July 19th, 2011, another jam-packed, intense day at Shad Valley. We began in the morning with delicious chocolate chip pancakes and strawberry sauce before quickly heading over to the math building for a fascinating lecture about the mathematical models behind image processing and photo editing. Next, we split up into groups and headed off to our different workshops around the university campus. I went to Geomatics, where we played around with GIS software, learnt about the different mapping technologies used in disaster relief efforts, and actually mapped out a building using GPS technology.
After all our exciting workshops, the Shads met again for a lunch of subs and creamy soups. While we ate none of us could stop talking about the new concepts and ideas that we had just been exposed to. All our enthusiasm helped lead into our next workshop, a session with our very own staff member, Amit. He introduced us to the confusing, strange and extraordinary world of Fermi problems. That hour we tackled questions like how long would it take you to drive to the sun, how high would a pile be if every webpage was turned into a piece of paper and my personal favorite, the Fermi Paradox, which can estimate when we might meet aliens. After working our brains until they hurt, we split up for an afternoon of recreational activities that included fencing, volleyball, disc golf and badminton. To cap off our afternoon we had a session with Shad’s very own president, Barry Bisson. He helped open our eyes to everything that goes into running Shad and made us feel a little better about ourselves after telling us the rigorous application processes.
But today, the highlight must have been the dinner cooked up by our very own Grebel kitchen. Ribs, garlic mashed potatoes and homemade doughnuts, need I say more? We were all happily filled up before we went to another lecture featuring the hilarious Sean Maw and the world of criteria and constraints. From directing Shad to designing safety measures in speed skating, he seemed to have done it all, not to mention that he was just really funny.
Then all of us headed back to our residence to get in some more design project time and to finish off all our websites for tomorrow. So there ends another day of Shad, with an equally fun and intense day on the horizon.
David Liang: Shad Valley University of Waterloo 2011
Hometown: North York, ON
