Another whirlwind day has come to a close at Shad, Carleton. The day, similar to others at Shad, was full of excitement, struggles, learning opportunities and much more. A typical morning for a Shad is the sound of three alarm clocks buzzing all at the same time, and most days mine is no different, but today as I rolled over and glanced at my alarm clock the time 8:15 caught my eyes. I threw off the covers and ran into the bathroom and got into the shower, while quickly seeing my three other roommates laughing at my panic. To my disbelief I made the 8:25 start time, shower and all. Now not only was I required to get to the lecture on time that morning but it just happened to be my turn for my Shad Speak. With an empty stomach but an excited energy I presented what I would call a very good Shad Speak. Five others presented after me talking about topics ranging from toilet paper, food, swimming and shoes. In the typical Shad way they were all unique and intriguing.
After over an hour of sitting we had a short break before sitting back down for a lecture by our favorite music man, Dan Horner. Dan had been away from the program for a couple of days for a music camp but was more energized to be back at Carleton. Dan who has helped in inspiring many of us this year at Carleton continued to do so, while incorporating music, humor and good life lessons. Shad has taught me many of these life lessons, some came as the forms of lectures, others came as team building activities, but I believe that working with my team on our DE project has taught me the most about the roles of leadership and the importance of being a follower and how crucial that is to the team.
Lunch came and went. We scurried back to the lecture hall for a controversial talk by Super Sam. The talk included issues from does your consciousness actually exist, and what happens when you die? The lecture questioned what we know in our world and this exemplifies the theme of Shad. Shad is pushing our boundaries within ourselves and really testing what we can achieve and what we know we can do.
During our evening events we had a bubbly lecture from Desirae Odjick. Her personality really shined through and inspired some of our Shads to look into joinng JDCC in university. Committee time was unproductive today as we were anticipating our coffee house. The coffee house was full of performances from our Shads showcasing their talents in dancing, singing and humor. The night was full of music, laughs and great memories.
Overall today was another great day in building lifelong friendships, memories and an experience that we will never forget.
Geoffrey Nicholson, Shad Carleton University 2011
Hometown: Calgary, AB
