belongings in preparation for our departure from Shad Valley McMaster on Friday. With only one full day of Shad left, I know that this has been a life changing experience and that I have met many incredible people who I will never forget.

Brooke Currie, Shad Valley McMaster University 2010
Hometown: Stratford, Prince Edward Island

July 20

2010-07-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

It’s only now that the House Project has finally ended that we’re starting to realize how close to the end we truly are.

Amid sniffles and coughs, a sleep-deprived group of UBC Shads got up this morning to eat one of our last breakfasts in the cafeteria. Others, like myself, stayed in bed from a variety of illnesses –most likely caused by too many late nights.

After breakfast, we went through some of the remaining Shad Speaks. Among others, we learned a new language and how to make origami dragons.

Today we also had our very last rec. session. We played a campus-wide game of Assassin, an old favourite. Running through the campus we now knew so well – or at least better than before – brought back bittersweet memories of our first week at Shad. Even now, it’s hard to believe that we’ve been at Shad for three whole weeks. In a whirlwind of events that just seem to be one incredibly long day, we’ve gone from wary strangers to family.

Shads spent the evening in small groups, either slaving away on Monthbook or starting preparation for the Variety Show. Others just sat in circles, reminiscing about all the unbelievable things that have happened. The winner for the House Project was decided on, and amid many tears, valedictorians were picked as well.

Even as I write this, Shads around me are discussing ways to keep in touch, places to hold reunions, and holidays when everyone will be available. Although deep down we all know that no reunion will ever compare to the experience that is Shad, each one of us is determined to keep hold of the lifelong bonds we have made with one another.

Nina Chen, Shad Valley University of British Columbia 2010
Hometown: Mississauga, Ontario

IT’S NOT THE END JUST YET – Tuesday July 20, 2010

2010-07-21T07:36:00.000-07:00

After the adrenaline rush of handing in the business plan at the very last minute, every single one of us vowed to get the presentation done early and be prepared. But, in the end, not many of us achieved that goal. Waking up at 6:00 in the morning to get together with my pod, I hurried to complete the project. I was so tired, but before I knew it, I was in business wear and up on stage tripping over my thoughts, not even understanding the gibberish flowing from my mouth. And before I knew it, the awards were announced, friends were hugging and laughing and cheering, and the DE project was over.

Even though the project was fun, I felt like I had been concentrating on it so much that the time with all my Shad friends had passed by without me noticing. And now, there are only two days left.

Tonight, each of us was assigned a box with our name on it and some cut-up construction paper. We were told that we would write messages on the paper to our friends, putting the notes in the boxes which would act like “Valentine’s Day boxes”, as one fellow Shad called it. When Kingsley, our program director, stated that we could only read them after we left Shad, all of us groaned. I have a feeling that when we read these, we’ll be looking back on amazing memories and the realization of just how indescribable Shad Valley McMaster 2010 is will hit us hard.

The night ended off with karaoke, with everyone singing away, completely relaxed and carefree.

Joanne Cheng, Shad Valley McMaster University 2010
Hometown: Barrie, Ontario

Conclusion of Sorts – Monday, July 19th, 2010

2010-07-20T07:02:00.000-07:00

The alarm clock sounded, announcing the beginning of the final week here at Shad. This thought plagued the minds of everyone, making us wonder what life was going to be like post-Shad.

On a happier note, the morning started off with Ed, our Program Director, sharing his intriguing world of Mathematics. He couldn’t help but feel the love when we all burst into “Happy Birthday”. With algorithms and neural networks buzzing in our thoughts, we were shuffled into our first Whole Group Workshop where the challenge to design a Mini-Golf Course was presented. Each hole in the course represented an event during our Shad Valley experience. Guests from the different faculties of the University of Waterloo joined us for lunch, sharing their vast knowledge. The staff kept everyone in a state of anxiety during our Project Debrief. This was where the project representing Shad Waterloo in the Shad Cup was to be revealed. Dwight Bryant from TELUS was our guest speaker for the night. His stories came alive, especially those which spoke of leadership. Life at Shad is filled to the brim with opportunities to succeed and to unlock your full potential. Never let these opportunities fly away. Never be bored in life.

"Life is never boring, but some people chose to be bored. Boredom is a choice."
– Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

Celine Ling, Shad Valley University of Waterloo 2010
Hometown: Markham, Ontario

Monday July 19

2010-07-20T07:00:00.000-07:00

It's funny how fatigue can give you a heightened sense of awareness. Scrambling out of bed at four thirty in the morning, I actually felt this sort of calmness and clarity in me despite everything--- missing crucial hours of sleep, last minute finalizations of the DE project, being away from family and friends. I felt untouched by everyone else's woes and even by my own worries. As cheesy as this may sound, theres still no place I would rather be at than Shad.

The skies seemed to match everyones anticipation as it was gloomy and almost foreboding as we headed into the presentation building. Yes, today was Carleton Shad's final DE project presentation. The house teams assembled into their respective places and seats, each wishing each other good luck. Then, the announcements were made and the judges were finally introduced. The first house team got the ball rolling right away. Every team's innovativeness and commitment was made clear by the end of the presentations. We have been so preoccupied with the project for the past week; it almost feels strange thinking, "This is the culmination of all our hard work. This is us. This is it." Then I realized, it's because isn't. The DE project did account for a lot, but it wasn't the culmination of all of our hardwork, it wasn't us, it wasn't it. It was just the beginning.

Azalea Atienza, Shad Valley Carleton University 2010
Hometown: Cambridge Bay, Nunavut

July 19 - Save the Seniors

2010-07-20T06:51:00.000-07:00

Project, project, project. Thats all its really been for the past while, and I guess in the end everyone agrees: «ça vaut la peine». After pulling an "all nighter" (during which most people left, and everyone eventually slept) to finish up the project, everyone was up early to get those final details in their presentations. Almost everyone was running on empty. I've never seen so many people stumbling around so quickly at that time of morning, but I guess thats what Shad is all about. After 4 hours of «finalisation» and a quick lunch, it was project time.

The presentations were great, amazing even. Considering that we had tried to solve major problems of aging in about 10 days, the ideas ranged from water filters to bed ramps to exotic retirement villages. Every group was drilled with questions that they had never expected, which wasn't a huge surprise to me. My group, just like every other practice presentation, didn't finish within the 15 minute time constraint so we ended up getting cut off without conclusion (again).

With presentations over (and Nic, our co-ordinator, telling us that we had all been set up for failure from the start of the project), there was mass cheering and hugging. Kind of like graduation or like finishing that last exam of high school. Everyone went back to residence, and I decided to bring out my soccer ball and soon I was up at the soccer field at PEPS (the campus sports complex) with 3 other guys. We all had to run back in order to get changed for the banquet.

The banquet quickly became a festival of random acts with food/drinks. As it turns out, coke and apple juice aren't that great together. The centrepiece of the table turned out have epsom salts in it (sadly, they wouldn't dissolve easily) and soon the small electric candle was buried amongst the salt to make a creepy glowing centrepiece. It also turns out that you can drink the small cream / milk cups that come with coffee if you put them in your mouth whole and bite down on them.

After the banquet was a dance party, of course. The 4th I believe, I wish we had more. At first, there were tables with everyone's picture on one page and each person wrote a memory / impression of that person (inside jokes all over the place). Dancing began slowly, but picked up with time. Like the last party, it didn't last nearly long enough. Back to reidence to "sleep" at about 11:30, although as it turned out everyone was tired for some reason (it's hard to believe, I thought everyone would sleep really well in the computer lab). With the nightfall, everyone rested their heads thinking of the last 3.5 weeks, and thinking of the next 3 days.

Ryan MacDonell, Shad Valley Université Laval 2010
Hometown: Belnan, Nova Scotia

Sunday, July 18, 2010: A Strange Day at Waterloo (but what else is new?)

2010-07-20T06:36:00.000-07:00

Today at Shad Waterloo, it was unlike any other day. It was the one day where you could sleep in until noon without having a Program Assistant hunting you down to see if something horribly wrong had happened to you.

With the design projects done and the entire morning designated as free time, many of the Shads had spent the previous night staying up late celebrating and decided to take advantage of the late start of the day’s scheduled activities by emerging from their rooms a few hours later than usual. Personally, I got up early to go for a run before breakfast and then spent most of the morning lounging on the patio outside of our residence.

By the time lunch had rolled around, most of the Shads were up and about. Many of them turned it into a working lunch, putting the finishing touches on their posters for the workshops, which we presented right afterwards. There were workshops on business negotiations, marketing, circuits, magic, the mind, geometric sculptures (mine!) and water. The presentations were a great opportunity to show everyone what we’d been doing all week, with our colourful posters and dazzling visual displays.

Immediately following that, we moved into a session called “This Week and Beyond”, which meant “designing our futures”. We discussed everything from plans for university to job searching to etiquette in the classroom and workplace. Despite being a bit groggy, a lot of the Shads seemed to be really engaged in the discussion and gained plenty of practical information. After that, the PAs assembled onstage for their panel, answering questions about their experiences as university students. Somehow, the discussion began to revolve around doing dishes, but it was useful information all the same.

After a dinner of baked ham, we headed up a floor to the chapel for a presentation by guest speakers, and sisters, Debbe Crandall and Sarah Haney. For the first half of the presentation, Debbe talked about the Oak Ridges Moraine and various conservation efforts to preserve it. Halfway through, Debbe and Sarah switched places, with Sarah discussing protecting whale populations. Once the Shads’ questions had been asked and answered and the speakers had been thanked, we all went off on her preferred mode of reflection, whether that meant a quiet stroll around campus, group discussions or scribbling down thoughts in a journal.

Tomorrow is the birthday of someone very special at Shad Waterloo: our Program Director, Ed Jernigan! We celebrated his birthday a day early and as we munched on brownie cake, we were treated to a surprise performance from the Water Boys, the all male acapella group at UW, who left the crowd of Shads awestruck and screaming for an encore.

There is currently a massive thunderstorm outside right now, but I think I might head to bed early tonight (for once). Even though the design projects are over, the hard work and stress have only just begun. Over these next few days, we’ve got monthbooks and Open Day displays and Variety Night preparations to worry about—not to mention the fact that in less than a week, we’ll be forced to say goodbye to one another and spread ourselves across the country and beyond. It’s hard to believe that we only have a few short days until our Shad experience comes to an end.

At the beginning of the month, they talk about how time at Shad is non-linear and you don’t really get it, but as your time at Shad goes by, some days end up feeling like weeks and some go by in a blink of an eye. Right now, I can’t help but wish time would just slow down. One of the things Ed has said repeatedly over the past few weeks is that it is up to us to get the most out of our Shad experience and I guess the same is true of our final days at Shad: it’s up to us to make those last few days count. So rather than dwelling on the anxiety that’s been building up since the halfway point for me, I am determined to concentrate on living every last second here at Waterloo to its fullest extent and to end an unforgettable experience with an unforgettable week.

Caitlin Loo, Shad Valley University of Waterloo 2010
Hometown: North York, Ontario

July 18

2010-07-19T12:55:00.000-07:00

“Keep away from people who belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can be great.”- Mark Twain

This quote was brought to the groups’ attention today by a fellow Shad as he and his roommate presented their quick, but meaningful “thought of the day”. For the last 21 days I have ate, slept, and lived amongst a group of 47 great and talented people. People who have challenged, but never demeaned the small portion I had to offer to the overall Shad experience. Like Mark Twain said, these people have done nothing but encourage me to reach my full potential; to spread my wings and fly to heights I’d never have dreamed possible before.

Today we assembled in the lobby of McNeil to do a brief COUNT-OFF before heading off to the event we had all been waiting for with anticipation: The Shad Olympics. Dressed in our house colours we separated into our respected groups and did we ever let the games begin! First on the agenda was “Water You Doing?” This station involved numerous activities that showed one how to be soaked and yet how to drench your opponents even more. Of course, to the relentless cheers of the crowd, the strong and unbeatable House Five dominated the podium.

Next, Shads gathered to participate in the “Obstacle Illusion,” which consisted of a leapfrog/croquet/ crab walking/skipping/ backwards pylon weaving/ hula hooping course. Unfortunately, House Five fell to defeat at this station to the green backs of House Six. To redeem themselves, they caught water balloon after water balloon, to earn themselves the title of champs once again.

To the excitement of most, “Muggle Quidditch” came next. This is not only a popular pastime amongst those enlisted at Howarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, but for Shad students as well. So for the remainder of our Olympic events we could be seen chasing a human snitch around a green pitch, with beaters flinging soggy sponges here and there, and chasers running with the prized purple pool ball to the goal hoops. More often than not I, the seeker, found myself running endless circles around a tree with the intention of tagging a speedy snitch. The laughter that entailed this affair could only be described as a bonus to the general enthrals of the game.

As we wrapped up this final station the lovely program assistants here at Shad Queen’s had one final surprise for us. A shaving cream battle. Before long we were all sporting a t-shirt covered in this frothy, white substance. Not one Shad left the scene in their natural state, and several of us departed with new, distinguished hairstyles that were fashioned with shaving cream as well. Out of all the days that have passed in the last three weeks, this was by far my favourite. Today, the Shad spirit showed a little more than its face.

After supper, we held the annual Queen’s morality plays in the common room. With that we discovered that there are some talented actors/actresses living amongst us. We realised that many of us share the same morals, but have several that differ as well. The skits sent most of the audience into fits of laughter.

With a smile on everyone’s faces, we (except for those whose committees are nearing their deadlines) traipsed off to bed to re-energise for another full day at Shad.

Alas, we’re nearing the ending of this life altering chronicle. Looking back, it is impossible to distinguish where, and in which chapter we became a fully functional family. Nevertheless, this story carries word of a group of 47 kids from across the country, and one from Saudi Arabia, who have discovered the power of their interior drive, how far they can stretch, and how vast their dreams really are. Indeed the final chapter is not far off, but with it one can see that together they have helped each other realise their true greatness. A greatness that was once described by Mark Twain himself, and one that will be lived to its fullest in the hearts of this year’s Shad Queen’s for years to come. Thanks for making this month amazing guys. Goodnight.

Emily Smith, Shad Valley Queen's University
Hometown: Oromocto, New Brunswick

July 18

2010-07-19T12:47:00.000-07:00

“Whatever the human mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve”

The day started with a lecture from Sam Dube, the last lecture from this eccentric but highly intelligent man. As cheesy as it might sound, all the Shads were anticipating his lecture. However, today we were not treated to any of his intriguing questions of parallel universe or time traveling; we were taught instead, the 21 steps to goal achieving. The quote above was one of the many inspirational quotes thrown in the lecture. At the end of the lecture, the Shads felt a sense of direction and collective enlightenment.

But we were not able to dwell on the lecture for long, for the schedule at Shad did not allow for any free time. We quickly shifted to our next activities. Lunch, for me, was eating quickly, and spending the rest of lunch looking for my choir members for the variety show.

The House Game after lunch, it was revealed, was Amazing Race! The 60 Shads at Carleton were split into groups of 5, and were given riddles containing the location of the stations. Prizes, the main motivation in any competition, of course were promised to the winning team. My team developed a quasi-strategy that worked quite well. We were able to decipher all the location, not all by ourselves. We utilized the Carleton students and staff, we had to sing and dance to “Single Ladies” before the staff at the information desk would tell us the answer. It was a fun detour that we all laughed about for the rest of the race.

We finished the rest of the race with speed, confident that we would grab the big prize. But like every classic movie, the drama happened just as we were about to finish the race. We followed our second last clue, and arrived outside Mackenzie Building. We were sure this was the location, but there were no one in sight. No welcoming grey staff t-shirts, no crowds of other teams crowding to complete their tasks, there was absolutely no one.

The sense of anxiety and stress steadily rises as we looked everywhere in Mackenzie Building. As sweat starts to pour down from the heat of the afternoon sun, we decided to head back to MPR, the last station. Imagine our disappointment, learning that the program assistant left the station early. Although we could have finished first, we still finished fifth. And like another quote from the lecture, “in every adversity there lies a seed of equivalent or greater benefit.” Although we did not win the competition, my team were able to develop a stronger bond with each other (yes, even at this stage of Shad, we can always be closer), and we were able to learn from this experience. Tomorrow is the dreaded DE project presentation. Everyone is scrambling for computers; I wonder how many dreary faces I will see tomorrow morning.

Grace Gao, Shad Valley Carleton University 2010
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario

Saturday, July 17, 2010

2010-07-19T12:40:00.000-07:00

First off, I would like to wish my dad a very happy birthday today...I’m sorry I had to miss it but I’m really glad that I’m at Shad.

Today was hectic. It was our first time ever really going off of campus. All 60 Shads plus PA’s and staff headed downtown to check out the local market and do some shopping. All of us, well equipped for our mission, headed outside the borders of our home and were explorers making a trek through uncharted waters. All the sights and sounds were so exciting to all of us who had been on campus for the past three weeks. The market was amazing. All the vendors and everything they were selling were spectacular. The crafts and pottery, the scented candles and delicious smelling food attracted almost everyone in Fredericton is seemed. Henna tattoos were also popular among the UNB Shads. It was cool to see all the different designs that everyone had when we left. Once we met as a group outside the market, we headed downtown for more shopping. First stop: Geek Chic. I felt bad for the sole employee working today. Sixty uber-intelligent teenagers with the best senses of humour piled into the store filled with Bazinga! mugs, G33K B33R, and “√-1 2³∑ (3.14) and it was good” shirts. I think we all could have stayed in there for days without getting bored. We then split up in groups to go around the other downtown shops to see what there was and do some bargain hunting. Some of the places that we went include a music store, a makeup store, a toy store and a craft store, a local park where we could watch the changing of the guard and a used book store called “The Owl’s Nest.” It was a beautiful day outside- sunny, but not too hot (unlike some other days), with a slight breeze. It was perfect.

On the other hand, CT design projects are due tomorrow and everyone is going crazy. Well, almost everyone. It seems that my group is unnaturally calm while everywhere around us are 52 teenagers worrying if they’re going to finish on time and fretting that their business and marketing plans won’t measure up. With everything that is going and everything we have to finish, Unwrapped Innovations is surprisingly calm. It’s great- we’re all relaxed and having fun, chatting and bouncing ideas off of each other and so much work is getting done. For the past week or so we were like the other groups are now- worried and stressed. We didn’t know what we were doing and whether or not we would be able to do it. Our project room was a dungeon keeping us prisoners. Now, however, our room is our oasis; it’s where we go to get away and we love it. We have so much fun working on our product now and we are so much more productive than we ever were when we were worrying all the time. Our Program Director, Ian, told all 60 of us one day that Shad is so unique because it lasts for four weeks as opposed to most programs that only last one. He explained that throughout these four weeks, all the Shads would go through four stages- Forming, storming, norming, and performing. During the past couple of days my group has definitely moved to the performing stage and have become a family. All the Shads are becoming a family. It’s truly amazing to see all the people and the ways that we have all changed because of each other. It has only been a month, only 21 days, but it feels like we haven’t even begun. Everything has gone by so fast, and before we know it it’s going to be over. But I guess it can’t be, because Shad is never over...Shad is forever.

Taylor Taccone, Shad Valley University of New Brunswick 2010
Hometown: Guelph, Ontario

Saturday July 17, 2010

2010-07-19T11:47:00.000-07:00

This past month has been one of the hardest times of my life but also the most amazing times of my life. It has been a roller coaster of emotions. Our day began similar to every other day, but very different. The sky was blue, cloudless, and the air was thick with the Ontario heat. The sun rose as we walked across campus to Bistro for breakfast. After breakfast we had Shadnews48 that was run by the news committee. Today was a special day, it was Shad Olympics. Today my committee had the chance to show what we have been putting together for the entire month. Shad Olympics consisted of a relay race which included activities such as shoes in a bin, water balloon passing, and trivia. We also played Ultimate Frisbee, watermelon rugby, and soccer. To conclude the events we had everyone set up for a big picture. They didn’t know that the committee, with help from the PAs were filling up buckets of water in the background. As the pictures were being taken we snuck up from behind and soaked everyone with water. It was amazing. We ate lunch and had a lecture from one of our Program Assistants, Andrew Schmidt. The lecture was on the pros and cons of Stem Cell research. We had a heated debate on people for Embryonic Stem Research and people against it. I was against it and we ended up winning the debate and were awarded the privilege of not doing dishes. The rest of the day consisted of Pod time for our projects. The time literally diminished for our projects. My Pod really felt the stress and limited time of the project. It was the first time I really realized that we only have three more days until we are standing before the judges. Today was our last day to finish the Business plan as it is due Sunday evening. It feels we are so far from completing the project but I know it will all work out in the end. There is less than a week left of Shad, and I cannot believe how quickly the month went. It is amazing how every Shad felt that the first two weeks felt like a month and the last two weeks felt like a couple of days. I am going to take in every moment for the rest of the remaining days.

When I read previous blogs the majority of them said that this experience has changed their lives. I was very skeptical on the idea that twenty- seven days can change one's life. However I have come to realize that these are not just twenty-seven days. Through all the hardships and stress we have encountered we all have come together as a family and as a community. Unfortunately this month has been very hard on me as two of my family members have passed away. It was hard because I did not know what I was going to do, especially being so far away from my family. It was amazing how much love and support I received from everyone from Shad Valley McMaster. I felt like I had my family here to help me through this difficult time. So this was truly a life changing experience that is really… indescribable. I would like to dedicate this post to my Opa (Grandpa) who was so anxious to read my post but was one day short of reading it. He didn’t have to read it… he was with me the whole time.

Devin Buffalo, Shad Valley McMaster University 2010

Hometown: Wetaskiwin, Alberta

July 17 2010 - Back From PEI

2010-07-19T11:31:00.000-07:00

It is 11:35 PM right now and we just arrived at our campus. I am in my dorm room right now and as tired as we are, when my roommate came in the room, he simply fell on his bed and went to sleep. It was a long ride from PEI along the Confederation Bridge, and thankfully, I managed to sleep a little bit on the bus so that I can write this blog and finish up our house group’s prototype that’s due tomorrow. Whew! Shad Valley should certainly be known for its tight schedules.

Needless to say, these two days at PEI have been an extraordinary experience. After we arrived in this beautiful province through a breezy ferry ride, we explored the Province House, known as the “Cradle of Confederation.” Many key meetings were held in this building and it played a key role in Canada’s Confederation. After we finished the tour, we went to explore the beautiful downtown Charlottetown, where its tasty Cows ice cream is devoured by happy tourists every day.

We then travelled to a campsite, where we set up our tents. We applied a whole lot of bug spray, but the mosquitoes didn’t seem to be scared of that. Though we didn’t have any alternative solutions against bug attacks, sleeping in the tents felt very good. This second camping trip was definitely a memorable, fun, but challenging experience, because a part of all this was about teamwork.

When I think of PEI, I think of Anne of Green Gables, the famous book written L. M. Montgomery. So what happened? We visited Green Gables on the next day! Located at Cavendish, we explored the famous house and took many exciting pictures. After that, we went to the Cavendish beach (the third beach that we went to so far this month!), where we had lots of fun swimming, playing with jellyfish (and enjoying their stings, haha), playing volleyball, and lying under the big blue sky.

Lastly, what else is PEI known for? Its seafood, of course! Thankfully, our brilliant PAs realized that I will not leave this place without having a full lobster meal. They took us to a huge seafood restaurant, where everyone got one lobster, and a bunch of all-you-can-eats, such as mussels, seafood chowder, and tasty desserts. The lobster was incredible, of course, and I, along with two other Shads, devoured six buckets of mussels. Unfortunately, we were far from beating the old record, where a Shad at Dalhousie managed to eat 5 buckets just by himself. The whole trip was so amazing that anyone who wants to know what it feels like really needs to be here and experience it themselves.
Deyu Wang, Shad Valley Dalhousie University 2010
Hometown: Mississauga, Ontario

Day 19 - Friday July 16

2010-07-19T11:25:00.000-07:00

The shrill sound of my alarm clock forces me rudely from sleep. I sit up, dazed and disoriented. With slowly returning comprehension and excitement, I realize that this is the day. After two weeks of discussions, research and work, presentation day has finally arrived; our final project is due today.

After quickly grabbing a bite of breakfast from the cafe, my seven group members and I walk to where our project room is located. Two hours later, we emerge with our prototypes, along with the other groups and walk nervously over to the building at which we will be presenting. We hold our first ever “town hall” meeting in the auditorium and Barry Bisson, the international director of Shad Valley, joins us. After our meeting and discussion, we head back to our residence to change and grab lunch.

For the next hour pandemonium ensues. Every door is open as people rush in and out borrowing clothes and getting ready. Thirty minutes later I walk back to the auditorium with forty-seven students who have been miraculously transformed into polished business men and women. I watch nervously as the first two groups present their excellent products. When I finally stand up in front of my peers, I am both excited and nervous. Along with Simi and Eric, I know that I have the expectations of our five other hardworking group members resting upon me and upon our presentation. Before I know it though, the final presentation has finished and myself and 47 other Shads erupt in cheering.

We walked back to our residences for a quick change into slightly less formal clothes and then my eight group members, two program assistants, Sharon and Julian, and program director, Ian, walk to downtown Kingston to celebrate with Thai food at a restaurant called Mango. After a huge meal topped with a dessert from White Mountain Ice Cream, we returned to residence to play a card game that has become something of a tradition, “werewolves.” I think it may be at this moment, relaxing in a circle with forty-seven people that I realize that I have been very lucky to make forty-seven new friends; funny, smart, warm, amazing young adults with extraordinary futures ahead of them. I have been extremely lucky to have had the chance to spend the last nineteen days surrounded by these wonderful people, working with them, laughing with them, learning from them. I only wish that I had more than the eight short days that remain before I have to say good-bye…to my friends and to the fantastic experience that is Shad.

Fiona Emdin, Shad Valley Queen's University 2010
Hometown: Picton, Ontario

Friday July 16

2010-07-19T10:49:00.000-07:00

There are certain things we just don’t believe in here at Shad MUN: namely, sleep and predictability. Every day so far has been a cocktail of surprises, and this Friday was no different!

My morning, as usual, began at the crack of dawn with an early tai chi class followed by delicious breakfast. Once back at residence I heard something of a commotion on the floor above us, but dismissed it as unimportant as I hurried to prepare for lectures. Soon enough I noticed something rather peculiar: The entire male half of our program had spontaneously coordinated a suit and tie day!

I feel some pity for the poor under-dressed lecturers who had to face three full rows of young men in business attire.
The lectures, as usual, were fascinating and diverse.
Seminars followed lunch, and what better way to revisit childhood than to frolic through the undergrowth chasing butterflies? Our introduction to entomology was incredible and eye-opening. Who knew there was such a complex insect world just outside our windows?

As today’s schedule seemed especially designed to give me flashback to my carefree days as a fourth grader, the workshop was followed by an intense game of four-square. I must admit that I had so far underestimated the competitive nature of Shads: I never imagined we could become so worked up over a friendly match.

Dinner, then a gruelling two hours of house time for us to work on our business plans.
Thankfully, our PAs know exactly how to end such a long day. We’re treated to game night! Cards, puzzles, and board games of every type are laid out and we enjoy a brief period of brain-laziness.

When we finally head to sleep we were relaxed and looking forward to another amazing day, especially since hiking and swimming have both been promised. But we don’t delude ourselves into believing we know exactly what to expect, because that’s just one of those things we don’t believe in at Shad MUN…

Julia De Benetti, Shad Valley Memorial University of Newfoundland 2010
Hometown: Greenfield Park, Quebec

July 16

2010-07-19T10:25:00.000-07:00

Today started off just like any other day at Shad Valley McMaster University – highly unique.

We woke up cursing our own dogged persistence at 5:45am, ready for the 5K run that “invigorates” (or so our PD says) us every morning.

After the rough workout, we proceeded to have a quick 3-minute shower, only to hear the sound of bagpipes waking up our fellow comrades who decided to sleep in.

The giant basement “Ravine Room” next to the buggy Cootes Paradise valley is where we grudgingly trudged this morning for our daily philosophical lecture/pep talk from the one and only Kingsley Hurlington.

As we shuffled still half asleep to the “Bistro” for a hearty (only slightly repetitive) breakfast, we were informed that a visit to McMaster’s nuclear reactor had come upon us.

In the meantime, however, we were split into random groups representing each culture at Shad@Mac. While such groups included Korean, Native American, Indian and Saudi Arabian, my group represented all of “Europe.” In the end, we decided to do a silhouette ring representing the European skyline with a candle placed inside of it.

While unfortunately, due to uncontrollable reasons, we could not visit the nuclear reactor, Kingsley – our local geographic expert – decided to inform us of the incredible powers and applications of satellite remote sensing, and challenged us to determine different ways to scan the entire McMaster University campus from space.

In the afternoon, we had intensive pod work time, leading up to the submission of our business plan on this coming Sunday. We all got a little tense at certain points, but we managed to keep our cool and come together to work effectively as a group in the end.

After afternoon pod time, we proceeded to have dinner and go to our Shad “committees” to work on separate projects. My committee, Monthbook – a yearbook-style offline website that aims to document every inch of the Shad@Mac experience – was in its usual chaotic scramble to digest each new event and weave them into eloquent lines of binary.

After committee time, we arrived at our daily guerilla choir practice, again led by the now-famous Kingsley. Today, we began the grueling and slightly awkward stage of separating into sopranos, altos, tenors and basses. We are preparing a rousing rendition of “You Raise Me Up” to which everyone will almost certainly break down to on Open Day.

After all this, we crashed in our beds for the night…that is except me, as I am staying up huddled under my tiny crackling desk lamp past curfew writing this.

Although you may be thinking: why would anyone want to do such a program?

Aside from the amazing friendships and the discovery of what you are truly passionate for, the only answer I can tell you is…

You just have to experience it.

Andrew Webster, Shad Valley McMaster University 2010
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario�

July 16, 2010

2010-07-19T10:21:00.000-07:00

This is like the second time (since the visit to Old Quebec) that I'm off campus. Woohoo! Two PA's, a Shad, and I went to Maxie's to buy groceries for the Multicultural Night tomorrow. I am so excited to cook tomorrow. Me and a team of ten Shads will cook dinner for tomorrow, consisting of a menu which includes a shrimp ring, nachos, pasta, spring rolls, pad thai, greek salad, poutine, fruit salad, and pavlova. We spent over three hundred dollars on groceries, and all within an hour. After we piled everything into the van, sweating inside the heat of the car, Daniel, the director of Shad Laval, asked where we wanted to eat lunch. Shawn, a PA, immediately said Anderson's. Olivia and I glanced at each other, with no idea what that place was. "You can only get it in Quebec, and they have poutine." Wow. Poutine. Quebec Poutine. I was convinced. As I entered the fast food restaurant, I was surprised at how clean everything was. There so much varieties of poutine. There was one with meatsauce, gravy, and sausages, and another one with chicken, peas, and cheese curds. I ordered the latter. Served in a small aluminium bowl, I was surprised at how filling it was.

We arrived back to the university so that Olivia and I could attend our seminars. Mine was on optics, so me and ten other Shads took a tour of a lab containing different lasers and lights. We had to wear hats, slippers, and a coat to prevent contaminating the place with dust. It was so cool!

During project time, our group just realized we only had 3 more days until our projects are due... there is so much to do! Stress is upon our shoulders, yet many people continue to go on Facebook (except me of course).

With that aside, I can't wait until I can cook for the Multicultural dinner tomorrow. I'm in charge of the desserts, and I will be making my favourite: Pavlovas. I could go on forever about how delicious pavlovas are, but that's not the point. It's about Shad.

There is exactly one more week left, and I must treasure these last moments, making the best out of it, before I fly back home.

Karyn Liu, Shad Valley Université Laval 2010

Hometown: Richmond, British Columbia

Day 18 - Thursday July 15

2010-07-16T06:22:00.000-07:00

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do […] Explore. Dream. Discover.

- Mark Twain

I draw inspiration from this quote each day but I feel that these words of wisdom resonate no stronger than here in the Shad Valley program at UBC. I speak for all my fellow Shads when I say that I truly appreciate that so many opportunities have been presented to me - exciting, new things that I have never done before and other things that I have never dreamed of doing.

After breakfast in the Totem Park Cafeteria, we headed over to the Irving Barber Learning Center for an engaging workshop by Dr. Jon Nakame, the lab manager for UBC's Engineering Physics department. We were introduced to the wonders of electronic circuitry- breadboard, batteries, LEDs, motors, switches, accelerometers, capacitors, and much, much more. In pairs of two, we all tried our hand at constructing various circuits in increasing complexity. After, we made the short trek to the EngPhys Project Lab to witness UBC students in action. They are currently working on entries for a robotics competition. The theme changes year from year; this year requires competitors to put together a robot that races a rival robot around a winding race track. The catch is - there is a shortcut that eliminates the difficulty of several sharp curves but the robot must confront a ramp instead. After lunch, the Shads went to the Department of Forestry building for a lecture "Climate Project Canada, YesBC!" by guest speaker Judy Fanstein. We were interested to learn that she has just recently returned from a weekend training session with former U.S. Vice-President Al Gore where participants were trained to make presentations based on Gore's acclaimed documentary "An Inconvenient Truth". Half of her presentation was devoted to raising awareness of the cause and impact of climate change around the world. The second half was about the greenroots environmental leadership program that she founded herself - YesBC! (Youth for Environmental Stewardship). YesBC! also has received a grant from the Steve Nash Foundation with which they will purchase tree seedlings for participants. For rec, we all participated in "Shad Valley UBC Campus Chase 2010", which is inspired by the vastly popular television show: "The Amazing Race". Randomly paired with another Shad, we had to complete tasks at stations dispersed throughout the UBC campus. For the first task, we all had to collect 5 distinct items from a list. My team collected a maple leaf, a red pen, velcro, non-UBC lanyard, and a business card with an area code not in the Vancouver area. For the other tasks that were required to successfully complete the challenge, my partner and I did had to unscramble cryptic clues in order to find the next waypoint including the following:

This ain't no carnival, foo!

Don't be cheeky! There's no time to stop and smell the roses when there's a task at hand!

We quickly deciphered this clue and ran to the Rose Garden at the far end of campus. There my partner had to face-paint on me Nintendo’s Mario character to a PA's satisfaction. For the six tasks, my partner and I took a little over an hour to complete and to our pleasure; we came in the top 10 of the 25 team field. After dinner, we were given an hour for committee time and the rest of the time to work on the house project!

Our time at Shad Valley is winding down but I am ecstatic that I got to share my incredible experience here with 51 other talented and motivated Shads. Good luck with your house projects and good night!

Adam Hsieh, Shad Valley University of British Columbia 2010
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario

Thursday July 15

2010-07-16T06:11:00.000-07:00

Here at Shad Waterloo, everyone woke up to an always delicious breakfast prepared by the Grebel kitchen and headed off to our morning lecture. Paul presented us a refreshing change to our normal lectures as we participated in an interactive design activity called a bricolage. A bricolage is the practice of assembling stuff-at-hand in order to create something new; in this case, we were to design a toy to entertain a 4 year old and a 6 year old in hopes of getting a 48' flat screen TV from the parents. This activity brought out the kid in all of us and gave an uplifting break from stressing about completing our design projects for tomorrow.

Next, I headed off to “Magic for Muggles” and learned some great card tricks, coin tricks and secrets of the pros. Our workshop group is getting ready to hopefully present some of these tricks in the workshop poster presentation and impress the rest of the Shads.

After lunch, we had another lecture by Rob and how he works integrating art into engineering design problems. With his company, Gorbet Designs Inc., he showed us the amazing solar energy sculpture which collects energy during the day and presents a light show which people can submit patterns for online. He talked about how he went through the design process and gave us an interesting perspective of how to apply the design in real life applications. Following the lecture, we had some project time. As the stress was building up for the big day tomorrow, we had a recreational activity to cool off some heat.

The staff kept us in suspense about what the recreational activity was until it was time. The big reveal showed that all 48 of us Shads will be playing a huge game of capture the flag! The territory spanned a quarter of the Waterloo campus and the competition grew between the “RED TEAM” and the “BLUE TEAM”. We played for a good hour under thunderstorm watch and as predicted, the thunder and lightening shut down the game. After letting loose and having some fun, we went back and focused on our design projects, frantically trying to finish and perfect everything for the project conference.

As I sit in our project room, working with my group hoping to sleep within the next few hours, we have pulled together as a team. This night has been the epitome of the Shad experience and possibly the hardest night of my life but one of the most memorable experiences ever.

Jeannie Xu, Shad Valley University of Waterloo 2010
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario

Thursday July 15

2010-07-16T05:58:00.000-07:00

It's been another busy yet memorable day at Shad. The day started, as usual, with breakfast at Leonard Hall. Afterward, all the Shads and staff congregated at Chernoff for our morning lecture on properties of materials. For example, to test the elasticity of plastic grocery bags, we each received a piece to stretch until it broke. Certain bags withstood more force, and so were much more ductile than others.

Immediately after lecture, the staff split us into two groups for our afternoon activities: a tour of the Ravensview water treatment facility and a tour of Fort Henry. I was in the group that toured Fort Henry first, and after slapping on about six layers of sunscreen, we set out for a 30 minute walk (or what seemed more like a one hour trek in the blistering heat). Our group of 24 met our tour guide for Fort Henry, and he lead us around the fort, explaining the soldiers’ daily lives, from the low-ranking gunner to the high-ranking commandant.

After a brief lunch, the groups rotated, and this time, my group went on the tour of the Ravensview water treatment facility, which was essentially a sewage treatment facility. We braced ourselves for the repugnant smell we felt sure would hit us, but after the first few … experiences, it became more tolerable. Our tour guide brought us around the facility, describing the process that untreated sewage undergoes to become drinkable water. I especially appreciated how environmentally friendly Ravensview was, with the facility using the methane it produces to generate 30% of their electricity, which fuels the machines.

Following the bus ride home, the Shads had a couple of hours of free time to relax. Dinner was delicious, as usual, and promptly afterward, we headed over to the ILC for some project time. Tomorrow would be the big day – presentation day – and everyone was busy finishing their prototype, business plans and presentations. The theme for this year was to create a product or service that would cater to the growing, senior population. Needless to say, such a realistic problem sparked inspiration in many groups, and everyone is excited to present his group's innovative solutions at presentation tomorrow.

As the last week of Shad is coming around the corner, I can’t help but reflect on the amazing time I’ve had here, with the most diverse, talented, and inspirational group of people I’ve ever met. Yes, time does fly, but at Shad, I feel like it soars by. Even though the events and the days are rolling by so quickly that it’s hard to comprehend, throughout all of it, you are just lifted up by the sense of community – a Shad community – that revolves around you. And this, I feel, is what makes the Shad experience so worthwhile.

Caroline Wang, Shad Valley Queen's University 2010
Hometown: Port Coquitlam, British Columbia

Thursday July 15

2010-07-16T05:40:00.000-07:00

I woke up to my alarm clock ringing into my ear. I reached over and shut it off quickly. The time was 7:30. I had planned out that I would go to my Shad Cup Group and I would be able to get a decent amount of work done before our busy schedule started. Alas, the plan was a failure. I stayed in bed for over an hour and I didn’t manage to meet up with my group (staying in bed felt great :)). This could be mainly attributed to us having a Nerf gun war late at night before the boys went to sleep. Everyone was yelling in excitement so no one went to sleep for awhile.

The day started off with a lecture by our Program Director, Sultan Siddiqui, about Database design. He taught us about MySql which was a new computer language which I had yet to learn. The language was quite straightforward and it made making a database way easier than any other languages. Right after this, all the Shads participated in a Musical Ensemble where we played in the main building of Lakehead University for everyone to hear. The music was mainly focused around jazz and singing, and it sounded great!

Right after the Music Ensemble, we went to a nearby Plasma Centre which was the only institute in Canada that collects exclusively plasma from its donors. They talked about the importance of blood donors and plasma donors. It was extremely interesting and they gave us a bag full of goodies which everyone loves. After returning back to the residence, we listened to fellow Shads each giving their own 10 minute talk about a topic that they are interested in. I have to say, all the Shads here had picked the most interesting of topics to teach each other!

Here comes the best part of Lakehead Shad Valley - we have a program that originated at Lakehead and is still only appearing at Lakehead, called Shad Apprentice. This program was extremely educational as it was essentially a simulation of what the actual Shad Cup presentations will be like. Everyone enjoyed it immensely and benefited from this experience greatly.

Shad Valley has been a great experience every single day. We have learned from each other and have helped each other to become the best that we can possibly be.

Karoly Szalay, Shad Valley Lakehead University 2010
Hometown: Ottawa,Ontario

Wednesday July 14

2010-07-15T06:28:00.000-07:00

Today started with the realization that there were exactly nine more days remaining in Shad, and that already nineteen days had passed by in some sort of giant frenzy of lectures, trips to cities and islands, fencing, soccer, volleyball, basketball, swimming, design challenges, prototyping, musical concerts, business planning, and the countless number of extremely top-secret Shadly activities. From 5K runs at seven in the morning with Meghan to ab workouts at midnight with Jen and everything in between, each day has been filled with activities and workshops so varied and amazing that it makes one come to realize how nineteen days could pass by so fast – or if you prefer, makes one realize how incredibly precious these next few days will be.

Today began with two lectures in the morning at Chernoff Hall – the first about the darker side of psychology and the dangers of the group mentality, the second about how math can be applied to lining up the tombstones of a cemetery. Rec time followed the lectures, which today was a special lawn party-themed event that included croquet, bocci ball, and foot races in addition to badminton, volleyball, and soccer. After lunch, it was off to the ILC to present the workshops which we had been taking for the past two days. In the six hours of my workshop on Monday and Tuesday, I learned how to bake biscuits, pita, chapatti, baguettes, two kinds of pies, and four kinds of bread, all from scratch. It was quite the experience to see flour, water, and yeast almost magically rise in the oven to produce enough food to feed a small army, which as I later learned at snack on Tuesday night is about the equivalent of 47 hungry Shads. After the presentations, which also included several clever strategies on how to win games, the firing of a couple trebuchets, and an explanation of networking, it was straight to projects and prototyping for our month-long challenge. As I discovered, operating a jigsaw is not quite as simple as it would seem to be, but regardless I got the job done in the end. After dinner, we had a special guest lecturer and a screening of a documentary concerning an amazing developmental aid project in Tanzania, and then it was back to McNeill house for a game of Cranium, Shad-style. With everything from blindfolded Pictionary to charades to sculptorades with play-doh, it was quite the game of fun and hilarity.

As I sit in my room at 1:22 in the morning remembering everything which took place today, it makes me realize how insanely inspirational the past nineteen days have been. Tomorrow holds a trip to Fort Henry and most probably a late night working on the project, but I’ll say with all the confidence in the world that Shad has been an absolutely amazing experience so far. The people you meet, the things you see, and the things you learn – everything comes together in one extraordinary and entirely limitless experience in the twenty-seven days we spend together. If anyone ever asks me what Shad Valley is about, well then ladies and gentlemen, this is what Shad Valley is all about.

Eric Yung, Shad Valley Queen's University 2010
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario

July 14

2010-07-15T06:23:00.000-07:00

Another day gone. It can't be true that we arrived a mere 18 days ago from across Canada, anticipating an exciting month and wondering what adventures our next 27 days could hold. The anticipation and curiosity have yet to die down; thanks to our most mysterious schedule we Shads can never be sure what each day has in store for us. Today was no exception.

We awoke much earlier than we sleep deprived teenagers may have liked and ventured out for morning rec, to play some handball or go for a run. After a well-earned breakfast, we prepared for an activity. Upon discovering that it was a math race across campus, we took Memorial by storm. All 48 Shads, sprinting from one building to another, shouting to their group members in insistence that their math was, in fact, right, were surely a sight to behold.

Following lunch, we went to various afternoon workshops, ranging from the math behind logic to strategic management consulting. Later, afternoon rec had diverse choices as well; basketball, soccer, and Bollywood dancing (though perhaps Bollywood dancing was the favourite option of the day-- the session stayed late since an hour simply wasn't enough). With dinner to re-energize us, we then met with our various committees. Groups of eight Shads form committees, each with a project or event to prepare for. My committee, the documentary committee, is working to capture and immortalize our month using film. Others are creating the MUNth book or planning such things as Open Day or Shad Awards.

We then listened to two guest speakers. One speaker, TA Loeffler, spoke of her attempt to climb Mount Everest, comparing it to our house projects. Though perhaps a mountain seems more obviously daunting than a business plan, she certainly recognized the unique challenge that this program is for each individual that attends. Savouring her words of motivation, we worked away at our house projects for an hour and a half and finally headed to bed. After a fulfilling and busy day, we can rest for a while and wonder what awaits us in our final week. Only time will tell.

Julia Redmond, Shad Valley Memorial University of Newfoundland 2010
Hometown: Halifax, Nova Scotia

July 14

2010-07-15T06:19:00.000-07:00

I awoke this morning at 5:30am to the shrill sound of an alarm. Somebody else's. The walls in our residence are so thin that it's hard to speak to my roommate without waking the whole floor. That was fine by me though, I got up and ate an early breakfast before heading to the first activity of the day: a conference led by Marie-Eve, one of the PAs, on the subject of "l'eau souterrain".

After the conference we had project time and lunch. I then regrouped with the talent show commitee to plan for open day. We spent most of the time searching facebook for photos to put in the program. Meeting well spent. :)

Later, during free time, Sarah taught me the very basics of guitar playing, something I hope to learn more of before leaving Shad. Next was physical activity at the Pavillion d'Education Physique. Today's physical activity was supposed to be be a choice between rock climbing, diving, and spinning. I signed up for spinning but, unfortunately, our instructor never showed up. Instead we settled for a water fight and a short game of soccer.

The day's activies ended with a Shad late night (a large game of manhunt in the forest), and a party to celebrate Jeffrey's birthday.

Overall the day was as jampacked and exciting as ever, but there was also a feeling of sadness in the group. Yesterday one of our Shads went home unexpectedly and the group seems strangely incomplete without him. It's hard to believe that we were all strangers just two and a half weeks ago when already we have become so close. I know the rest of the program will be over before we know it, but so far it has been an amazing experience and I hope the rest of our time together will be just as exceptional. :)

Karin Lapp, Shad Valley Université Laval 2010
Hometown: Nepean, Ontario

July 14

2010-07-15T06:13:00.000-07:00

Today I woke up with the realization that there are nine days left of Shad, and I’m completely astounded! The surrealism of this was the theme of conversation well into the morning, but Shad doesn’t let you muse in the melancholy for long. As New Brunswick goes hand in hand with rain here and there (but mostly here) morning fitness was yoga for some, and wrestling for others. Soon after we had part four of a continued business/marketing lecture by Monica Moran; this and our looming CT design project put everyone a bit on edge as it seems like there’s so much to do with so little time left.

After lunch, our group once again split off into two groups, one going to geomatics and the other to biomedical. The biomedical group learned about UNB’s advanced research into prosthetic limbs as well as rehabilitation with amputees.

Our time after that involved an hour and a half of CT time, much too little it seemed! Our multicultural night soon proceeded with everyone representing their countries. A very busy day indeed!

Marina James, Shad Valley University of New Brunswick 2010
Hometown: Millet, Alberta

July 13

2010-07-14T06:45:00.000-07:00

Sunlight poured in through the cracks of the curtain. It was 6:30AM. Today was going to be another bright and sunny day. After munching down on some breakfast, we went on down to MDCL for some lectures. They were interesting enough, but I'm afraid they didn't top my list today.

After lectures came lunchtime! Unfortunately, we had to rush lunch because we had a bus to catch. Why did we have a bus to catch, you ask? Well, it's because we were off on a trip to the Jaravinkski Cancer Center. The facility itself was brightly lit with large windows and elegantly decorated. For around an hour, some of the most talented Shads played music for the patients of the cancer centre. Needless to say, all the acts were beautiful and the residents were very pleased with our performances. After the performances, we were ushered upstairs and into a workshop about cancer. There were four stations which we rotated among and in one of the stations, we had the chance to look at a high tech chemotherapy machine. They showed us how it worked and how they minimize the radiation the person may absorb. Did you know patients are actually tattooed in specific places so they can align the patient perfectly every time they have to come in for chemotherapy?

At around 4:30PM we headed back to Hedden Hall and walked straight to dinner. After dinner was personal time. I was going to take a nap, but instead I ended up practicing for my performance for the Variety Show. The rest of the day was fun (but a little tiring). I'd love to get some sleep right about now, so I think I'll stop it right here. After all, I have to wake up early tomorrow if I want to see the sun rise on another bright and sunny day.

Tanya Dhanoa, Shad Valley McMaster University 2010
Hometown: Surrey, British Columbia

July 13

2010-07-14T06:41:00.000-07:00

Wow. I cannot believe that we are halfway through week 3 already! That is insane! The first week felt like a month, and now...wait, there was a week two?! With these 17 hour long days, I honestly have a difficult time remembering what happened yesterday, let alone this morning!

However, this morning stands out quite vividly in my memory and my heart :) Today way Shad Valley Dalhousie's "Dirty Day", where we gave back to the amazing community that is supporting us and allowing us to stay in their city of Halifax for a month. I was very excited to be able to go and visit a retirement home, called the Berkley, about a half hour walk from our university. About 30 of us went and sang, played piano, ukulele, violin, alto sax, read poems and just talked about ourselves for the morning. Being able to speak with the seniors was the sweetest thing! :) I spoke with one man who was originally from Calgary and was just delighted to meet a fellow Calgarian. He asked me to help him make some tea and we sat and talked about the weather, his children, grandchildren and how he felt about living at the Berkley. It was such an amazing feeling to be able to brighten up their day--they were all smiles! :) I wish we could have stayed longer! They all have such interesting stories and helped us a lot with our projects :)

With less than two weeks left *sniff*, we aren't slowing things down! We're all looking forward to out secret event this weekend and the remaining week and half of AWESOMENESS that I to follow! :)

Sam(antha) Brown, Shad Valley Dalhousie University 2010
Hometown: Calgary, Alberta

Tuesday July 13

2010-07-14T06:32:00.000-07:00

"Quit hanging on to the handrails . . . Let go. Surrender. Go for the ride of your life. Do it every day."

Melody Beattie

I feel that this quote has really documented my time at Shad so far. I have had many new experiences I thought I'd never have had the chance of doing before and did many new things I thought I would never accept to doing before. Letting go of my handrails though has let me have the ride of my life so far...

Today was another exciting day at Shad. I started off my day waking up to have some pancakes, bacon and the wonderful cream cheese bagel breakfast. I was then intrigued by the two amazing lectures we had today on addiction and marketing, information ranging from the most widely used drugs all the way to identifying a group of consumers and how to get to your target market. We then had our daily recreation time of soccer and volleyball today right out in the sun; best way to burn off some calories right before having a hearty lunch.

After lunch, we had some free time of relaxing and planning our business plan for the oncoming project time. I then headed off to my networks workshop where we talked about information cascades, power law and then had a quick fun game to end it off. Time for dinner to have my pasta, salad and pizza combo before heading off for our swim, which was well enjoyed by all the Shads that day after being out in the hot sun, a great way of cooling down.

Off to bed now, another exciting and fun-filled day to come.

Olivier McLean, Shad Valley Queen's University 2010

Hometown: Scarborough, Ontario

Pancakes, Cookies, and Clean Sheets

2010-07-13T07:02:00.000-07:00

Blueberry pancakes are a good way to start off the morning. That, and chocolate milk. Our residence cafeteria ladies never fail us. Ed Jernigan, program director for Shad Waterloo, never fails us either. After trekking through the light drizzle to the lecture hall, Ed enlightened us with a talk on de-blurring photos by using linear difference equations.

A new week is always a new beginning at Shad; a new day, a new adventure. Today was certainly a new adventure, as we delved into different fields of academia. My choice for exploration was a workshop on water titled “What are you drinking…?” Led by Phil, a PhD student at the University of Waterloo, all four of the workshop participants trudged along to Laurel Lake, a pathetic pool of water filled with goose poop. We looked incredibly ridiculous with our lab coats tucked into our hip waders, but we were learning!

Demo night was another adventure. After a long hard day of working on our prototypes made of cardboard and tape, it came to crunch time, and we had to bring our A-Games. All went well and we managed to gather a lot of new ideas to improve our projects.

Now, to end the day, one of the most essential elements of Shad; it was time to switch out our sheets and towels, accompanied by a wonderful snack of cookies.

Bloated tummies and clean sheets. It’s time for bed.

Helen Cho, Shad Valley University of Waterloo 2010
Hometown: Vancouver, British Columbia

July 12

2010-07-13T06:54:00.000-07:00

The time is 10:09 P.M.
Exhausted yet excited, I finally sit down to my laptop after much moaning about how uncooperative my computer is.
As suggested by Kingsley Hurlington, one of our Program Directors, I decide to open with a question. But what should I ask?
What is key to a good relationship in a group situation?
If two men walk into a bar, why didn't the second one duck?
The second question clearly does not provide much base for my blog, so I choose to answer the first question in order to introduce my blog.
The time is 10:15 P.M., and I read over what I have written thus far.
What is key to a good relationship in a group situation?
To answer this question properly, I believe that I should provide a little bit of background. What did I do today?
Today was a rather regular Shad Valley day, which, in itself, is a contradiction. Saying a day at Shad Valley is regular is like saying winged mutant squirrels fly out of dyslexic cows on an hourly basis. There is nothing normal about a day at Shad Valley. I started off the day like I regularly do; at 6:15 A.M., I haul myself out of bed in order to hunt for an open shower. I then rush back to my room, change, and make my way down to the common room to meet before breakfast.
I left out some details concerning my changing due to obvious reasons.
It is 10:25 P.M., and my roommate, Adam, walks in. We exchange some greetings and jokes, and I return to blogging as he attempts to contact his parents back in Newfoundland.
Breakfast was the regular mix of conversation, jokes and shielding of eyes from the sun because the sadistic architect of the building decided it was funny to make the east-facing walls made of glass. After breakfast, we traveled to our first lecture at the MDCL (I can't remember what it stands for) on Business - specifically, income statements, estimates and analysis, which was extremely helpful to our current Design-Entrepreneurship Project. The next lecture, which was definitely one of the highlights of my day, was from a man named Leo Johnson. I don't have time to explain his life story, but his lecture was nothing short of mind-blowing.
I yawn, and check the time on my watch. It is 10:34 P.M. I ask my roommate to proofread my blog when I'm done.
Lunch itself was also quite regular. The meal may change from day to day, but one thing I was sure was in the buffet was a potato of some form. Day in and day out, there was always a potato. Always.
We were briefed on our afternoon activities after lunch, and traveled to "the Bunker", as named by a fellow Shad, for our next lecture.
At this point, I will skip this lecture and move onto our second activity in order to prolong answering my initial question and keep you reading.
Our second activity and recreational activity was bundled up into one package of awesomeness known as Ultimate (it should be Ultimate Frisbee, but Frisbee is a trademark name). We participated in a tournament-type arrangement. Our team was undefeated until we faced the staff team, where we were ripped to shreds. After requesting a rematch, we summoned up all of our strength and spirit, and resolved to score at least one point. The result? We were beat down even harder than the first time.
The time is 10:45 P.M. I change into my PJs.
Late for dinner, we charged into the dining hall and dinner progressed as planned.
time is ticking down before lights out, it is 10:50 P.M.
After dinner, we had free time, Shad Speaks, project time, which was extremely valuable as the deadline for our Design-Entrepreneurship Project accelerated towards us, and committee time, in which various committees organized various up-coming Shad events.
The time is 10:55 P.M.
Before Ultimate, we participated, unknowingly, in a social experiment. We were split up into 4 groups, and were told that we had two choices: red or blue. We would gain or lose money based on what the other teams decided. We lost a lot of money. All groups lost money.
The ultimate goal of this activity was to show us that trust was the easiest and best way in order to achieve success. And that is what is key in a group situation. If the group is to succeed as a group, then each individual in the group must be able to trust all other individuals in the group. Only through trust, will success truly be attained.
I prepare for bed, exhausted yet excited for events to come here at Shad.
I hope winged mutant squirrels don't fly out of dyslexic cows on an hourly basis any time soon.

Julian Li, Shad Valley McMaster University 2010
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario

Monday July 12th, 2010

2010-07-13T06:46:00.000-07:00

Waking up to the sound of my alarm clock…

Then groggily brushing my teeth and wolfing down my breakfast…

At last, I arrive at the auditorium to hear two awesome—and no doubt very informative—lectures: one by Ken, our Program Director here at SHAD UBC, and another by a rather special guest…a guest who had been in our very shoes five years ago (a little SHAD with some very big dreams and ego), who, through his commitment and hard work, has attained international recognition. He is of course, none other than Alex Shipillo, who has traveled far and wide, and finally back to his home in Vancouver to share his success story, and push us towards the right direction. Ken was, as usual, incredibly animated during his lectures, and combated fiercely with fellow Shads about the validity of Classical Economics.

But the day doesn’t simply end there: our Program Assistants graciously organized workshops. Each workshop is unique to the PA who designed it-and just to illustrate their diverse skills and interests, our choice of workshops included: Rubix Cubes, Philosophy, Karate, Graphic Design, Kilts, and Poetry. I, along with a cozy group of two other Shad buddies, tapped the hidden poetic potential of our brains and followed our chirpy PA to one of the coolest buildings of UBC: the library. But Not just any library, this library has a little room with a rather peculiar interior design—it was vaguely inspired by the Great Hall of Harry Potter. Have a look!

Upon returning to our residence with a renowned appreciation for nonsensical medieval poetry, Victoria love ballads, sixties hippie poetry, and of course much much more, we continued the vigorous competition at Rec, and fortified our group projects.

At last, I’m relaxing on a couch in our common room, with the relaxing beat of the drum and piano, sharing yet another incredible day at SHAD Valley UBC.

Signing out (and goodnight),

Angela Bo Wan, Shad Valley University of British Columbia 2010
Hometown: Richmond Hill, Ontario

July 12

2010-07-13T06:24:00.001-07:00

Today was another excellent day at Shad Dalhousie! We started off our morning in the normal way with two lectures. This mornings topics included psychology and financial planning, both of which were very interesting! Rec time followed and we played ultimate frisbee at a school park just down the road from our residence. It was a super fun game! It has such a fast pace that makes it more challenging! I really enjoyed it! After our lunch break, everyone broke up into their seminars that we chose for this week. Some of these seminars included electronics, looking around a local park in a seminar called "reading the scene" and many others. I was in an occupational therapy seminar where we broke up into groups of three and were given a person with some sort of disability and we had to research and design a house to help meet the needs of the individual. My client lived in Africa and had severe arthritis in her wrists, elbows and shoulders. Our house had swinging doors to avoid having to grip to door handles, an open floor plan to avoid doors, and an easy access from both inside and outside to the wood stove that he had. Following our dinner break, we had an extremely inspirational speaker named Pam who talked to us about her experiences in starting an organization in Sri Lanka following the tsunami in 2004. She was actually living in Sri Lanka when the tragedy happened and she knew that she couldn't just not do anything when there were so many people in such terrible conditions. Her and her husband started up a group called Impakt Aid. They did a lot of amazing things to help out the people of the country. I was completely in awe for the whole presentation. With her group she is now running a program in Sri Lanka called Work for Widows. This program has the women making jewelry and other accessories that are then sold and they are paid. (for more information you can visit www.workforwidows.com or www.impaktaid.com) The whole talk really opened my eyes. Following this, we went to the physics building at Dal and made planispheres, looked through a telescope (at a light because it was too cloudy to see stars) and then enjoyed the planetarium. It was also a a very interesting experience, as I love astronomy. I learned many strategies for finding stars and what to look for in seasons and much more. Overall, it was a very enjoyable day here in Halifax! :)

Jennifer Schmidt, Shad Valley Dalhousie University 2010
Hometown: Wetaskiwin, Alberta

FIFA FINAL 2010!

2010-07-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

Les dimanches au SHAD Laval, sont les jours favoris des Shads. Pourquoi? A cause que sur les dimanches, on en a le droit de rester endormit jusqu’au diner. C’est un temps de relaxation et de calme. Pour moi, aujourd`hui était différent. Au lieu de rester endormit, je m’ai levé à huit heures pour me préparer pour aller à l’église.

This was a unique experience for me as I had never attended a Catholic Church before and it was an amazing experience, one I would most certainly repeat. In total, there were 7 of us Shads that attended church this morning, only one of us being Catholic.

Une fois qu’on a retourner de l’église, on a manger le diner; qui pour moi était une assiette de légumes! Après le diner, il y en avait un compétition qui s’appelait « Olympiades ». Durant la mois, il y a quatre installations du compétition et aujourd`hui en était la dernière. Les activités étaient fantastiques!

One of the Olympiades challenges had been to come up with a dance to your group's specific Michael Jackson song. The dances were rather amusing as most of the groups put theirs together over lunch! After that hilarity, came a pie eating contest! To have watched 6 boys try to eat a half frozen pie as fast as they can had been a very memorable and hilarious experience!

Once we were done our Olympiad challenges, we moved on to the very special activity of the day--- THE FIFA WORLD CUP!!!! We all gathered in a café on campus, with chips and snacks in hand, and watched the game that only comes once every four years! The screaming and yelling didn’t help the calls at all, but made the game more fun. Being Shads, most of us got very into the game very quickly, and we began to get very loud very fast. Oh it was so much fun! Cheering with and against my fellow Shads gave us some memories that will last for a very long time. Or at least until the next FIFA!

After the FIFA Cup we all worked on our projects, as the advancement presentations are tomorrow. All in all it was a wonderful day. I can't wait to see what tomorrow has in store for us!

Alysha Neily, Shad Valley Université Laval 2010
Hometown: Oromocto, New Brunswick

What’s good? Today is what’s good.

2010-07-12T07:50:00.000-07:00

July 11, 2010

The best way to start the week off after a week of labour-intensive designing and captivating lectures is to have an extra two hours of sleep. Today at Shad Waterloo, we Shads had the opportunity to relax and take in a bright and marvellous day on campus. Breakfast was extended until ten a.m. and as usual the food served at the Conrad Grebel University College was phenomenal.

Shortly following breakfast, the usual morning lecture held by the P.A.s was non-existent and we were given time to work on our design projects. The goal of the project is to develop a solution to a problem that was distributed to us Shads; this year, the theme of the problem regards seniors and how to improve the aging population’s lifestyle. The prototypes developed by the separate groups are getting assessed tomorrow. Yikes.

After a long and productive two hours, lunch was served; the food prepared for us today was probably one of the best lunches we have ever had, eggs Benedict. Lunch was short lived and all 48 of us assembled in a classroom to share the experiences and knowledge we gained from spending four days at different workshops with experts varying in fields such as neuroscience, virtual reality, community building, stained glass creation, biomedical testing, and even golfing. We then had community time, which is reserved time where you have an obligation to make use of that time. Though some of us used it to continue working on our prototypes, most of us gathered in the Common Room to watch the World Cup finals.

Once the clock read 8:30 p.m., we once again gathered to hear from the P.A. panel. They basically tell you about their lives as university students and today they spoke about the transition from high school into University. The main idea that came across from hearing them speak was to prioritize your life and do the things you are passionate about.

Dinner came along and many starving students made their way to the cafeteria and leaving with a stomach full of beef stew (vegetable stew for vegetarians). After dinner, there was more design time; time is really a big factor here a Shad. You might find yourself scrapping for another five minutes trying to get work done or to get to lectures on time, or time can be “a week here is a day, a month a week, and a year a month” (Ed Jernigan, Program Director for Shad Waterloo).

After a hectic, but unusually relaxed day, we Shads took a walk around Ring Road for a time of reflection. We all walked 20 seconds apart, about 30 paces behind each other, each thinking about their experience at Shad and how to improve the ride.

The day ended with a delightful snack of popsicles and to many of us, completed a very calm day. Many may be under the perception that Shad is centred on work, work, and more work, but it is quite the opposite. There is plenty of time to socialize and to develop new relationships; Shad is not just another nerd camp, it is a tremendous thrill ride.

Nestor Abarca, Shad Valley University of Waterloo 2010
Hometown: Winnipeg, Manitoba

July 11

2010-07-12T07:45:00.000-07:00

Shad Valley is a mind blowing program. I’m surrounded by some of the most talented students in Canada, learning about some of the coolest topics, like biomechanics, traditional design, and geriatrics. It gets really overwhelming sometimes, what with daily lectures, Shad Speaks, firm projects, soft projects, Shad Cup, etc, so when Sunday arrives, I didn’t know what to do with my extra time. Here’s a little summary of my Sunday:

7:00- Rude awakening by my alarm.

7:10- Finally get the energy to hit the snooze button.

7:19- My alarm sounds again.

7:20- My alarm clock is smashed on the floor.

Approximately 8:00 (can’t tell since my alarm clock is broken) - Footsteps running up and down the hall.

Approximately 9:00- Girls yelling about using the laundry rooms.

Approximately 10:30- Drag myself up and officially start my day.

10:33- Start panicking when I check the time on my phone and I realize I missed breakfast and most of the first lecture.

10:35- Realize it is Sunday and I have Shad Nap until 1 pm.

10:40- Can’t fall asleep again.

10: 45- Officially up to start my morning routine.

11:00- Starving because I missed breakfast.

11:30- Went online and checked my email.

11:35- Researched for Shad Cup

11:50- Surreptitiously went on Facebook until I felt guilty and went back to Shad Cup research

12:00- Practiced for Musical Ensemble Night in the basement.

12:10- Messed around with instruments instead of practicing.

12:30- Went to breakfast.

2:00- Headed over to Avila Center for a lecture on Dynamic Limb Manipulation

2:05- Turns out Dynamic Limb Manipulation is Shad lingo for watching the FIFA World Cup.

2:45- Slightly disappointed when Netherlands lost, whom I am cheering for.

3:20- Utterly frustrated by the game. Thought by now at least one goal would have been scored (preferably by Netherlands).

3:45- Totally depressed by the game. Can’t believe Spain scored.

And on and on. I love Shad Valley. I love how challenging it is and its fast pace. I love my intense and competitive fellow Shads and how much I learn from them. I love Shad Valley, but I can’t help but thank a higher power for Shad Sundays.

FIFA World Cup Betting

Claire Ding, Shad Valley Lakehead University 2010
Hometown: Mississauga, Ontario

July 10, 2010 - Day 13

2010-07-12T07:38:00.000-07:00

“Shad Valley is not a summer camp. It is an academic program with focus on entrepreneurship, business, science, and engineering.”

As with every day in Shad, I woke up in the morning not knowing what to expect. This is an intentional part of the program, as it ensures that every day is a new adventure, an adventure that is full of surprises. What I will tell you now is an account of one day, with specific focus on what interested me the most, and why.

After a sumptuous breakfast, we retreated to the ‘Ravine Room,’ which is a room in the basement of Hedden Hall in Mcmaster. There, two of our PA’s (program assistants) designed, and had us participate in, the World Trade Activity. At first, we did not know what it was, as we were only given a few instructions. We were divided up into different countries, and were given an envelope. I was India, and our envelope contained a sheet of paper containing a template of the dimensions of different shapes, as well as blank sheets of paper, and glue. Then we were told to start the game. As you can imagine, it was very difficult to play a game in which we were given basically no instructions. We had to figure it out on our own. Soon after the game had begun, the ‘World Bank’ opened. Run by two PA’s, it was a place where you could cut out shapes in the blank paper using the template as a guide. We could then deposit these shapes to the world bank for varying amounts of money, which differed each day (approximately 20 minutes). The bank also gave out interest and loans. We could also purchase different materials that made it easier to earn more money, such as scissors or extra paper. The object of the game was to earn the most money. We later found out that different countries received different amounts of resources. USA and Canada received the most resources. The most interesting aspect of the game was that there was one country (Mozambique), which had all girls, and another country (Tanzania) which had all guys. They each received the same amount of resources. In the end, Mozambique ended up winning the game, while Tanzania threatened to bomb the UN and was forbidden to trade with the World Bank.

After lunch, we had a very unique workshop in which we were given a medical case study, and had to diagnose the subject based on the evidence. This was a very complicated, challenging, and fun workshop. I personally respected the fact that this was exactly the kind of activity that we would do in university and medical school, and it gave me something to work up to.

The rest of the day consisted of our normal schedule. But it was these two activities that really made the day unique for me. Every Shad Valley day is like this, and that is the number one reason, why I enjoy this program so much.

Deepak Venkatesh, Shad Valley McMaster University 2010
Hometown: Surrey, British Columbia

July 10

2010-07-12T07:30:00.000-07:00

Today was honestly one of the most amazing days of Shad so far. After sleeping in past the usual morning jog some of us at Waterloo have organized, we all got some breakfast and got ready for the bus ride to the Chicopee Ski and Summer Resort. The vertical playground there offered us a variety of challenges and tasks that forced us to work as a team and demonstrate our Shad spirit. Dying for food we managed to make it back just in time for lunch. On a full stomach we were ready to face the project time that was to take up the most part of our afternoon. As tired as we were, we did manage to get some productive work done towards our design project. We then met in the Great Hall for an engaging speech from Irene Healey on applying arts towards medicine. We were interested in picking up on new concepts we hadn’t thought of before. After dinner we got together for a dance lesson where all of us inexperienced dancers, (well at least I know I'm extremely inexperienced when it comes to dance) learned how to swing. Surprisingly enough, I think the dancing was even more tiring than our morning adventure. At least we all managed to laugh, whether it was at each other or not is a very different question. As the night starts to fall and my eyelids grow heavier than they should, I can honestly say that today was exhausting, but still a great memory for the books!

Connor Seidel, Shad Valley University of Waterloo 2010
Hometown: Baie D'Urfe, Quebec

July 10th

2010-07-12T07:25:00.000-07:00

July 10^th was no ordinary day at Shad. Today we got on a bus at 7:00 am to leave for our last camping trip. The three hour drive went by quickly. All around the bus, Shads were sleeping, sharing stories, and over all having a great time. The roads had massive holes in them which caused everyone to jump out of their seats whenever we went over one.

The first stop of the day was the Acadian village, Le Pays De La Sagouine. Here we ate a delicious lunch where if you wanted you could have a traditional Acadian poutine. I, however, ate a chicken sandwich with French fries, which I enjoyed quite a lot. I have tried a lot of new foods since I came to Shad, but to be honest my food preferences have not really changed. Outside from where we were all eating, performers were singing and dancing. As soon as we were done lunch, a few Shads and I went to listen and dance to the music being performed. After that, we explored the village by going through the houses and hearing stories told by the workers at the village who were dressed in original Acadian costumes. Before leaving, a few of my new friends and I climbed a lookout tower to see the entire village below, and the view was amazing. Although I have visited New Brunswick with my family in the past, I still marvel at the beauty of this province.

We continued on our way to our next stop the sand dunes at Batouche, where we went in the waist deep water. We saw creatures such as hermit crabs, clams and many jelly fish. Many Shads were brave enough to pick up the jelly fish even with the chance of getting stung. Many people ended up getting stung, but they said it was worth the risk. I decided not to pick up a jelly fish, but instead found a hermit crab that satisfied my craving, in a much less hazardous way, to hold a sea creature. After exploring the beach, we had a barbeque in the park, which was soon interrupted by a massive downpour of rain. We all quickly rushed under a shelter where we finished eating. I actually found the rain enjoyable as a few Shads and I decided we were going to embrace the rain, and we danced in it.

After leaving the sand dunes, we returned to the bus for our last stop: the camp site. We arrived at Kouchibouguac National Park and luckily the rain did not follow us, which made setting up the tents easy. After setting up the campsites, we watched the sun set on the beach. It was one of the prettiest sights I have ever seen. We completed the day with a camp fire and sing along. We satisfied our desire to munch by eating marshmallows and dreams (bread that is put over the fire that is filled with pie filling). It was a perfect finish to a perfect day…something we seem to have a lot of around here.

Sami Semchyshyn, Shad Valley University of New Brunswick 2010
Hometown: Winnipeg, Manitoba

Friday July 9

2010-07-12T07:00:00.000-07:00

After consistently being late for the 7:30am breakfast, I decided to wake up early today. Unfortunately, my resolve was weaker than my strong desire for sleep. So, waking up at 7:20am, I began a mad dash to the washroom a couple of doors down the hall. Getting dressed quickly, I began the walk to breakfast at McConnell hall. Walking across the green campus dotted with countless red-bricked buildings, I arrive at McConnell hall, ready for a hearty breakfast consisting of pancakes, sausages, potatoes, scrambled eggs, and a glass of my signature morning Pepsi.

After the filling breakfast, we arrived at the robotics lab. This was the moment of truth, following 3 days of constant building, wiring, and programming. Our robot, despite looking like a garbage can on wheels, was running smoothly and my team’s sprits are high. Lunch was a meal of wraps, cake, salad, and some canned pop. The meal as complete with entertainment in the form of scientific experimentation: including lightsaber like devices creating lighting on Tesla coils, which was, believe it or not, even cooler than it sounds.

After lunch, the robotics competition continued. Much despair and mourning followed our placement of 15^th, in a competition with 15 teams. I refuse to talk about this sad memory any longer.

From there, we departed for the physics department. As always, the presenter was experienced in his field and had a brilliant sense of humor. We even had the chance to see some super conductors in action: including floating a magnet on top of one; to put it in a typical Shad nerd’s words: like Harry Potter castingWingardium Leviosa.

Free time (Shad time) was after. This time to just chill out with amazing kids from all over Canada is the time I look forward to the most, and it couldn’t have passed faster. After free time, a supper of chicken stir-fry and pasta was offered.

CT time, a time to work on our group projects, was next. In designated groups of 7-8 we worked on our solutions of the various problems of Canadian seniors.

The rest of the night was spent on getting briefed on our camping trip tomorrow, eating snacks, and quiet time.

And here I am, using my quiet time writing this blog. Just lounging on the couch, recalling today’s events, typing away. I promised myself not to have a corny ending, but Shad Valley is without a doubt the best experience I have had in my life. To meet and befriend 60 of Canada’s most brilliant students is not an everyday experience, to say the least. Although the program is mentally and physically stimulating, the highlight of Shad Valley for me is without a doubt all these incredible students who surround me: these students who understand each other, who empathize with each other, and who genuinely care for each other.

And here come the program assistants, probably to nag me to get to bed. Guess it’s time to sleep or suffer the wrath of the staff, and trust me; you do not want the latter.

Xu Han, Shad Valley University of New Brunswick 2010
Hometown: Calgary, Alberta

July 9th, 2010

2010-07-12T06:54:00.000-07:00

Today was a very special day for all Waterloo Shads to appreciate each other’s strengths, abilities and interests. A few days prior, just as our eyelids started to droop from an interminable series of lectures, we were jolted out of our slumber as the staff made us aware of the impending Shad seminars. In essence, we were to come up with one topic in which either our confidence or talents lay, and enlighten the fellow Shads of the topic in 10 minutes. There were squeals of delight, heavy heaves of desperation.

Back in my room, I sat in contemplation for a little while. I wanted the topic to have had been unexplored by Shads and be a topic that is at least remotely interesting. I wanted my seminar to be a fair reflection of my identity, but at the same time, I wanted it to remain engaging. I looked around the room and found a wet towel resting on the floor. Suddenly, the idea of a towel goat-head occurred to me. I've seen it a couple of years ago in Korean dramas, and towel goat-heads were a huge fad in Korea for a while. It satisfied criteria of reflecting my cultural identity and being engaging; it was a good design.

From left : Shirley Ying, Jeannie Xu, Helen Cho, Lynn Wu, Prathana Chandran, Liz Geum, Nuraiyah Kassam, Jaden Rook, Rachel Wong

Liz Geum, Shad Valley University of Waterloo 2010
Hometown: Langley, British Columbia

July 9

2010-07-12T06:37:00.000-07:00

On a scale of 1 to 10, I would have to say that today was awesome! Despite the fact that when I woke up this morning it was pouring rain with thunder and lightning.

As usual, all of the Shads at McMaster University woke up bright and early to walk down to the East Meets West Bistro for breakfast, the only difference being that today we all had to don raincoats or carry umbrellas to stay dry. Fortunately, the storm had started to let up by breakfast time, so we were not confronted with the task of walking through a raging thunderstorm to get breakfast.

After we had all eaten our fill of the excellent food at Bistro, we were informed that we were going on a hiking/canoe trip to Cootes Paradise. Once we were all changed and ready to go, our group of 48 Shads was split into two sub groups, one of which took a bus to Cootes Paradise to do canoeing while the other joined the 'goodly Doctor Chad Harvey' in a hike to the water.

I was in the group that went with Chad on the hike, which we started from the campus, going into the forest behind the university. One of the main parts of our hike was to collect samples from two bodies of water that we came across to see what types of organisms we could find and to observe the biodiversity of the two bodies. Among my catches were a rather large rock (I don't know how it got in the net) and some beetle/mosquito larvae, while others managed to catch things like mites, ticks and even a small fish. We were given a sheet to help identify each of the organisms that we managed to capture, and then we tallied up how many of each organism we caught to observe how biodiverse the body of water was. After we collected all of our data it was time to hike to Cootes Paradise to meet up with the other group, have lunch and go canoeing.

In my canoe group, I was the only one with any canoeing experience, which meant that I was going to be in the back of the canoe. I had loads of fun steering our canoe around the water for half of the trip and brushing up on some rather rusty canoe skills. However, after we had been out on the water for a while and had seen the fishway that keeps cod out of Cootes, my group of three decided that it was time for me to step down as the steerer of the canoe and become the princess (ie. the person who sits in the middle of the canoe and doesn't paddle). This proved to be ironically even more enjoyable for me as I got to see how my two friends, who are inexperienced with canoeing, tried to cooperate to get us moving back to land. To put it shortly, we didn't exactly take the most direct route back, as a lot of the time was spent just trying to get the canoe to face the right direction. The whole experience was just fantastic and highly amusing.

Finally, it was time to take a bus back to Hedden Hall so we could eat, change out of our drenched clothing and then go to supper. After supper was free time, and then three great Shad Speaks. We then had time to work on our month-end project (the deadlines of which are all too fast approaching!!) and some more time to work in our commitees.

To close this fantastic day, we had a snack of crackers and dip, after which some of us had an intense round of my new favourite board game, the name of which escapes me, but which is like a cross between curling and darts. And now I'm finishing my blog - I can't wait for tomorrow!

Ian McKenzie, Shad Valley McMaster University 2010
Hometown: Demorestville, Ontario

Friday July 9

2010-07-12T06:29:00.000-07:00

Shad Valley has so far been an amazing experience! Here at Carleton Ottawa, we've all been involved in so many cool activities and met with so many great people. I can't believe that almost two full weeks have passed!

So today, Friday July 9th, was a bit of a different day. This is because of our intense discussion last night that lasted till almost 3:00a.m.! After our discussion circle, most of us stayed up till 6:00am, just sharing stories and bonding to form a better community. As a result, the PAs allowed us to sleep in till 11:30am! I'm pretty sure that all of us took advantage of this opportunity to catch up on sleep. We then had "brunch" before officially beginning our day. (By the way, the food here at Carleton is absolutely incredible!)

At 12:30pm, we were supposed to do rec at River Field outside, but it was pouring rain (and Ottawa just got through the heat wave). Big change of plans - we did yoga indoors in the architecture pit. That was lots of fun, and after an hour, we were all feeling comfortable and relaxed. Personally, I think that yoga is the perfect activity for zoning out and just calming down. We then went through our Shadspeaks, and I've always enjoyed them because everyone here has picked the great topics that keeps all of us interested and wanting to learn more. This was followed by an interactive lecture about social networking from a business perspective, and we all learned that a good online profile may be the key to attaining the perfect job. At 5:30pm, it was dinnertime (amazing food once again), which was followed by a unique event designed to help us with the DE project. I don't know what projects other Shad campuses are doing, but our DE project is a simple challenge (oxymoron =D): to design a product for the aging population. We've already brainstormed and decided on three prototypes to choose from, and tonight, we had the DE Project Fair. The PAs invited a beginners band comprised of senior citizens to Carleton for us to chat with and interview in order to approach the DE project from the senior citizen's point of view. We talked with each member of the band and they shared so many amazing stories and really made us realize that there is no "typical" senior citizen. I was so inspired by the people I interviewed, as they were such active and involved individuals that I aspire to be. They gave us incredible ideas that made us realize that we all had to modify our original ideas to accommodate such a lively population. We then had a fun late night (Dance night, I think), and we all went to bed.

Shad Valley has been an incredible experience so far, and even though it's barely been 2 weeks, I feel like I've known my peers forever. I can't believe it'll be over in just 2 more short weeks.

Vivian Liu, Shad Valley Carleton University
Hometown: Mississauga, Ontario

July 8

2010-07-09T06:23:00.001-07:00

Today, Thursday July 8, 2010, after waking up to British Columbia’s beautiful sunrise and UBC’s mind blowing campus, we started the morning with an entrepreneurship lecture, and then moved into the afternoon with workshops on robotics and aerodynamics. Personally, this was an amazing experience because I was never exposed to such studies on practical engineering.

Not only does Shad provide us with a profound world of intellectual thought, it also teaches us the importance of maintaining a well balanced life. After some physical activity, we explored the campus. I cannot express its beauty – the atmosphere, the trees, the environment, the people – everything was absolutely perfect! After dinner we had the pleasure of speaking with Barry Bisson, the President of Shad Valley, who taught us how we can transform this one month experience into one that lasts forever through active participation in Shad Valley and its eternal growth.

We ended the night with beautiful Shad Speaks. I love this time to learn about the great people I’m living with. Many times their amazing skills are initially unseen. Thus these mini presentations provide every Shad with the opportunity to share a part of them they may never have been able to share in a simple conversation.

Simply through this busy day, I can express that Shad Valley UBC has opened me to an world of unlimited possibilities. This experience is definitely helping me grow into the person I hope to become. I loved the past twelve days and will cherish it for the rest of my life. I cannot wait for the next 15 days of adventurous journeys that lie ahead of us.

Midila Anton, Shad Valley University of British Columbia 2010
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario

The 12th Day Far Away From Home

2010-07-09T06:13:00.000-07:00

For someone like me who lives in what most say a “never heard of” small city far down in Northwestern Ontario, a taste of the outside world does not come along handy. And what a taste of what awaits me in the future I have had here at our 12^th day at Shad Valley.

Today in our SHAD community of a little more than fifty success and excellence driven students and staff where the “Why not?” overpowers the “Why?” making a difference is a very important lesson that we have learned.

The morning lecture on Intellectual Property (IP) has driven us into “making it our own”—a bigger insight into the legal rights and protection of our ideas, inventions, and creations. It has built a foundation for strategic planning from patents to copyrights of a future and possible business’ product or service.

We also wrapped up our workshop by implementing ideas for the improvement of the SHAD community— ideas that suggest the possibilities of a diverse group of people working together, putting each other’s guiding principles into practice, and bringing those values into interactions.

After lunch, we had a lecture on social marketing that brings about a planned process for influencing change—an approach that uses marketing techniques to generate discussion and promote information, attitudes, values and behaviours that would influence and solve the problems of the general society.

Later on, we got ourselves immersed into our project—Designing for Canada’s Aging Population—that enables us to go beyond the boundaries of visions, and create an environment where we can experience true leadership.

More importantly, after-dinner’s lecture on life lessons has provided us to reflect that “in order to succeed, one needs to fail”. Success and failure? You might ask. While most people think of them as opposites, they are really not. They are companions because “the greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure.”

What lies beneath our 12^th day is no secret. We take up this lesson and hope to make this lesson our life—we’d think of it, dream of it, and live on it. This is the SHADs’ way to success!

What a flavourful taste of our future! Though personally, it is one step ahead shaping my town from what seems to look like just a small dot on the map into what most will say, “I know the place.”

Shaundrei Mabriel Espiritu, Shad Valley University of Waterloo 2010
Hometown: Dryden, Ontario

Jeudi, le 8 juillet 2010

2010-07-09T06:09:00.000-07:00

Waking up to the call of a lone bird in the courtyard of your residence has a certain poetry and poignancy. Calm and serenity are two descriptions that come to mind. However, I have yet to experience a day that was peaceful and slack at Shad Laval. Within minutes of opening my eyes, the alarm clock went off. As I slammed my hand down on the shrieking little box, I knew that I was in for the twelfth day at Shad. A guaranteed whirlwind of activity, competition, laughter and hard work. Having whipped on my clothing for the day, I trotted off to breakfast, arriving just in time to snag the last few pieces of fruit in the cafeteria salad bar.

La première activité de la journée à été de travailler avec nos équipes distinctes sur nos projets. Pendant ce temps, Nic, un membre du personnel Shad, a fait une présentation sur la conception. Tous les groupes ont décidé de scinder, certaines personnes participant à la présentation, tandis que d'autres ont travaillé directement sur leurs projets spécifiques. Mon équipe a travaillé tout au long de cette période, et c'était comme exactement une heure et demie, quand il était temps pour l'activité physique.

As with every event so far at Shad, we were presented with a surprise.

We arrived at the field, and were informed that we were dividing into sides, and challenging each other with relays of our own making.

Within no time, we were all sweating: it was 32 degrees Celsius, with 70% humidity! Nonetheless, energy was still fairly high. Everyone was in good spirits as we trouped off the the residence to clean up for lunch.

Après le dinner, nous nous sommes divisés en groupes. L'itinéraire tout-puissant a déclaré qu'il était temps d'aller à des séminaires. Il y avait beaucoup de sujets différents à choisir: les robotiques, la santé, la kinésiologie, la programmation et l'avenir de l'homme. Je suis allé à la robotique séminaire. J'ai pu voir et de contrôler un robot prototype, destiné à l'espace. Enfin, mon groupe a utilisé un programme informatique utilisé pour la rédaction des instructions aux robots.

Next on the list was a presentation about the Laval supercomputer. It is the second biggest computer in Canada (the largest being in Toronto). It was interesting to note that the computer was built inside an old particle accelerator from the 60s. The computer itself was amazing. We had the opportunity to tour the inside of the computer, starting from the basement level, 25 feet beneath the surface of the earth. We went to each of the three other stories of the computer, all of which were jammed with motherboards, wires, and cooling systems. There were circular spaces in the center of each level, and walkways around the outside.

Le souper fut délicieux, et ensuite je suis allé au magasin pour acheter des billets de bus pour notre excursion de demain. Nous allons aller au Vieux-Québec! J'ai eu du temps libre, que j'ai passé à travailler sur un spectacle instrumentale avec des autres Shads. La pièce est pour le «Coffee House», une célébration décontractée de talent Shad.

To top off my day, I received a package in the mail from my beloved family. Upon opening the box, I was presented with a dazzling array of snocks and sweets. Enclosed was a letter from my family, telling me of their activities, and enquiring of mine. With the prospect of sharing my new goodies with my fellow Shads, a fantastic day has had a delicious close.

Eila Collings, Shad Valley Université Laval 2010
Hometown: Calgary, Alberta

Dear Future Shad

2010-07-09T05:57:00.000-07:00

Hello, future Shad. I bet you are in your bedroom right now stressing over your application, hoping that you have edited your essay enough. Do not worry, you have probably edited it enough. You are probably reading this post trying to figure out “What Shad is like” or “What you will do at Shad.” Please heed my advice, do not try to figure out these answers, it is best to not know. I have learned that “The Unknown” manifests for the best adventures. However, I will try to paint you a picture to help you envision yourself as a future Shad.

The morning started out with going down to breakfast at Howe Hall and frantically trying to beat the morning rush. Finding a table to sit at is an art skill onto itself, only few can do it. Finding a table to sit at is like winning $2 on a scratch and win card – pure happiness. After eating breakfast, all the Shads made sure to get to the MacMechan Room before 9:00:00:00 am. Notice all of the zeroes; “Shad Standard Time” is no joking matter.

Our morning lectures were on Oceanography and “The Cloudy Future” of advancing computer technology. I am amazed everyday at how many people participate in group discussions during lectures. It is a stark contrast to what I am used to at my school, where only three students and the teacher contribute. After morning lectures we went to the field to play a “friendly” game of dodgeball. I will set the record straight here: geeks are good at sports. Apparently to the 2010 Dal Shads, dodgeball is not just any sport . . . it is a lifestyle.

After lunch I attended a seminar about how to engineer our product. The time we had to talk to the lecturer, Tim, was invaluable. I walked away from the seminar knowing how my house team would actually create our prototype. Due to strict rules from my house team (who much like all the other Shads, are highly protective of their products) I will not divulge what our product is.

We had an evening lecture by Dr. Mary Anne White who talked about different types of materials out there to use for our prototype. The highlight was when she made us all homemade frozen yogurt from liquid nitrogen.

The picture below is a picture of my house team doing research for our product. We recently discovered that team dynamics requires everybody’s effort. Do not let this picture deceive you though. It may look as if we are all very studious, however this is not always the case. Minutes after I took the picture they started blasting Katy Perry and commenced to quizzing every house member (guys included) to see who was most compatible to Justin Beiber, according to the magazine. I am proud that my house is realizing we can still have fun and create a product we are all proud of.

I realize that even though Shad is a science and technology enrichment program, there are so many non-science and technology lessons to be learned here. I have learned that there is no “hero” within a team. Most importantly, I have learned that in order for a group to experience success they must also experience failure. So Dear future Shad, I wish you all the best throughout your application process. You may now go back to editing your essay.

Allison Lui, Shad Valley Dalhousie University 2010
Hometown: Vancouver, British Columbia

July 7

2010-07-08T06:20:00.000-07:00

6:20 a.m. Four of us awoke to the beautiful Fredericton sunrise for a run throughout the UNB campus. Overlooking the Saint John River and the city itself, the challenging hills and charming atmosphere of the campus certainly outweigh the hour of sleep we could've gotten (which, most likely, would've consisted of dreaming about more sleep). After much needed showers, we joined the rest of the group for a delicious breakfast at McConnell Hall: eggs, French toast, baked beans, sausage, tater tots. Is it sad that I'm already thinking about breakfast again as I write this?

We didn't have a fitness hour today, so instead we headed off to our lecture hall for what we soon found out became a giant group bonding session about how much we all love each other. It's amazing how fast weve become a ~~community~~ family, and in fact, I even found myself calling my residence home. Robotics soon followed, and my group finally got our robot to work properly; the competition at the end of the week will certainly be interesting.

Pierogis and chicken pot pie were on the menu for lunch, and with our hunger satisfied, we were split into groups going to a physics or biology lab. I was fortunate enough to do the biology lab earlier this week, where we extracted DNA from seaweed, and performed gel electrophoresis to determine the perpetrator of a crime. In the physics lab, we investigated sound and its properties, a very entertaining lecture much to my surprise and previous dislike of physics.

As if I haven't talked about food enough, we had a barbecue this evening, which was awesome and delicious, despite it being a blistering 40 degrees Celsius outside.

Then, one of the Shad faculty members presented us with a lecture on innovation, which was very inspirational and motivating. Finally, we ended our night with a non-stop hour of laughter during Improv night, in which I stepped outside of my comfort zone and actually participated. Shad Valley is constantly pushing me to learn and experience so much more, and for this Im grateful. I look forward to many more days here in Fredericton with my fellow Shads.

Bret Flynn, Shad Valley University of New Brunswick 2010
Hometown: Kingston, Ontario

July 7

2010-07-08T06:15:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder how long it takes to change your life? What measure of time is enough to be life-altering? Is it four years, like high school? One year? Can your life change in just one month, or even a week? We're always in a hurry to grow up, to go places, to get ahead... but sometimes a few days can change everything. Today, July 7^th 2010, marks the end of the eleventh day here at Shad@Mac, the end of a life-altering eleven days of unforgettable experiences, and the beginning of sixteen more. Every day spent here at McMaster has truly been priceless, and the eleventh day here was no exception.

The day began bright and early with some Shads rising early to catch a morning run, and others maximizing on whatever sleep they could scavenge, as every minute truly made a difference. After all the Shads were up and ready to go, we all gathered at the Bistro to eat a large delicious breakfast, after which we headed to the DeGroote School of Business on campus where we were given the privilege to attend a lecture by Dean Paul Bates, on the trading floor, where he gave us insight on everything needed to be known about investment, and gave us advice and tips based on his own personal life experiences, in which Im sure all of us were greatly appreciative. We then got the opportunity to attend a lecture by Dr. Marvin Gunderman a biology professor, who gave us insight on the most interesting types of the world's insects. Unfortunately the lecture was right before lunch, and even though many of us lost our appetite after seeing his unbelievably clear photos of the insects, Im sure we would all agree that it was worth it.

After lunch, some Shads attended a medical radiation workshop while others attended a science communication workshop. I attended the science communication workshop where we learned a lot about the aging population (relating to the theme of our final business project). We got an opportunity to conduct debates amongst us Shads, which was intended to be serious, but ended up being filled with a number of memorable moments of laughter.

After the workshops, we returned to Heden Hall for rec time, where today instead of playing sports, or going to the athletic facility, we were given the special opportunity to spend an hour playing games and interacting with each other. Before we knew it, it was dinner time! Then we were given personal time or free time, and then pod time (time given to work on our final project in groups), and committee time (time given to work in groups on different Shad@Mac activities such as Shadnews48, Open Day activities, variety show activities, etcetera). As curfew approached, we gathered together for a little guerrilla choir time, and for my favourite part of the evening, snack time! After all stomachs were filled with cookies and ice cream the day finally came to an end. What may seem as a short eleven days to you, seemed more like eleven months to many of us, but eleven amazing months that I wouldnt take back for the world. Already I have met so many amazing people, and experienced so much, that I know my life has changed before my eyes. Sixteen days still remain, and if I'm lucky, these sixteen days will feel like sixteen centuries, filled with moments to be remembered forever!

Leah Singh, Shad Valley McMaster University 2010
Hometown: Brampton, Ontario

What a Day!

2010-07-08T06:09:00.000-07:00

What a day! Just last night we had an intense discussion about tardiness, and I have never been late…until today. I blame those blisters under foot caused by the nine kilometer hike up the mountain. The blisters forced me to quickly LIMP across campus! We began with a very exciting and interesting marketing lecture from one of our amazing program directors, Nicholas Clermont. It was interesting to learn about the manipulative techniques used by some of my favorite companies, such as Starbucks and Apple - so shocking! However, I always find that Nicholas’ lectures would tire out my brain as he would answer a question with another question, which makes us think even more! And with no breakfast in your system, it is quite hard to keep up with the pace.

We then had the president of the whole Shad Valley Program, Barry Bisson talk to us. He began with a friendly introduction of explaining why he became the president of the program and the admittance process. It was quite inspirational and very touching to hear about his reason in becoming the president because one of his reasons was to ultimately embark on a new adventure in helping people.

After having a quick lunch, I quickly went back to residence to freshen up and was ready to listen to our next presenter, a Shad Alumnus, André Bellefleur. He talked about the progression of Shad Valley and how it evolved over time. Hearing him speak, one can easily see how amazing the Shad Valley experience was to him even though he completed the program many years ago. He was able to recall events that occurred in the program like it was yesterday.

After his presentation, we had some committee time; all the “Shads” are now busy planning and organizing things to accomplish which would lead to the end of our Shad Valley experience. We then had another opportunity to hear the president speak more after dinner as he gave a workshop on finance. It was extremely informative and really helped us in preparing our business proposals for our huge projects. This pretty much summed up Shad Valley, July 7.

I have been honestly having the most amazing summer; time is flying way too fast. The friends that I have made here are honestly nothing less than exquisite! Though I have only known these people for 11 days, I already know that these friendships will be everlasting, and I am NOT exaggerating. The things we have gone through! I am so excited to see what other surprises Shad Valley will be bringing us in the next few weeks, but one thing that I hope won’t be a surprise are my blisters disappearing from my foot!

: - )

Keith Choy, Shad Valley Université Laval 2010
Hometown: Mississauga, Ontario

July 7: Day…11?

2010-07-08T05:30:00.000-07:00

I LOVE SHAD!! This has truly been a life changing experience for me, already!! We're only 11 days into the program, and I feel as though I've know the other Shads, the PAs, and staff for so much longer!!

Today has been my favourite day thus far! It began with my 7:42 alarm (followed by 10 more minutes of sleep!), breakfast, and then right on to our first activity of the day: a lecture! This lecture was on mental health, and was absolutely fascinating!! We were encouraged to ask questions and engage in discussions, and we all learned so much about mental health. This was followed by an hour of project time, in which our design group managed to come up with some really fantastic ideas! After this we speed walked back to the cafeteria for a quick lunch, then off to workshops!

My workshop was all about food (everyone's favourite!) and was super interesting! We had two speakers from the Kingston community who introduced us to world issues such as food safety and production decline. After three hours of this it was back to the caf for dinner, then off to yoga! This was really relaxing as the past week and half it has been 35ºC and higher, and we were in a nice, air conditioned gym.

This sounds like a lot, but it's all in a day's work for a Shad as I'm sure everyone is discovering! So that's all for me, good night all! :)

Miriam Moore, Shad Valley Queen's University 2010
Hometown: Whitehorse, Yukon

Tuesday July 6

2010-07-07T06:45:00.000-07:00

John Steinback once said, "As happened sometimes, a moment settled and hovered, and remained for much more than a moment. And sound stopped, and movement stopped, for much, much more than a moment. And then, the moment was gone."

This quote describes the essence of Shad Valley. At Shad, 1 minute feels like 5; 30 minutes feel like 120; 1 hour feels like 3 and 1 day feels like 4. And the best part is, in the end, it feels like you haven't had enough time.

July 6th, the 10th day at Shad@Mac, felt like any other day we've had so far, and also like no other. The day started off with some Shads going for a 5 km run, and some Shads sleeping in. We had breakfast and headed to the lecture hall, where we began our activities with the daily ShadNews48 (hosted by our very own Shads!), and learned about local, national and international news. We then attended a lecture by Miroslav Lovric, an award-winning professor who introduced us to the concept of infinity as a quantity. Afterwards, we ran back to our residence building (Hedden Hall) and attended an extremely comedic and very enjoyable presentation by Sunjay Nath.

After lunch, I (along with one half of the Shads) attended a workshop at McMaster University's very own planetarium. Then, at "rec", we were taught by one of our own Program Directors, Mr. Kingsley Hurlington, the basics of self-defence. Dinner then passed, as did free time, as did "Pod Time" (to work on our separate projects), and more free time - then it was suddenly curfew. Whew.

Shad Valley has become such a huge "moment" in my life, that I still am not able to comprehend how we've managed to fit a few years into 10 days.

Palika Kohli, Shad Valley McMaster University 2010
Hometown: Ajax, Ontario

July 6 - Day 10

2010-07-07T06:41:00.000-07:00

We have been at Shad for 10 days now and I can say for sure that my experience so far has been extraordinary. Just today we melted rocks in a furnace that had a temperature of 1500 ºC. We also continued working on the robot we are creating. It has to be done by the end of this week! We worked on the circuit or “bread” board, basically all of the electrical components while yesterday we did all the mechanical components. Unfortunately, the robot did not move, so something must be wrong with the circuit board but we will figure it out tomorrow. Clearly we are all sleep deprived. Tonight we had our Poetry Late Night. It included a lot of great performances, but some of the highlights included Courtney performing the poem she had published that was the main idea for her Shad Tile, James and Han’s vocal speech performance of Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance,” Andrea and Taylor T’s scene from The Taming of the Shrew, and Michael L’s “Green Eggs and Ham” by Dr. Seuss which was certainly entertaining. Our final performance by Rachel Chiarello was the most emotional performance of the night, which included the emotional and psychological journey she endured while her family faced cancer and the unfortunate effects of it. Our lectures today included a focus on the elementary and high school mathematical teaching system, mainly on why it does not work, and also why certain students excel while others do not. For fitness this morning, our group of 60 people split into three groups, participating in various activities which were soccer baseball, a walking tour of Fredericton, New Brunswick, and Bordenball. While I cannot vouch for all the sports, I know that soccer baseball was definitely entertaining despite the rain that plagued us for half the time. While today has been great, last night was a special experience. We watched Survive This, a survival documentary show on YTV in which 8 teens (4 male 4 female) compete to be named Ultimate Survivor. All sixty of us crowded into the second floor lounge and watched the hour episode. We heard Les Stroud declare Colin the Ultimate Survivor. Overall, the Shad experience has been great thus far and I look forward to my next days here at the UNB campus.

Ann Demaiter, Shad Valley University of New Brunswick 2010
Hometown: Waterloo, Ontario

July 6

2010-07-07T06:17:00.002-07:00

The buzzer of my roommate’s alarm shattered the calm air, breaking us from our dreams and deep sleep. It was 6:20. AM. Too tired to get out of bed, we rolled over, and covered our ears with the nearest pillow. ‘Snooze’ wouldn’t last forever. We got out of bed. With the window left open over night, the biting morning Newfoundland air sent shivers down our arms, goosebumps rising all over.

Running to the warm, refreshing showers, and quickly hopping out, we were rejuvenated and ready for the coming day. Morning recreation, an optional daily workout offered by the house leaders, is highly looked forward to, by myself, and many other Shads. Today, a simple jog around Long Pond removed any sleepiness and promoted an attentive mindframe for the lectures to come.

Visited by Randy Billard after breakfast, we received a lecture on business, telling of how to be great entrepreneurs. Followed by a Machine Vision lecture by Professor Nick Krouglicof, we learned of applications of 3D images, and 2D laser scans, and about the process of bringing a real world image into the digital computer realm.

Warm, cheesy aromatic fettuccine alfredo filled our nostrils as we entered the cafeteria for lunch. Good food is common at the famed Hatcher House. We feasted.

Off with filled belies, we went for our afternoon workshop, in my case, House Wiring Basics. After closely following a demonstration by the instructor, paired with another fellow Shad, I put together a common electrical configuration found in the home. We cut wires, stripped them, formed a circuit with a switch, and a light, and soon, we even had a hair-dryer going! We went for afternoon rec with a feeling of accomplishment fresh in our minds.

After dinner, we worked on our House Projects. We all put in effort, and now believe that a good idea is underway. The day ended with the evening chit-chat as we congregated for the final time of the night with snack.

As we head back to our dorms, lie down, and slowly fall asleep, the anticipation starts to build what’s to come tomorrow.

We can’t even imagine.

Marcus Sexauer, Shad Valley Memorial University of Newfoundland 2010
Hometown: North Vancouver, British Columbia

The 'cool' coloured teams at MUN 2010

A snapshot of the heart of St. John's

July 5

2010-07-07T06:06:00.000-07:00

Today marks the end of the first day of the second week at Shad. I can’t believe it’s already been a week! As cheesy as it sounds, time flies when you’re having fun! My experience here so far has been amazing. There are almost no words to describe how much I’ve been able to accomplish with my fellow Shads in just one week.

We started off the day as usual with a little bit of breakfast in the cafeteria. After filling up on potatoes, eggs and some fruit I headed off to the lounge for the first official meeting with our “soft projects” group. As I’m part of the month book committee, we decided the first step in the process was to look through previous month books to draw inspiration and ideas from. This was a cool experience as I got a glimpse of previous Shads’ experiences at the Lakehead campus. Everyone looked like they were having the times of their lives in each picture which was great because I could actually understand where they were coming from. Many people see Shad as just being an intensive program that pushes you to your limits; however it’s so much more than that. Working with other people that have the same drive, passions and talents as you can really help you to reach your full potential.

Following the soft projects meeting, we had a lecture on the importance of sustainable businesses. With all the natural disasters that have occurred recently, I’m starting to realize how important taking care of the environment is; not only for our generation but for the ones to come as well. The lecture explained how businesses can actually increase profit by 38% by following an environmentally friendly approach which I thought was really interesting. Next was part 3 of Shad Speaks. At first I was a little hesitant when first hearing about the idea of making a presentation on a topic for a whole ten minutes but now I realize how beneficial the idea is for us. It gives us an opportunity to practice our public speaking skills in a warm, supportive environment. We also get a chance to learn about interesting topics too. The topics presented today were Gene Therapy, the challenges of product development, Cryonics and consumer behavior. Each presentation was unique, informative and very well presented. Everyone that has presented so far has been very polished and professional which is great!

Shad Speaks was followed by a fitness session where we got the chance to play capture the flag. The way it worked was that we were brought to a wooded area and split up into groups of 3. Each group hid their flags (mostly high up in trees I might add!) and the game started. I have to admit this was one of the most intense games of capture the flag I’ve ever played. I was tiptoeing around trees and pretty much crawling through bushes all in search of the other teams’ flags. The only drawback was that the area was pretty big so it was a little confusing. We ended the session with a lap around the field and rushed back to residence to change before the next lecture.

The next lecture was on Geriatrics. This was perfect as it related perfectly to the theme of our Shad Cup project. The presentation was really interesting and included a lot of cool facts and quotes. For example, I learned that the oldest living person is named Jeanne Calment and lived until she was 122! Following this we had our Shad Cup team meetings. During this meeting we narrowed down our ideas from 100 to about 5 – 10. We started to research the specific products to see if they were feasible and met all the constraints of the aging population. Late night ended the day with a snack and a chance to catch up with fellow Shads. All in all it was a great day and I can’t wait to see what the rest of them hold!

Priya Wadhera, Shad Valley Lakehead University 2010
Hometown: Ottawa, Ontario

July Fifth, 2010

2010-07-06T06:40:00.000-07:00

Eight days. That’s how long it’s been since I stepped into the Mcneil house to begin this transformative journey of mind, body, and soul. Each day has been full to the brim with experiences unique to the setting, new challenges, and relationships that will last a lifetime. Today was no exception as we started fresh on a new list of activities, after the relaxation of Sunday. It began early, as I was raised at 6:30am to the squeal of my roommate’s alarm clock. We had both decided to run in the mornings with a few of the other Shads, and so we took the time to wake up while inhaling the early Kingston air. After the customary speed shower and breakfast, we began the first part of our lecture/workshop on team chemistry and building. We were walked through different fashions of designing groups of individuals into strong, diverse, and functional teams that can accomplish much more than the sum of their parts. We also did an activity involving a maze, and as a team making it through, while memorizing the previous path. A quick lunch and we were back at it, continuing with other group growth projects, including blindfolded and no speech concepts. It was very informative and easily applicable to our current projects, where all our new found knowledge can be easily integrated into our group dynamics.

After this workshop finished, we reviewed our hotel projects, and received feedback from our instructors, before taking a nice break to play some soccer. After dinner, we created posters to present our main project, on a product/service for seniors. Our day ended with snack, games, and the customary game of “werewolf” that has become so popular. We know that the day ahead will bring new challenges, and in all honesty, we can’t wait!

Gabriel Lessard-Kragen, Shad Valley Queen’s University 2010
Hometown: Quadra Island, British Columbia

July 5

2010-07-06T06:22:00.001-07:00

I woke up this morning to the pitter-patters of summer raindrops hammering down on my tent. I was squished in my blue sleeping bag between ten other fellow Shads. Someone’s knee was digging into my back. Our muddy shoes were all squished into a corner, emanating a faint earthy smell. There were also black flies buzzing around the tent.

Yet I have never felt more at ease and more at home. After spending the majority of the night sharing life stories with my tent mates, we woke up this morning feeling a special bond between us. We became closer with each other than with some of our friends back home. And it was this bond that sustained all of us through the arduous hike this afternoon.

It took my group almost three hours to complete the 4.5 km journey to the first summit. Along the way, we met swarms of flies that were determined to chew off our arms and legs. Backs were aching, backpack straps were cutting into shoulders, and legs were about to collapse after climbing what seemed like a million stairs. However, we pushed each other on, occasionally offering a hand to pull someone up after a scenic break. Oftentimes, we were reluctant to get up, not only because of the fatigue, but also because of the view. The pit stops offered a panoramic postcard-like picture of the valley in which we had camped the previous night. We witnessed wisps of cottony clouds swirling above a river and heard the calls of soaring birds.

After what seemed like an eternity, we reached the summit at last. There are no words to describe the feeling of turning the last corner, sidestepping roots,

and emerging in a field of clouds. The summit was literally enveloped by a cocoon of clouds that weaved through us Shads. When it eventually cleared, the view was breathtaking. My spine still tingles as I think back to the valley spread out below our dirty shoes. There was nothing else besides rocks, trees, craggy peaks, and 48 Laval Shads. As we stood on the edge of the cliff and looked down, it felt as if we were soaring on top of the world. Some of us even tried to reenact that famous scene from the Titanic when Jack cries “I’m the king of the world!”

Hiking down the mountain was a relatively relaxing journey. Looking back, we were all probably ready to drop dead at any point in the climb, or fall asleep on our feet. However, we chose instead to reach out to everyone around us and thus epitomized the sense of community that Shad values. This bond was what motivated every one of us to pick up one foot and put it in front of the other.

Today, this sense of community pushed us to the top of a mountain and into the heart of the sky. What other amazing things will it bring to us tomorrow and the other 16 days?

Jessica Li, Shad Valley Université Laval 2010
Hometown: Richmond, British Columbia

July 5

2010-07-06T06:15:00.000-07:00

The day started early, like most days here at Memorial University of Newfoundland. At 6:20 I woke up, took a quick shower, and went off to morning recreation – Tai Chi. Our Program Director, Dr. Lye, runs a Tai Chi session every morning. By the end of my 28 days here, I will have learned all 108 moves. Although I have to wake up to do the optional morning rec, it’s invigorating, and definitely worth it.

After breakfast, we went off to the Inco Center, a gorgeous building covered in blue glass. There we were greeted by a special guest… Barry Bisson, the president of Shad himself! He introduced himself and opened up the floor to “Town Hall,” a discussion about our experiences at Shad and any suggestions we might have. We had a second lecture by Barry Yetman about engineering. Lunch followed, and then 12 of us left a little early to walk across campus to a hospital where we attended an anatomy seminar. We touched plasticized organs, different bones, and saw a lung filled and emptied of air. It was an interesting experience, seeing how amazing the human body really is.

At 4 o’clock we had afternoon recreation, an amazing game of open-field capture the flag. After dinner we broke up into our House groups. We prepped ourselves for our first idea vetting. We went in with eight ideas. The four “judges,” including Barry Bisson, gave us constructive criticism about each of our ideas, and their potential drawbacks and flaws. We regrouped again and decided on our three best. Tomorrow we will have a more in depth discussion about our final product idea. The theme this year, “Design for Canada’s Aging Population” is a challenge, but there are many avenues open for product innovation.

Finally we had snacks and said our goodnights. The day was long and our bodies and mind longed for some sleep. I feel like I’ve been here for a month, not just eight days. I know tomorrow will be just as good an adventure as today, and I’m looking forward to some well-needed shut eye.

Ann de Sequeira, Shad Valley Memorial University of Newfoundland 2010
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario

July 4

2010-07-06T06:05:00.000-07:00

Slanted sunlight through stained glass windows. Nothing but the sound of rustling pages and people shifting in the pews waiting for the first chimes of the organ.

I sit in silent contemplation.

While some Shads used their Sunday morning for sleeping in, four of us made our way to a quaint French Catholic church for morning service. A break from the normal routine of Shad schedule, the quiet reflection was a great way to start my day.

The day quickly turned crazy, however. Upon returning, we grabbed all that was left of breakfast and attempted to pack all our camping gear in 3 minutes. We then joined the rest of the Shads in loading the van with sleeping bags and backpacks before heading out for lunch. The air was static with excitement as we piled into the schoolbus and Shads found ways to entertain themselves via boisterous never-ending songs (credit: James and Jay J) and incessant chatter.

We are a community. This fact became increasingly apparent as we arrived at the campsite. We were divided into committees, who were each in charge of various aspects of setting up the campsite: tents, fire, food and cleaning. I loved how all the Shads used each of their specific talents to contribute to the team, for after all, a whole is only the sum of its parts. Dinner was Indian curry and couscous, a refreshing take on the typical hotdog/hamburger camping staple. Each Shad cleaned up every last grain on their plate and if they couldn’t, passed it off to Brian, who gladly accepted people’s leftovers.

As the night slowly crept up on us, Shads gathered for a self-invented game of Tai-Chi. We were indeed Tai Chi CHI-efs eating CHI-(ee)se on their way to CHI-na :D Banana boats: bananas topped with graham cracker crumbs and chocolate chips were grilled to perfection and served for dessert. Then, as the stars appeared glittering one by one in the pitch black sky, and the faces of Shads became merely shadows in the murky darkness, we gathered around the campfire in a huddled semicircle. “Listen,” said Nick, “to the sounds around you.” – the evening breeze gently rustling the pine leaves, the distant roar of the flowing river, the crackling of the open fire and the regular breathing of Shads. And it was to these sounds that we spent the night opening up and sharing: sharing pieces of our lives, our deepest thoughts, emotions and all that made us people.

“Right now, you are only giving ¼ of 1/3 of ½ (all of us promptly concluded this to be 1/24) and you already amaze me. I am excited to know what will happen when you give me your best.” Daniel Dupuis, our Program Coordinator encouraged. I think this was the point that every Shad realized how much we were really capable of: no, we were destined for bigger, greater things.

Staring into the dancing flames of fiery orange and yellow and listening to the comforting sounds of nature and fellow Shads, I knew that this was happiness. We were here for each other, here to push each other to attain excellence, here to stretch each other to our maximum potential. And we wouldn’t let each other down.

Clasped hands and bowed heads. Specks of bright light in stretches of black. Blinking “star” traverses the horizon.

Silence.

Beautiful Silence.

Vivienne Tam, Shad Valley Université Laval 2010
Hometown: Waterloo, Ontario

July 4

2010-07-06T06:03:00.000-07:00

Celebrated south of the border as a day of independence, today was one of the most free-spirited and invigorating days of my Shad experience so far. Lectures, projects and committees have all been set aside this weekend as we bask in the natural beauty of Vancouver Island while camping. This second day of our trip has been nothing but action-packed; from canoeing in the morning, to rappelling in the afternoon to caving at night, there was no time to rest.

Caving was indubitably my favorite, for not only were we immersed in geology as it dictates, but Biology and Chemistry as well. Our superb guide Nick talked about everything from minerals, to troglobites, to carbonic acid formation and how it breaks limestone down. He also explained how limestone is primarily composed of billions of shells of prehistoric sea-creatures.

We were also given the honor of entering a cave that was gated from the public, which was very exciting for all of us. One of the most interesting things we did while caving was absolute darkness. It’s exactly how it sounds; we turned off our headlamps and there was no light whatsoever, which is a humbling experience to say the least. I encourage readers to look up proprioception, which became very blatant in that experience.

We then had a campfire and after singing a few songs, everyone returned to their tents; all save one. This one camper decided to fervently write his blog while this all was fresh in his mind. With that being said, I can finally succumb to these aching bones and drooping eyelids. As I lay my pen down, I have but one thought in my mind: even though it’s still the beginning, I already know I don’t want Shad to ever end.

Jared Valdron, Shad Valley University of British Columbia 2010
Hometown: Riverview, New Brunswick

July 4

2010-07-05T07:47:00.000-07:00

Drive. Stretch. Dream. There is only one thing that I can say. My fellow Shads and I have most definitely drove, stretched, and put the natural phenomenon of dreaming to its limits. This weekend has undoubtedly been an epic and legendary experience. My “shadmily” and I travelled to Wolfe Island on a Ferry ride across the St. Lawrence River and we camped on a landmine of cow poop for an entire night. How fascinating! Not only did we exploit the limits of nature, but we also strengthened our already prominent bond within our “shadmily”. This camping experience is something that no one can take away from us, and it will be stored within our hearts forever.

Sweat, sweat, and more sweat! We were so tired when we returned! Although Wolfe Island was a magnificent experience, there was nothing better than my luxuriously manicured bed awaiting my arrival. We are finally home! It was a tiresome trip, but every single second was worthwhile and meaningful. After all, it’s not about how much time you spend together; it’s what you do with the time you do spend together, as well as spending time with the people that you care about and love.

Today was something different. It was so different in that I almost forgot where I am. It’s Sunday? We can sleep in? Am I still at Shad? It’s truly a miracle! Through the first week of thrillingly fun packed days of adventures, we can finally take a break –but not for long-! The morning was surprisingly quite ordinary. I woke up not at the sound of my annoying alarm, but at the glare of the sun! Yep, today I woke up at my own desired time. After a delicious breakfast-in-bed (haha, just kidding), we were given the opportunity to visit Kingston’s farmer’s market, watch cartoons, or visit the local Metros for some groceries. In the afternoon, things began to converse from ordinary to extraordinary. We split our “shadmily” into 2 groups and constructed a chain system of “domino-like” structures that responded to each other from an initial energy. In a more formal and sophisticated term: “Rube Goldberg”. This was an experience that I will never forget. Our room was boiling, yet everyone worked as if the pride of our country was in our hands. We collaborated, screamed, and communicated, though most of all, we stretched our imaginations and dreamed of the impossible. We actually constructed a functioning Rube Goldberg system! The final product was astounding. We cheered as we all gathered and observed our masterpiece in action, and the room slowly went from boiling to volcanic! Fortunately, everyone survived and my group was appointed the winners of this challenge! Pfff… piece of cake (joking again!).

Sigh, I wish today could be lived forever; though I am certain tomorrow will be just as extraordinary as today! After all, it’s Shad Valley isn’t it? Need I say more?

Meng Gao, Shad Valley Queen's University 2010
Hometown: Hamilton, Ontario

July 4th

2010-07-05T07:42:00.000-07:00

It was 1:30 AM on July 4^th when the majority of us UW Shads trudged sleepily back to our campsite at Bruce Peninsula National Park. Late night stargazing had left us all exhausted, we were ready for a good night’s sleep.

After we awoke, we were served a simple but enjoyable breakfast by House 3. It was then time to pack up and take down the tents. This proved to be quite easy, with one exception, squishing that huge 8-man tent into that tiny, tiny bag! Once all bags were packed, and all tents were disassembled, we further explored the campgrounds. I, along with the other Shads, enjoyed the scenic route as we headed to Cyprus Lake. While at the beach, some Shads enjoyed water Frisbee, while others simply relaxed. This was short-lived as we, House 2, were responsible for preparing lunch. We headed back to camp where we not only prepared lunch but created a unique dining experience for the other Shads in the form of the “2-good cafe.” We even went as far as fanning and massaging them while they waited in line.

After lunch it was time to head back to Conrad Grebel residence, our new home. Three and a half hours of iPod swaps, card games, conversations and naps later, we arrived at the university. Then, like a herd of rhinoceroses we charged towards the showers, it was then time for supper. Later we had a very interesting session with Engineers Without Borders, followed by community time. It was an enjoyable day, just like every other day here at Shad.

Myfanwy Price, Shad Valley University of Waterloo 2010
Hometown: Logy Bay, Newfoundland

July 3

2010-07-05T07:41:00.000-07:00

On this Saturday we woke up extra early for an 8:15 departure for Horseshoe Bay so that we could board the ferry for Nanaimo: we were bound for Horne Lake Camping Grounds! Everyone was uber excited to go camping and full of energy during the two bus rides and the ferry ride to the campsite. Everyone sang along to the songs that our kind bus driver put on the radio, and I sang for the whole four hour ride to the campsite.

We arrived at the campsite and were immediately hustled to our first activity: rock repelling. We had two guides who radiated competence from the first time they spoke. They expertly led us through all the steps of climbing down cliffs and helped many of my friends overcome their fear of heights. The climb down was exhilirating: I wanted to go down higher cliffs than the ones I had been repelling, but unfortunately, it was time to head back to our campsite.

My group got lost for around fifteen minutes and so arrived at dinner late. Even so, dinner was amazing. The desert, which was ice cream sandwiches, were melting, and so to help the caterers reduce waste, I swallowed three before my groupmates had time to collect their tacos, fruits, and vegetables and get to the dinner tables. Understandably, I didn't feel too well afterward...

The whole group went to the beach to cool down after a hot day of activities and sweating. The water was surprisingly cold and my fingers had a blue tinge to them when I left the water to dry myself. I, along with many other Shads were severely chilled and rushed back to the campsite to find solace in our fireplace.

During the night we had a campfire in which everyone sang songs and told scary stories. We made smores, passed around sunchips, and drank fruit juices for snacks while talking around the campfire. Eventually, a massage circle formed and everyone enjoyed soothing massages after a long day of hard activities.

After the campfire, we brushed our teeth and went to the bathroom...in the bushes, but were disappointed to find out that the campsite lacked shower facilities! This was worse news than when the boys found out that they were limited only to three meals per day. Sweaty, sticky, and smelly, everyone went into their tents to sleep, awaiting a new day full of adventures at Horne Lake Campgrounds.

Ricky Leem, Shad Valley University of British Columbia 2010
Hometown: Coquitlam, BC

Saturday July 3

2010-07-05T07:40:00.000-07:00

Not even seven days into our Shad experience and we were stripped of the things we had so quickly adjusted to - a comfortable, heated room; running water and of course, electricity. But waking up on Saturday morning to the calmness of the Bay of Fundy seemed to alleviate our grievances. Our day was filled with an assortment of activities where we engaged with nature. First, we were given a brief marine biology lesson and explored the community of animals on the shore. We were also introduced to the phenomenon that occurs daily at the Bay of Fundy - the tides. It's amazing to think that one spot on the beach could be easily paced at noon yet six hours later be submerged in almost 12 feet of water! Continuing with the natural theme, we had a spectacular and succulent lobster dinner. Unaided by our seafood meal, we moved uphill toward Cape Enrage where we took part in all sorts of adventurous activities which included rope courses. The day ended with a somewhat supernatural feeling at the campfire with ghost stories that had some fearing their next step. It'll be tough, but hopefully our next camping trip will top this one!

Michael Lutaaya, Shad Valley University of New Brunswick 2010

Hometown: Ottawa, Ontario

Saturday July 3

2010-07-05T07:36:00.000-07:00

As the sun glorified Halifax with its presence, Shads were waking up with excitement as the group was preparing for a warm day at the beach and a trip to Peggy’s Cove. We awoke quite early, ate breakfast and headed to the bus. We yelled our usual count-off (I am number seventeen) to check if everyone was present and we were then on our way. We started the day with a drive to Rainbow Haven beach near Cole Harbour, which was exciting for Sidney Crosby fans (like me) who were hoping for a glance at the hockey superstar. We spent the morning throwing Frisbees®, playing volleyball, tossing footballs, kicked soccer balls and swam in the freezing, yet refreshing Atlantic Ocean. Although the water really quenched our heat, the taste of the salt on our lips was not appealing! After basking in the summer sun of Rainbow Haven beach, we were off to the scenic Peggy’s Cove. Home to the iconic lighthouse, jagged rocks, and gushing ocean waters, Peggy’s Cove became an enchanting backdrop for photography. The ice cream and fudge at the local gift shop just topped it off! At this point, all of the Shads were becoming quite exhausted and we boarded the bus to go back to Dalhousie. Upon arrival, we were greeted with a quick recap of the day and the aroma of freshly baked pizza. We relaxed for a while and the events committee alerted us of the night’s event. They had organized a pajama and movie night! As the evening drew to a close, the sun set over the Halifax sky and the sleepy Shads drifted off to sleep after an exciting day of adventure.

Allie Carew, Shad Valley Dalhousie University 2010
Hometown: Corner Brook, Newfoundland

July 3

2010-07-05T07:00:00.000-07:00

Honestly, I don’t know what to write for this blog entry. Every time I sit down and think about putting a week’s ~~mis~~adventures into words, I don`t know where to start. And in case you were wondering what «`» is, it`s supposed to be an apostrophe. Well it`s not really an apostrophe, but the real apostrophe is somewhere my muscles don`t like reaching. As well, French keyboards don`t have quotations, only little half arrows. Culture shock. Here is a recap of highlights from one week of shenanigans.

Day 1: We played an incredibly funny and slightly embarrassing game of «Ride the Pony» where everybody started dancing like it was the 60`s. After a morning of icebreakers, we participated in a Secret Ceremony, inspired by Post Secret. It was a very very intense activity, as I learned secrets about everybody here at Shad.

Day 3: The boys decided to go all blitzkrieg on the girls’ team in Capture the Flag. Too bad we outnumber them 28 to 20. The result was a very funny chain of captured boys. We wiped the floor with them…no matter how much they argue otherwise.

Day 3.5: Stayed up late for an incredibly chill ~~party~~ sleepover in Le Grand Salon until about 4am. It was only the second or third day (semantics…), but it felt like we knew each other so well already (oh no…mushy territory!).

Day 4: As a Reach for the Top player, I loved the trivia rounds in our House Olympiads. I won the last round for my team, The Pink Panthers, by knowing that Al Capone was arrested for tax fraud, not illegal alcohol smuggling. Hooray for paying attention during History class!

Day 5: Lunch was especially scrumptious: lasagna—I like that stuff. The girls, once again, wiped the floor with the boys in Canadian Jeopardy. The score was around 7000 points for the girls and 4000 points for the guys. And then it was Final Jeopardy, in which we can wager points to gain or lose depending on whether our team answers the Final Jeopardy question correctly. Us girls wagers 4000 points, and the boys…wait for it… «ALL IN! ALL IN! ALL IN! ALL IN!» We won because the boys had 0 points. It was unfortunate to discover that many French-Canadians don`t share the same enthusiasm for Canada Day as many of us do, so we had a little impromptu dance party (we`re dancing on tables…yippee!).

Day 6: I woke up to «Oh ****! It`s 7:57am!» as my roommate eloquently put it. It was wonderful, going out the door in less than 2 minutes. Reminds me of the good ol’ times when school was still in session. Luckily, many other people were quite late as well. We spent the majority of this day working on our towers for a friendly competition. After about 3 hours of calculations and physics, we finally got to test it out. My team «Size Matters» won with over 5 million points! That night, we played Capture the Flag in the dark in the forests of Laval University.

And now, I shall go back to residence and start packing for our camping trip!

BerBer Xue, Shad Valley Université Laval 2010
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario

July 2

2010-07-05T06:35:00.001-07:00

What a week (almost) of Shad. Our Program Director, Ed, told us that Shad is what we make it, and the group at Shad Waterloo are certainly making it a heck of a month.

Friday brought us a nice break from the many lectures of Designer Boot Camp, with only a short (one hour) session on merging design for those with disabilities, and those without. After that we had the first two hour session with our self chosen project groups. I was pleasantly surprised at how efficiently we were able to work, and were able to accomplish a lot for our first session. Before this, we had worked as all 48 Shads, and in smaller groups to come up with focus areas. I am really looking forward to more work on our design!

After some hasty last minute packing, lunch (our residence, Grebel University College has some of the best food you will find) we loaded up our bags and started on the long bus ride to Bruce Peninsula National Park. And considering I've recently sat through three hour lectures when lacking sleep, I give a whole new definition to long. After coming up to four hours of chatting, card games, sleeping and reading in a rather hot and uncomfortable bus, we arrived and set up our tents. It was myself and four others in a six person tent, so space thankfully wasn't an issue.

James, Amir, Marco, Peter, and myself in our tent

Cooking dinner was a bit of an adventure, but worth it, for all our food is catered by Grebel. Afterwards, we took a 20 minute walk out to Georgian Bay on Lake Huron, which looks almost like something out of the Tropics. The water is crystal clear, and stays shallow for a while, and the beach is white (though more rocky than sandy), and overall is just stunning.

Although the water is freezing, it is a beautiful area to explore. A bit of rock climbing leads you to a couple caves which we all climbed down into, and climbed back up through a small tunnel through the rocks! It was a great opportunity to explore the area and test our rock climbing abilities. The camping trip is sure to be a great time for our Shad community to come together.

The evening finished with some campfire songs, including Hallelujah, Don't Stop Believing, Potter Puppet Pals - The Mysterious Ticking Noise, and more. It was also one of our Shad's birthday today. We sang Happy Birthday at breakfast, lunch, on the walk to Georgian Bay, but just for good measure, we sang again for her at campfire. We had been going for well over an hour and a half before we had to pack it in and head to our tents for the night. Friday was a wonderful start to the camping trip which will surely be a highlight for all of Waterloo Shads.

Thomas Davies, Shad Valley University of Waterloo 2010
Hometown: Chilliwack, British Columbia

Friday July 2

2010-07-05T06:27:00.000-07:00

Today was camping day. We all wearily woke up and stumbled our way into Leonard Hall for an early breakfast. It would be a great change to be outside all day, and Kingston is known to be a beautiful city. After a hurried breakfast, all the Shads split up and made it to the outdoor centre. With a short briefing, we were sent directly to the lake to try our hand at some canoeing. Although draining, the activity was fun and gave us the chance to develop new skills.

After another walk through the beating sun onto the awaiting ferry, we made our way to the beautiful wind farms of Wolfe Island. To my surprise, the camping grounds were just behind a Catholic school, and not a forest like I had expected. Oh well. Then came one of my favourite parts of this program thus far: Recreational time.

You see, Shad Valley can be fairly intense and competitive if you let it be. My favourite relaxation time is when we have the chance to play whatever sport we want. The best time to make new friends and strengthen friendships is during "down time" such as this.

At last, the sun began to fall. We ate a barbecue dinner and sat around a campfire to enjoy good company, good music, and good s'mores. This will be one of my most cherished memories of Shad at Queen's and sums up my time here excellently. It is an inclusive community that loves to learn, to have fun, and to experience life.

Kershanth Thevasundaram, Shad Valley Queen's University 2010
Hometown: Stouffville, Ontario

Friday July 2

2010-07-05T06:20:00.000-07:00

I have heard over and over again that Shad Valley is a life changing experience. Even though, I came with my doubts, it’s been six days since I landed in Vancouver airport and I’ve been pleasantly surprised. Although I struggle with the names, I’ve been able to meet an amazing group of people who share many of the same passions as I. This was a day of preparation for our house projects. We had a speaker in from Oracle to talk about design and problem extrapolation. As a result, from nine in the morning to noon we were in the lecture hall. After we practiced what we had learned by solving a problem about food distribution of food for the homeless - an interesting topic that had a lot of possible results, something that isn’t really discussed the presentations at the end were very interesting, it showed the individuality in our group. The evening was filled with lots of packing for our camping trip tomorrow. The evening was rushed in the sense of needing to find our gear, but after that we spent the rest laughing, playing soccer and using the musical instruments in our dorms. Included in the evenings affairs was laundry. A very difficult task for someone who has never done his own laundry before. Thankfully there were a number of Shads eager to help. It’s amazing how quickly our group of Shads have become friends. Every day we feel more comfortable around each other and build upon our relationships. I can`t wait to look back upon this experience and see how much it influenced me.

Jordan Bertagnolli, Shad Valley University of British Columbia 2010
Hometown: Rocky Mountain House, Alberta

This Space is Intentionally Left Blank

2010-07-05T06:13:00.000-07:00

Day 5 has recently drawn to a close. It is difficult to comprehend the speed of the progression of this amazing experience; our time in Halifax is flying by much too quickly. I know that we are all deeply treasuring and experiencing every day to the fullest capacity.

We started the day in a typical manner at 9am with two lectures:our first one revolved around the topic of physical oceanography, by one of our PAs, and the second one awarded us with a wealth of valuable information regarding marketing strategies. After two hours of mind-stimulating sessions that aided us in the preparation for our house projects, we headed off for some recreation at the turf, engaging in some friendly soccer competitions between the houses, speckled with team cheers and an overwhelming sense of belonging and encouragement.

After an hour and a half of lunch filled with the eating of record-breaking amounts of burgers by some of our keeners, 50 energetic Shads strolled to the Cameron Room for an afternoon seminar with our very own enthusiastic Program Manager, Mike. We filled our minds with ideas about project management and engaged in a bridge-building activity with our house teams, inevitably with a catch, as we have come to understand as Shads – the main theme we were taught was communication as we had to wear labels on our foreheads that noted phrases such as “ignore me”, “praise me”, or “don’t make eye contact with me”, and much more, without each individual having the knowledge of the contents of his/her own label. We learned the importance of communication and team dynamics, coupled with much laughter throughout the process.

After some free time, a supper break, and a hurried house meeting on-the-go, we settled in for a quick assembly with some surprising news (we will be visiting Peggy’s Cove tomorrow!) and enjoyed five amazing Shadspeaks from our very gifted Shads; the breadth of the talent never ceases to amaze me. The penultimate item on the agenda was yet another surprise: our schedule for the day read “this space is intentionally left blank” at 7:30pm, which rendered much thought and wonder as to what the event could possibly entail. We discovered that we had a surprise two-hour session of improv and drama with a guest instructor, and everyone enjoyed an unbelievable experience, not to mention with much perspiration. To end off an excellent day, my house hosted our 10pm snack time with a fancy restaurant theme, complete with semi-formal clothing, serenading violin music by one of our house members, and a very interesting magic trick involving plastic thumbs and red light in the dark.

It is the near completion of Week 1, and I am thoroughly looking forward for the next couple of weeks with much anticipation. All of the Shads have bonded in an incredibly short amount of time and I know that we will all become very close friends in the weeks to come. An enlightening month in Halifax, Dalhousie University, and with my fellow Shads – what more could one ask for?

Sureni Gomis, Shad Valley Dalhousie University 2010
Hometown: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Thursday, July 1

2010-07-02T07:33:00.000-07:00

I’ve never spent a Canada Day quite like today. In another time zone, in another city, filled with new friends; I woke up feeling tired from the lack of sleep from the night before, but also I anticipated the activities that would follow throughout the day. To start, we walked to McConnell Hall for breakfast where we had French toast with the usual eggs, sausages, and potatoes. After that, we were off to our different fitness groups.

For our morning lecture, we had the honour to listen to Rev. Dr. Norman J. Whitney and his speech on “Together in the Quest for the Good Life.” It was truly an inspiration to learn from his personal experiences and reflect on who we really are, while taking into consideration different emotions. It truly was an eye opening experience.

After lunch we had a special afternoon of Shad Olympics. We were split into our different house teams and competed in several different challenges. Our first game was sponge relay, followed by an interesting game of a sandal bucket race, and lastly a game of dodge ball. In the end, my team may not have won but we definitely came first in spirit and enthusiasm.

The first few showers came through that day and we went in to start packing for our trip. We had a quick power point presentation to learn more about our Fundy Trip for the weekend. After packing, we got ready for our barbecue. We loaded our overnight packs into the van and started to cook dinner. Although it was raining and we had to take cover, we still ended up with a delicious meal of burgers, hot dogs, chips and salsa, and watermelon. After, everyone got into the Canada Day spirit as we put on red and white shirts, Canadian spirited tattoos, and painted our faces. Unfortunately the storm got harder and we were no longer able to walk downtown to watch the fireworks. Instead we stayed in the main lounge to watch the Disney movie Earth. With everyone in the Canadian spirit, it was a still memorable and unforgettable day.

Lavinia Hui, Shad Valley University of New Brunswick 2010
Hometown: Markham, Ontario

Shad Valley Dalhousie Adventures - Day 5: O CANADA!

2010-07-02T06:59:00.000-07:00

On the anniversary marking 143 years since Canada's creation as a Dominion of the United Kingdom, everything seemed to fall perfectly in place: the sun was shining bright, the humidity was low and the spirit amongst the Shads was ecstatic as we all began the day in the dining hall, eagerly awaiting the fun-filled day we knew was ahead.

The day started off with the usual morning seminar this one focused on creativity and defining problems in relation to the theme of our House projects. This session allowed all the Houses more chance to brainstorm and develop ideas that will hopefully be used as their final product.

After the morning seminar was our first REAL recreation session with the activity being soccer on Dalhousie U's spectacular artificial turf field Wickwire Field. The session was based on allowing Houses to practice for the upcoming rec. time soccer championship. The session ended with 2 scrimmages under the leadership of some Program Directors, pitting the highly touted Team McCollins against the underdog Team Jeremy and sadly, there was no Cinderella story today. The sun was in full flight by noon, and most of the Shads were well worn out, warm and exhausted by the time recreational activities were finished.

Lunch break was truncated to a measly 45 minutes as the group was eager to depart on time for scheduled downtown Halifax activities. Most of the Shads decided to cool off by showering, and had to rush to squeeze in few pieces of fruit before disembarkment.

Fitted in new Shad Valley Dalhousie t-shirts, the group set out for downtown Halifax at about 1pm. The walk was a wonderful way to enjoy the beautiful weather without over-expending energy to the point of exhaustion. The first stop along the "downtown exploration tour" was Citadel Hill - the same point from which we watched Queen Elizabeth II's arrival earlier this week. That day, however, had been terribly wet, windy and miserable and the group did not have a chance to explore Citadel Hill, which is in fact a British Fort built into the hill as to be concealed from approaching enemy vessels.

We spent about an hour inside the fort, exploring the various buildings, artifacts and contraptions that one does not usually encounter in every day life. Needless to say, being inside an important and historic military strong-point is very inspiring.

After the tour of the Citadel Hill fortress, the group headed down to the Halifax Metro Centre (which was conveniently located at the bottom of Citadel Hill) to witness the 2010 edition of the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo. The show consists of various military bands and display teams and has taken place in Halifax since 1979 - it is currently the largest annual indoor show in the world.

The 2010 Tattoo was a 4 hour spectacle with enough pizzaz and marvels to rival the opening and closing ceremonies of the Vancouver Olympics with Royal Bands from Canadian, American, German, French and British Armies and Navies, as well as extraordinary performances delivered by troupes from the Netherlands, Canada, Germany, France and Estonia. This performance is truly a one-of-a-kind - I have never witnessed an event that held so much individual patriotic pride from the individual groups of performers. The performers really offered insight into the importance of teamwork: alone, a trumpet player is nothing but an isolated musician, but within a symphony, he possesses a role, a niche, in which he can contribute his part to something greater than he alone could ever hope to become - and this sense of teamwork is something we can all implement as we work together on various projects.

After the event finished, the Shads were grouped into 5's and given almost 3 hours of free time to explore the downtown Halifax. The one thing on most of the Shads' minds seemed to be food, as most had missed out lunch and were also eager to taste luxurious Halifax seafood. The gigantic mass of 50 Shads all clad in matching t-shirts soon dissipated as different groups headed off in different directions with different destinations in mind. My group ended up at the waterfront and had a nice (although not entirely filling and overly expensive) seafood meal at Salty's. The fading sunset and the ideal temperature really amplified all the beauties of downtown Halifax, where no one seems to have a care in the world.

After returning to the University in the late evening, the Shads were divided into 4 committees each in charge of unique opportunities that will occur throughout the month. The 4 committees were: planning variety shows, planning open day and the banquet, Shad events and Thank you's, and the creation and compilation of a month-book to document everything we have and will do this month. It is painful to think about the end of something as wonderful as our Shad experience when it has just begun, but failure to plan for the future almost always ends in stress and sometimes failures and disappointments.

I was placed in the month-book committee and we complied lists of what should be included in the month-book, budget usage, and side accessories that may also be created to accompany the month-book as souvenirs. With all the projects starting up, this month seems to be getting busier and busier and yet all the Shads are willing to find fun underneath rocks, no matter the size, challenge and effort requirement these rocks might pose, and this is what excites me the most.

It is comforting to be around individuals who, no matter how rough the going gets, will never give up, never stop believing, and never stop living, and it is this vibrant 'Shaditude' that allows me to see my dreams, everyday here at Shad Valley Dalhousie U.

Vincent Ye, Shad Valley Dalhousie University 2010
Hometown: Coquitlam, British Columbia

Les Heures des Heureux

2010-07-02T06:52:00.000-07:00

Salut bonjour!

(0713h) It's sunny finally eh? And it's cool today 'cause I left the window open in the dorm. 1100 Agathe-Lacerte, l'Université Laval, QC. Morning Jeff: I'm going back to sleep: I still have seventeen minutes, he says. Morning blur. After breakfast, Alysha and I walk to the café and meet the rest of the Shads to talk ideas.

(1200h) In line for lunch! I say "que vous bougiez ici?" to the French girls in line so they can meet with their friends from the other summer program.

(1600h) We play soccer with Fifa-inspired gallantry où François est un héros. Everyone showers then prepares for dinner. The non-Quebeckers discover that les québécois don't celebrate Canada Day! Political talks ensue. (A PA costumes un drapeau du Canada comme une cape.)

Franglais partout: tout le monde est fatigué, occupé, and in the computer lab singing: Bohemian Rhapsody.

(2100h) Angus rocks our socks in Jeopardy (Angus! Angus!! Angus!!!) and maple cookies infiltrate our mouths in the conference room. An impromptu dance party starts and I rock out in falsetto to Don't Stop Believin': writhing-on-the-floor excitement.

Jay Miller, Shad Valley Université Laval 2010
Hometown: Kingston, Ontario

July 1, 2010

2010-07-02T06:42:00.000-07:00

Who doesn’t love 5:55 am alarms?

I know this morning I sure did not want to get out of bed and shower but with a 7:00 am Tai Chi session waiting, I forced myself out of bed. At MUN, our program director, Dr. Lye, offers an optional daily morning Tai Chi, and I was crazy enough to choose to commit to this.
Although the moves seem rather easy and slow, Tai Chi is great for fitness, strength and rejuvenation of the soul, and believe it or not, walking up stairs after doing a session is a very difficult task!

After breakfast we headed off to our lectures and learned about developing for Canada’s aging population (which is exactly this year's House project topic) and Appalachian geology. Both of which were very interesting subjects. Our second lecturer (a Newfoundland native) in addition to teaching us about geology, also taught us how to play the nose flute, which is a simple plastic device you play by pressing the flute firmly against your nose and mouth, and blowing only through your nose. This sounds relatively easy to play, but right now I can only master one tone. By the end of the month I plan to be a nose flute master (my mother will be so proud!).

The seminar I attended today was marketing, as I am my team’s marketer. As I headed toward the seminar I was very nervous. I volunteered to be my team’s marketer because I had never done anything like it before and thought it would be very cool, but in reality I had no clue what marketing was. As I returned back to my residence from the seminar, I was thrilled because I had learned a new subject and am now very eager to apply it.

If we skip past physical activity, dinner and our house meeting, which was exciting because we are coming up with ideas but also stressful(!!!!!) because right now the whole House Project seems very overwhelming, we will arrive at our Canada Day Celebration. Speaking of which, Happy Canada Day! In Newfoundland, Canada Day is a very exciting event, but also a day of mourning. On July 1, 1916, in Beaumont-Hamel, France, the 1st Newfoundland Regiment went over the top. Of 801 soldiers that went over the top, only 69 returned to answer roll call the next day.

After singing the “Ode to Newfoundland” and having a moment of silence in respect, we continued on with our Canada Day celebrations. To celebrate Shad style, we kicked it off with “guess the famous Canadian on your back”. After that we played non-Canadian, but still very fun Shad games, which consisted of Shadtionary and Shadrades (also known as pictionary and charades, to non-Shad people.) Who knew drawing insane pictures, acting out impossible words, and shouting much louder than necessary, could be so much fun?

To conclude our day we sang happy birthday to Canada and enjoyed a piece of Canada Day cake. What more is there to ask?

It is amazing how after only a few days of Shad I feel like I have learned a month’s worth of information, as well as gained so many friends, which I already know will last a lifetime.

So happy birthday once again Canada!
Yours truly,

Brooke Edwards, Shad Valley Memorial University of Newfoundland 2010
Hometown: Chatham, Ontario

Day 4

2010-07-02T06:36:00.000-07:00

It’s only day 4 of Shad and we’ve only just begun to delve into our month long adventure but already, all 48 of us have formed bonds that will last much longer. Today, like all the days previous, and hopefully to come, has been filled with new and exciting experiences. Our RIM (Research In Motion)/Shad Cup theme has been revealed! The music room was discovered – my favourite moment of the day, and we had our first Shad “Olympiads”.

During the Olympiads, we split into our houses and competed in events both mental and physical. We cheered loudly in good natured competition as groups raced, desperate to cross the line first in the “caterpillar race”. Our general knowledge was put to the test in a game of trivia where everything, from Frankenstein to koala fingerprints, was discussed.

The theme of the Shad Cup project is to develop a something for the rapidly aging population of Canada while keeping in mind three main factors – money, environment and the client. We then have to present our ideas to a panel of yet unknown judges. All the Shads are very excited and suspense is still building as the members that form each team have yet to be announced.

The discovery of the music room was definitely a momentous event for me. A group of us were walking on our way to the kitchens when we passed a previously locked door that was propped open. Inside was a dance studio that contained an old, but serviceable piano. We stayed there for hours and the halls were filled with the mingled sounds of piano passages, guitar chords and many voices singing in unison (shout out to Andrew Lloyd Webber for the fabulous music in the Phantom of the Opera!).

So far, Shad Valley has been one amazing activity after another. I feel so comfortable around my fellow Shads that it’s hard to believe that I’ve only met them recently. The environment here is warm and accepting, pushing us to learn passionately, expand our horizons and test our limits.

Michelle Au Yeung, Shad Valley Université Laval 2010
Hometown: Richmond, Britsh Columbia

June 30, 2010

2010-07-02T06:27:00.000-07:00

One day feels like an eternity. Twenty-six days could not possibly be enough. This is the thought with which I awoke today on our fourth day here at Shad UNB. In the little time that has passed since our arrival, we Shads have already come to anticipate days that are fast-paced and fully-packed; this one has not disappointed.

After a 7:00 am wakeup and breakfast at 7:30, we had an exciting hour of recreation. Even Capture the Flag and Ultimate Frisbee are more intense with this group! We then made our way to lecture with muddy clothes and renewed energy. The beautiful weather was a welcome change from the heavy rains of the past couple of days, and we were able to sit outside in the New Brunswick sunshine for our program director Ian Fogarty's lecture. Ian's enthusiastic talk about his experiences at NASA and the mystery of the Mars observer (complete with burning rubbing alcohol and exploding root beer bottles) definitely captivated the attention of everyone in attendance.

Next was a short and mostly successful attempt to set up the tents that will be our homes on our upcoming camping trip to Fundy this weekend, followed by lunch as usual in McConnell Hall. We then had the opportunity to continue our research for the design project that will be a central part of our month here. That's right, the national theme was finally revealed last night: "Designing for Canada's Aging Population". All sixty Shads spent the hour preparing presentations on issues that the growing number of Canadian seniors will face – issues that we will attempt to resolve through our projects.

"Shad time" was a chance to briefly unwind and was passed in various ways that included going for a swim, squeezing in some more research, and just hanging out with new and interesting friends. After dinner, we met in Ludlow Hall for some important procedures: voting on a Shad UNB t-shirt graphic and presenting and choosing topics for the design projects. By the end of the evening, eight groups had been formed to deal with everything from Alzheimer's disease to driving dilemmas.

Finally, we ended our day with Shad Late Night, the theme of which was wind and string instruments. The Shad community was kept entertained by acts on the clarinet, violin, harmonica, pennywhistle, and even a trumpet mouthpiece!

Now, everyone is off to bed so as not to doze off during lecture tomorrow - an occurrence that's becoming more and more frequent, much to the staff's dismay. Besides, with Canada Day tomorrow and Fundy the next day, we'll need all the sleep we're able to get! Despite the insane business of our everyday schedule here, it’s the quiet moments in between that are helping me realize that Shad, as promised, is shaping up to be the experience of a lifetime.

Courtney Firestone, Shad Valley University of New Brunswick 2010
Hometown: Thornhill, Ontario

June 30, 2010

2010-07-02T06:21:00.000-07:00

Wow i can't believe its the 30th already!

And there is no FIFA World Cup today, so i don't need to stay up to watch the replays.

Before i came to Queen's, my anticipation for the promising Shad experience took a hit when i saw "-calculator" on the "To Bring" list. Then it started to get me worrying about all the intimidating top seeds of Canada that I'm going to meet, so much for an exciting month.

However, after a simple 3 and half days, my initial intimidation and fear has disappeared without a trace.

I woke up hearing 106.5FM reporting the weather. Don't remember how i fell asleep, but i feel more tired than before i went to bed. Breakfast was the usual bacon, potatoes and eggs. It must be some special sauce they put in there because everyone's claiming that they are eating 3 times their usual servings. @8:45 all 48 Shads are gathered in the Churnoff waiting for the announcement for the day. Today we got the "Shadule" for the next 3 days: we got a pizza party for Canada Day and a camping trip on Friday! I'm so excited! It'll be my first camping experience. Today was part three of the Shad Slide Shows, everyone got around 90 seconds to describe themselves. Then our morning was followed by a lecture about the crucial factors concerning the correct choices for management in an organization, some points are very helpful for group projects.

Okay to be honest that didn't sound too exciting, but this is only the beginning.

Dodge Ball! Actually its called Declining Dodge Ball, because the field is shrinking as the game goes on. After a good three rounds, we headed back to the dining hall for lunch. Today i tried the pizza for the first time. Because it is like a buffet at Queen's, I never got a chance to taste everything. After lunch, we headed off to the workshops that we've bid on (you get 50 tokens, and there are four opportunities for workshops throughout the program, and each time there are 6 choices). I was in the Debate workshop. The first hour or so was all about the technical terms and fallacies, but the second hour and half was impromptu debate. My topic was "Should assisted suicide be legalized" and I had to debate against it with a partner. It was a very close call but we won, because of our passion.

I ate chicken for dinner. I love how there is always a variety of choices to pick from. Following dinner, we played a bit of soccer before heading to the ILC (Integrated Learning Center), there we were given the big project of the month. Since I'm not sure if other campuses have gotten theirs yet I'll leave the details out, but let's just say it is a huge research project and we need to make a prototype of a project. That is basically it for today.

11:54, just before the deadline x)

David Liu, Shad Valley Queen's University 2010
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario

Day 4 - June 30, 2010

2010-07-02T06:14:00.000-07:00

Today was a very important day for us Shads. We found out our theme for the month that we would base our major project on. The day began early with breakfast followed by the announcement of our topic, "Aging Population of Canada." Following the announcement, the program volunteers decided to throw us a curveball. After showing us a video on the Empathy Suit- a suit designed to simulate the everyday physical limitations of the elderly- they decided it would be fun for all of us to have the experience of a day in the life of a senior. They brought out everything from bungee cords, to dowels, to goggles covered in tape in order to replicate the daily struggles of seniors. After wearing them throughout lunch and a campus walk, us Shads were quite aware that our perception of seniors was completely wrong. We realized the everyday struggles they go through and the lack of sympathy they receive from society. The exercise was followed by some unbounded brainstorming as to Product Ideas by Houses. After dinner and some sun, we received a unique lecture from guest speaker Jerry Singleton, who is very energetic and captivating. His discussion of the aging population in relation to cultural and demographic shifts opened up a whole new area for discussion and creation. After a few Shad Speaks, House time, and a snack, it was finally time for bed- which is where I sit now.

The day was the real beginning to the educational aspect of Shad with the unveiling of the theme and was also the beginning of actual relationships between the Shads. Being the fourth day we have had together, the conversations between us now have to go deeper than just "Where are you from?" and "How is it there?" We have begun to actually develop trust and friendship instead of just superficial relationships. If the days that have past are any indication, the next three and a half weeks will without a doubt be some of the most influential of my life both academically and socially and I look forward to the many surprises that are yet to come.

Carl Lawrence, Shad Valley Dalhousie University 2010
Hometown: Hiram, Maine, USA

Day 3 - Not Too Shabby

2010-06-30T06:32:00.000-07:00

It's 12am. Not too shabby for a blog post.

Tired, again, so I'll try to keep straight to the point, with a little flare here and there.

This morning, I woke up with the correct time zone on my alarm clock, which meant I had some nice sleep in. I went to breakfast where we had French toast, sausages, bacon and eggs. We started our day off by going to a lecture hall at the Foreward Building (how relevant) where we had various speakers come in and talk to us. One of them being our program director at Shad UBC. He discussed economics and entrepreneurship with us, and how he despises certain capitalists but loves the Grameen Bank. I really enjoyed him. The networking opportunities here are endless. We also enjoyed our tech advisor's presentation on the engineer design process. Another speaker was from Telus advising us to develop our core skills and follow our passions. And last was a Harvard Med School graduate who now researches and studies sleep at UBC. Us 52 Shads here asked an hour and a half worth of sleep questions. Everywhere and anywhere from sleepwalking to homeostasis. Let's just say, today I learned a heck of a lot. I can only imagine what's to come. At the lecture hall we were also given a few details on our Project House. All Shads across Canada will find out the "theme" tomorrow...it's a surprise!

Later on in the day we did Recreation (Rec for short). We played this game called assassin, but I "died" in the opening minute, so we played an hour of ultimate frisbee instead. Some staff here have quite the "ultimate" skills.

Dinner was served at 5:15pm today. I left early because I had to prepare and practice my "Shad speaks" presentation. We were given free range of choice on any topic to discuss for up to 15min. I did a presentation that I had prepared for an American History course I did this past semester. I led a deep discussion on my topic which was really exciting. When I did the presentation back at school, the responses to the questions I posed involved one word answers. But here at Shad, people could not stop raising their hands and questioning my topic. The issues did not seem alien or foreign to anyone, and appreciation by all Shads was evident. I witnessed first hand the type of personalities Shad Valley brings together-youth who have a keen interest in learning and solving problems. What I liked most was that people cared. It was awesome.

We fit in 8 speeches today because there was so much interest in everyone's topics. I'm really excited to see what my other fellow Shads are passionate about.

After presentations were over at 10pm, I hung out in the common room with the Shads who still had energy stored away for this fun time of the day. Everyone was on their laptop updating family and friends of the several new happenings here today. We rented a drum set and keyboard so people were also jamming away to various songs and beats. It's quite the atmosphere at Shad UBC in the late hours. I had an intriguing conversation at 10:45 with a PA (program assistant). We talked for almost an hour on common interests we shared including law and debating. This was an eye opener. It made me realize that Shad students are not only science-based entrepreneurs, but science-based entrepreneurs who are well-rounded with several interests.

Oh golly gee, it's 12:30am Pacific time...I think. I'll have to double check that one! Anyways, I should probably head out now. I keep hearing of the busyness of our days now. Tomorrow, the big secret will be revealed and we begin getting down and dirty into the energy sucker tasks. Should I say yay?

I'm not too sure, though I know I will say bye and goodnight.

Carolyn Chong, Shad Valley University of British Columbia 2010
Hometown: Dundas, Ontario

48 Hours

2010-06-30T06:28:00.000-07:00

It’s been 48 hours. Much has been said and much has been done. Something special has been built connecting the 59 of us. Something that can only grow – a community. Today, June 29th was just the third day, but to us we’ve known each other for eternity. The morning started off with another inspirational speech on “Shad by Design” in our Designer Boot camp. We learned how our world is filled with many complex problems, and it is important to realize that many steps are required to achieve a solution. And to get a better solution, we must raise our standards and challenge ourselves.

After an amazing lunch of grilled cheese sandwiches, fruits, soup and carrot cake (thanks to the Mennonite community), we finished off our lesson on design. We were then separated into groups of 8 and told that during dinner, we had think of a musical piece, which we had to then perform after dinner. Although each group had varying amounts of musical experience (some oboe players, some pianists and others with no idea what to do), we all performed extremely well! Before our 10:00 snack, we took half an hour to reflect on our experience so far. This period of time was spent with each of us on our own, writing in our journals on what Shad meant to us so far. For me, it was the people, and the things I learned from them. They are all truly amazing, every last one of them – no exceptions. They are forever engrained in my heart, and you know what? It’s only been 48 hours.

Prarthana Chandran, Shad Valley University of Waterloo 2010
Hometown: Mississauga, Ontario

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

2010-06-30T06:24:00.000-07:00

It was only 4 days ago when my twin brother and I hit the road with Mom and Dad for a two-day drive to our assigned universities… Now here I am pursuing success and excellence, making the most rewarding investment decisions, and experiencing programs like what we have had on our third day at Shad Valley.

The very early morning activity has shown some of the Shad’s strong stamina and agility during the 5k run around the McMaster campus site. Giving up wasn’t an option as all SHADs boosted each other’s confidence as we run together as a SHAD community.

The morning’s later activity has stretched our involvement scientifically as we have made instructions and documentations and built our own and each other’s time machines varying from pendulums to blowing up ballons to a sequence of complex ramps. In the afternoon, we got ourselves immersed on the “Marshmallow Challenge” where we used 20 spaghetti sticks, one metre of string, one metre of tape, and of course, one marshmallow, to build the tallest free-standing structure with a marshmallow on top. Who wouldn’t enjoy learning surprising lessons that emerged as we compared who tends to do the worst or the best?

Although the challenge is a fun activity that follows the orient to build prototype to change to make it better command, it encourages self confidence, determination, innovation, creativity, and teamwork among SHADs. It has made us to drive into new ways and to take extra steps not only to come together but also to work together and to feel better about ourselves. More importantly, these activities have shaped our attitude to achieve the ability to turn the “can’t” into can and the “power to do it”.

The afternoon has brought the SHADs fun and recreation as we participated in games such as Sword and Stone, Throw the Chicken, and Dead Grasshopper. Later in the evening, a previous SHAD at Memorial University, Newfoundland explained that life is a rollercoaster and that “a dream without action is only hallucination.” We have to take on roles, face the challenges and our fears, and look for opportunities to achieve a stronger self. Finally, we SHADS have been put into our Project groups, where each group will design, build a prototype, and refine their own project in time for Open Day at the end of Shad Valley. This project WILL test the SHADs’ abilities to analyze each other’s strengths, to use these strengths for the good of the group, and to work together as a team to accomplish a product. Challenging? Yes, but we SHADs are up to the test.

…and while I miss my twin brother (the 27 days in Shad Valley are the first 27 days of the 16 years of our lives that we would be apart), today I have explored the possibilities of a diverse group of people communicating, sharing, and working together. This third day is one step we take to bring what we started from scratch last Sunday closer to even a less perfect Shad Valley community.

I can’t wait to let you know about tomorrow…but then, that is a story for another SHAD to tell.

Shadrielle Melijah Espiritu, Shad Valley McMaster University 2010
Hometown: Dryden, Ontario

June 29 - Shad Valley Dalhousie

2010-06-30T06:21:00.000-07:00

After only three days at Dalhousie, I can honestly say my time in Halifax is emerging as one of the best experiences of my life. I have met some of the most interesting people, whether they are Shads, PAs, or guest speakers. Today has been the best day so far, with wide agreement among the Dal Shads.

With our 6:00 AM alarm, 15 of us woke up and began our day in the best way possible: heading to the Dalplex. We did everything from swimming to weightlifting to basketball and even to ping-pong! An hour and a half later, we returned to the residence, had a quick shower and went for breakfast.

For the next two hours, we had the privilege of listening to two lectures from Tim and Ed. With Tim, we analyzed the original Spider Man comic books to determine if the actions in the series were physically possible. It turns out they are not. Ed helped us decide whether the billionaires of the world are “Heroes or Villains.” We saw several of the positive and negative effects of entrepreneurship on the world.

We then took a tour of the Dalplex facilities, although several of us were already familiar with them from our morning adventures. We played a big game of volleyball. It was really awesome to see so many different and talented athletes come together. Those who did not necessarily play sports had a great time as well. We had so many great laughs together!

Following our two-hour lunch break, we had the first seminar of the month, hosted by Tim and Jeremy. They are two of the most enthusiastic and passionate people I have ever met, and the session was divided by huge bursts of laughter, as they enjoy cracking jokes. The seminar tapped into our creative abilities. They promised us that if we believe we are creative, then we are in fact creative.

With three plates of dinner under my belt, the Shads met with our guest speaker, 1989 Shad alumnus, Ray Addington, who taught us about teamwork. It was a surprise to most of us at how difficult it can be to orally relay information. We also found it very difficult to build a tower of spaghetti and gumdrops. In the end, House 4 narrowly won the competition.

The Shadspeaks were amazing! One of the best parts of the experience so far has been getting to know the other Shads, and learning so many interesting things about so many interesting people!

After brownies and milk, exhaustion set in and we all quickly went to bed. I cannot wait to see what the rest of the month has in store!

Miles Marchand, Shad Valley Dalhousie University 2010
Hometown: Kamloops, British Columbia

Monday June 28

2010-06-29T06:18:00.000-07:00

Today has been the busiest day ever! I woke up bright and early at 6:45 and had my first meal at the cafeteria. Breakfast was delicious, I especially like the set up of the cafeteria.

After breakfast we went to the Multipurpose Room and started our very first activity. We did an activity where we learned about design and then prepared a prototype for a product. My team designed a windbreaker, and I was very impressed with our final product. The activity was really enjoyable because it opened my eyes all the skills required to design everyday products. As well it helped me learn everyone's names as this is my first real day of Shad.

After lunch we did some team building exercises in the architecture pit. This is the first time in my life I have made so many new friends in a matter of hours. We also did a very moving trust building exercise which opened my eyes to the Shads around me.

In the evening after dinner we had our opening ceremonies and I learned very much from an aboriginal speaker, including the fact that "yo" has been said by natives for thousands of years and is not just a "rap term". Afterwards we split off into our commitees and now I am off to sleep.

Au Revoir!

Zea Cline, Shad Valley Carleton University 2010
Hometown: St. John's, Newfoundland

Memorial University Campus - June 28

2010-06-29T06:12:00.000-07:00

Graduation, safe grad activities all night long, several hours in airplanes and airports and now I find myself, on the first full day of Shad Valley, fully immersed in the program. Although the first few hours of yesterday could have been described as « awkward » at best, 24 hours later I find myself surrounded by people I’m comfortable with, that I enjoy being around, people I can call friends for next 27 days and on.

Our day started early, we had morning recreational activities at 7, with more later on in the day. The lectures were great, with topics ranging from the pros and cons of patenting, to the science behind a Sudoku. I must say the highlight of the day, was getting into our house groups. We were assigned a colored t-shirt and a poster, which we would need to make into our house logo. We also made a chant for our team. After some time in the gym, we hastily got ready for the welcoming banquet, which started in 5 minutes. It was great – great food, great people, and a fun experience all around. To burn off all of those extra calories, we concluded the day with a scavenger hunt around the massive campus, which has over 14000 students and 55 buildings. The prize? A MUN T-Shirt, which our team ended up winning!
Overall, a great first full day of Shad Valley! I’m looking forward to the next 27!

Bye!

Alexandre Deslongchamps, Shad Valley Memorial University of Newfoundland 2010
Hometown: Fredericton, New Brunswick

And So It Begins

2010-06-29T05:53:00.000-07:00

6:55 am – Having just woken up with only seven hours of interrupted sleep (most people waking up for a 5:30 gym visit at the DalPlex) and only four hours of sleep the night before, I have never felt more awake. Both the staff and the students seem to have an energy that just radiates through the building!

1:15 pm – After an intense (and just awesome) morning of competition, in the form of a campus wide picture scavenger hunt in the rain, 50 soaking wet Shad’s marched into Howe Hall and sat down for a feast of a lunch. One burger and fries, two plates of pasta and several small cups of soda later, we are ready to go see Queen Elizabeth ll along with all other leaders of Canada in a special celebration!

5:21 pm – Oh what to write. It is just past 5 and our 1 ½ hour scheduled dinner period has begun. Currently just sitting here listening to music after a day packed with events, I realize I have never appreciated the value of dry clothes. That being said, I also have never felt so close to people I have only known for a day.

11:06 pm –My eyelids are slightly droopy with content and satisfaction, realizing all that was accomplished. As I stare at the screen and type, I am recalling the past day’s events; enough to last me three regular days at home. A word coined by our directors, Shad Standard Time precisely describes the days at Shad Valley. Although they seemed to be referring to it in regards to punctuality, I find that at Shad, so much is possible in such a short amount of time. In just over one day, I made 49 new friends (plus some really cool staff friends), founded the basis of a ten person organization (your house/team) and saw the Queen of England (with time to spare and relax with my newly found friends). With just one day of experience, I can already see that Shad is not just a one month camp, or resume booster, but rather a one month lifestyle choice with everlasting impacts.

Morgan Rosenberg, Shad Valley Dalhousie University 2010

Hometown: Thornhill, Ontario

What is Shad Valley?

2010-06-28T12:37:00.000-07:00

I didn't know much before, but now that I'm here I can tell you lots more.
It's been such a great discovery - to meet each and every,
all the new faces and being courteous to everybody.
The program's filled with games and fun
but the real prize is being able to network with everyone.
My first day was amazing, from the flight in the morning until midnight, really exhilirating.
I'm so glad I took the challenge to apply to Shad Valley 2010
because the experience has been so wonderful even though it's only day one.
I have so much to look forward to,
the possibilities are endless
but the one thing that's definite is that my life would be incomplete without it.
One month with a new family, a new group of people, new friends to me, it all sounds lovely.
Of all the great things we did today the highlight was the lecture where we were given a presentation
of what we could expect in the next month
but more importantly I saw
a room filled with great role models who possess many talents.
These people are my friends, these people are my family and that, that is Shad Valley!

Justin Bansal, Shad Valley University of New Brunswick 2010
Hometown: Brampton, Ontario

Shad UBC Day One

2010-06-28T08:44:00.000-07:00

So, I time travelled today...or rather tried, and managed to slow time enough so that I arrived in Vancouver only 20 minutes after I left. My allies in this feat: the good old hour and 22 minute flight and the time change...and of course that wonderful flying metal object that we call an airplane. In any case, I arrived in Vancouver pretty deaf in one ear because of the dreadful pressure changes, and that surprisingly enough lasted a whole 2 hours before I was actually back to normal. For those of you who didn’t have to fly, you are lucky. For all else, am I the only one who is driven crazy by the pressure?

The Shad staff rounded up groups of Shads and punctually shipped them to the campus where we made a few attempts to link faces with names – the degree of success, I am still uncertain. Then there was the scavenger hunt. Separated from fellow Shads, we were left in the wilderness of UBC to attempt to find various buildings to some success, but for the majority of the evening, my group was helplessly lost amid the sea of buildings and grass that is called the University of British Columbia.

Fast forward through supper, there was a “tour” (that isn’t very accurate as it was more as a walk in temperate weather while chattering with fellow Shads) around some of the buildings on Campus. Nice roses, good architecture, trampoline bushes (quite literally – the bushes could very well have enough spring force to be considered a trampoline), and a very slight breeze. Back in the conference room, strange interpretations of our Shad bio tiles by Shads whose names we still have failed to learn, then now. A blog. The first entry to a string of words that will summarize the days of Shad Valley in every Shad Valley campus. So, I suppose, through bad grammar, comma splices and sentence fragments which the computer continually tells me to correct, I suppose, here we go!

Derek Eng, Shad Valley University of British Columbia 2010
Hometown: Calgary, Alberta

Day 1!

2010-06-28T08:34:00.000-07:00

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep....

I open my eyes, look at the ridiculously early hour (5h20!) and am about to turn off my alarm when I read the 4 letters on my screen "SHAD"... seconds later I am out of bed.

The rest of my morning is kind of a blur of nervous excitement; breakfast, car ride, goodbyes, first train, Montreal, second train, Quebec City, taxi, LAVAL! (by this time I would like to note that is 4h00 in the afternoon).

Now when you look forward to something for so long I find it hard to believe it has finally arrived. Needless to say the fact that I am actually here, at Laval University, about to embark on a month long experience of a lifetime, has yet to sink in.

Once I arrived I was given some time to settle in and got to meet my roommate! (I was nervous at first, but once I met her I was reassured that everything was going to go great.) A couple icebreakers later, we were all sitting down in the cafeteria enjoying our first meal together. After that it was time for a general meeting ; ground rules, values, committees... Finally, after a long day of traveling we are sent off with a little free time before bed. ''Call your parents!'", they remind us (Note to self: Call parents once I'm done blogging).

The names, places, faces, discussions... it all feels a little overwhelming.. but overwhelming in a good way. I can't wait to get started! I'm already brimming with ideas of the things I would like to do over the course of the month and starting friendships that will surpass the following 30 days I'm sure. Of course my SHAD adventure would be better off starting with a good night's sleep (on second thought there is a ping pong tournament going on...)

All in all, day 1 of SHAD is a success: I've arrived safe and sound, as well as I am thoroughly looking forward for the month to come.

Good night all,
Sarah

Sarah Plante, Shad Valley Université Laval 2010
Hometown: Pembroke, Ontario

Day 1 - June 27, 2010

2010-06-28T08:13:00.000-07:00

I had finally arrived – Shad Valley 2010 was now a reality!

At 2:00 pm, I excitedly checked into the Kingston VIA Rail Train Station arriving from Toronto, Ontario to my new home for the next eagerly anticipated month. After being warmly greeted and welcomed by two staff members from the Queen’s Shad Valley campus, we quickly began to connect and share our stories with one another.

How do I describe Queen’s Campus? Simply put, it is fantastic! The buildings feature cleverly designed architecture, are very clean and well maintained and are covered with eye pleasing vegetation ranging from leafy vines to pleasant smelling flowers. In addition to this, the campus as an entire package is all within walking range and bears a warm welcoming feeling. Queen’s not only contains excellent facilities, but also a great variety of all kinds of stuff! For example, the cafeteria not only contains traditional fatty foods, but also boasts a wide assortment of healthy home cooked meals that any food lover wouldn’t be able to resist. By the way, did I mention that consumption is unlimited, it’s all you can eat! All in all, the Queen’s campus has been a delight so far and I cannot wait to further explore and harvest the experiences it has to offer.

As the day progressed, I was introduced to some truly amazing fellow Shads. Everyone was friendly, caring and eager to learn more about each other. Me and my roommate Tony immediately began to establish an excellent relationship and shared a great deal in common. Did I mention that our group contains a very diverse and varied group of Shads? Not only did we have Shads from all across Canada, but also from all across the world! These individuals came from places as far away as Saudi Arabia and China to participate in this well regarded program.

After several “ice” breaking activities, our group of Shads concluded the day with a unexpected surprise challenge. In each one of the five sub divided groups, members had to work with one another to construct a structure that was to only be made out of newspaper and limited masking tape. In addition to this, it had to be able to fit all the members inside, be free standing, and feature a roof. For some, the challenge was a great success but for others like myself, our group failed horribly! Although this challenge was a competition, it still was tremendous fun and a good way to interact and progress our relations amongst other Shads! Hopefully we can expect more fun activities as such in the future.

On a closing note, I am delighted to have made the decision to attend Shad Valley this year. I am sure without a doubt that this program will embark all Shads on an unforgettable experience that will provide a special memory for each and every one of us throughout our lifetimes. Thanks for tuning into this blog from Queen’s 2010 Shad Valley! Expect a whole lot more from other Shads from campuses all across Canada!

Rahul Kalsi, Shad Valley Queen’s University 2010
Hometown: Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador

Welcome

2009-11-30T11:08:00.001-08:00

The 2010 Shad Valley Student blog opens on June 27, 2010 - the day the program begins! Stay tuned.