Today marks the official fifth day of the Shad Valley program and the time is flying by. When I first applied to this program back in December I was expecting a program that was educational and enlightening, now I realize that this program is much more. It's about excellence, creativity and most importantly, community.
From 7 am in the morning to 12 at night, the day is jam packed with new and stimulating experiences. This morning our day started with fitness. Today we traveled back in time and played some of our favourite childhood games including Simon Says and Duck Duck Goose. Aside from physical activity we also attended a very informational and enriching lecture on how to effectively search for information. We learned about the "Internet filter bubble" and how to use Google to its maximum potential. After a delicious lunch on the beautiful and picturesque University of New Brunswick campus, we made our way to another wonderful lecture on corporate social responsibility, or should I say accountability. We related real world situations and analyzed the different strategies of diverse companies. This was followed by a valuable opportunity to work with our Creative Teams to work on how to break down barriers for Canadian children who are disabled. In my opinion this project is not only beneficial to us, but may also have a vital impact on children throughout this nation. Another empowering lecture was given on the subject of amazing accomplishments of mankind. We also received the assignment of building a “Rube Goldberg” which is a complex gadget that performs a simple task in indirect and complex ways.
Lastly we were briefed on our exciting trip to the Bay of Fundy! It is the only Canadian finalist in the competition to choose the next seven natural wonders of the world, and has the highest tides in the world. Our trip will consist of swimming under waterfalls and hiking on the sea floor. I can only imagine what other exciting opportunities Shad Valley will present to us this summer and I can’t wait to continue to experience new things. See you on the other side Shads!
Xiaoya Xu, Shad Valley University of New Brunswick 2011
Hometown: Mississauga, ON
