What a day.
It began at seven. With the soft colours of violin and cello mingling into my dreams, my Passacaglia alarm clock gently tugged me from my sleep. Softly, I left my sleeping roommate, and with an armful of clothes and my shampoo, went to the showering facilities.
During a hearty breakfast (the breakfasts at Laval are quite lavish), the Shads were in a frenzy to recite the text of a hefty booklet that groups of six students received last night, in an effort to absorb the material that we`d need for the workshop immediately following breakfast. With breakfast time elapsed and the fifteen pages of information suspended somewhat dubiously in my head, I headed to the POP building for a discussion on a case study involving an NGO endeavor to introduce sunflower oil harvesting into the Benin infrastructure.
The rest of the day was dedicated to our Shad project. After lunch, we had a two hour work block, in which my team frantically tailored our PowerPoint which we'd utilize just after a few hours in our first presentation in front of our board of investors. As our allotted time approached the end, sparks of excitement began to tickle me.
After dinner, I decided not to clutter my mind with concerns over our project, and instead opted to go for a run with my roommate around campus. Sweaty, tired, but refreshed, I slipped into my blouse and skirt for the presentation, and confidently strode to the venue. Upon arrival, my certainty abandoned me completely. Alongside my team, we sat through the agonizing wait as group after group entered and left those closed doors behind which we would soon meet our judgment.
Finally, it was our turn. We ran through the presentation, and braced ourselves for the comments. We were right to do so. The investors were not pleased, and not afraid to express it. Their criticism was harsh and biting, definitely not the way we intended to end our day. However, our team appreciated this experience as a wake-up call (however brutal) to reality, and we are ready and determined to show our investors that we have what it takes to impress them in the next round!
Anna Wang, Shad Laval University 2011
Hometown: Coquitlam, BC
