It’s been exactly two days since we all arrived at Shad and it’s already been such an amazing adventure. It is so amazing and astonishing how 48 people can bond so fast and work so well together. I honestly think this month will accomplish more than anyone ever imagined.
So far today has been enriching to all of us. We took part in a lecture that encompassed science and math and how it applies to life as a whole. Our speaker, Sam Dube, was just a very well rounded man. Actually they call him Super-Sam here at Carleton. Our knowledge of consciousness was put to the test while relating to the universe, matter and time. The lecture really made me, and probably most everyone else, realize how we perceive reality can limit us to what we can do. So Super-Sam taught us that believing and having a positive attitude can metabolize and make life worth something more.
Although I wish I can write about Carleton and its astonishing lectures all day, I sadly can’t. But from Shad I understand that no matter how unfamiliar people or something new is to you, having a positive attitude to just go out there and accomplish something is everything this month will be about. Shad truly is amazing.
Michael Willcott, Shad Valley Carleton University 2011
Hometown: St. Alban’s, NL
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
July 4 - Day 2
52 people, one journey. Step by step.
This is the second day of a month-long journey for the fifty-two Shads at the University of British Columbia. After a good night of solid sleep, we woke up and gathered at the dining room of the Totem Residence for a delicious breakfast. Filled with constant chatter and laughter, we are finally getting to know each other on a more personal level. The day then continued with brief introductions of our staff members and basic rules and guidelines of the residence.
After lunch, we performed a “Secret Ceremony”. It was a truly stunning and powerful experience, but I’ll leave the future Shads to discover the details on their own!
We continued with our day with a recreational period, where we stepped outside, into the refreshing air of Vancouver. As we are still in the stage of getting to know each other, we started off by doing a name game, and continued with a relay (where people put their shoes in a pile and had to find their shoes, put them on and run back), finishing with the Octopus game.
After dinner, we entered the lounge and were introduced to Mr.Bruce Relland. He is a professor staying at our campus and explained one of our first major activities – Building a bridge with spaghetti and hot glue. The Shads were split into 13 groups, 4 people per group to build a bridge that meet certain requirements and can hold a 1kg water bottle for one minute. Each team had 2 hours to complete this project and the lightest bridge that matches the requirements wins. Of course, Mr.Relland taught us many engineering principles that would assist us with our bridge-building before we parted for our projects. We returned to the common room at 9pm to test out the bridges.
The new Shads are immersed in an amicable environment, one filled with cheering, laughter and amusement. We’ve been in the campus for less than 48 hours, but we can truly feel the welcoming atmosphere created by the staff and our enthusiastic participants; we are slowly creating unforgettable memories, while forming everlasting bonds of friendship.
Stay updated! Sincerely yours,
Niki Shi, Shad Valley University of British Columbia 2011
Hometown: Markham, ON
This is the second day of a month-long journey for the fifty-two Shads at the University of British Columbia. After a good night of solid sleep, we woke up and gathered at the dining room of the Totem Residence for a delicious breakfast. Filled with constant chatter and laughter, we are finally getting to know each other on a more personal level. The day then continued with brief introductions of our staff members and basic rules and guidelines of the residence.After lunch, we performed a “Secret Ceremony”. It was a truly stunning and powerful experience, but I’ll leave the future Shads to discover the details on their own!
We continued with our day with a recreational period, where we stepped outside, into the refreshing air of Vancouver. As we are still in the stage of getting to know each other, we started off by doing a name game, and continued with a relay (where people put their shoes in a pile and had to find their shoes, put them on and run back), finishing with the Octopus game.
After dinner, we entered the lounge and were introduced to Mr.Bruce Relland. He is a professor staying at our campus and explained one of our first major activities – Building a bridge with spaghetti and hot glue. The Shads were split into 13 groups, 4 people per group to build a bridge that meet certain requirements and can hold a 1kg water bottle for one minute. Each team had 2 hours to complete this project and the lightest bridge that matches the requirements wins. Of course, Mr.Relland taught us many engineering principles that would assist us with our bridge-building before we parted for our projects. We returned to the common room at 9pm to test out the bridges.
The new Shads are immersed in an amicable environment, one filled with cheering, laughter and amusement. We’ve been in the campus for less than 48 hours, but we can truly feel the welcoming atmosphere created by the staff and our enthusiastic participants; we are slowly creating unforgettable memories, while forming everlasting bonds of friendship.
Stay updated! Sincerely yours,
Niki Shi, Shad Valley University of British Columbia 2011
Hometown: Markham, ON
July 4 - Day 2
When I first arrived at Laval, I was not sure exactly what to expect. Butterflies were running wild in my stomach as I anticipated what was sure to be an amazing experience. After two days of the program, I feel like we have been here for weeks! Everyone has gotten so close and it really is a great, happy family.
In the morning, we had a secret sharing session where we all anonymously read out others' insecurities and doubts. This truly united us together as a whole community. We were able to let go and start the program on a completely new page!
Today was a really exciting day!! We got assigned to committees where we will be planning a particular Shad event. I am organizing a multicultural dinner full of music, dance, and entertainment! In the evening, we each shared an item that best represents us as individuals. This really helped us get to know each other and better relate.
Shad is greatly living up to my expectations! There is never a dull moment! And best of all, you are always surrounded by friends!
That is all for now,
Ioana Dobre, Shad Valley Laval 2011
Hometown: St. John's, NL
In the morning, we had a secret sharing session where we all anonymously read out others' insecurities and doubts. This truly united us together as a whole community. We were able to let go and start the program on a completely new page!
Today was a really exciting day!! We got assigned to committees where we will be planning a particular Shad event. I am organizing a multicultural dinner full of music, dance, and entertainment! In the evening, we each shared an item that best represents us as individuals. This really helped us get to know each other and better relate.
Shad is greatly living up to my expectations! There is never a dull moment! And best of all, you are always surrounded by friends!
That is all for now,
Ioana Dobre, Shad Valley Laval 2011
Hometown: St. John's, NL
July 4 - Day 2
Day 2 at Shad Dalhousie 2011! It seems like it has been so much longer than that and we have already become great friends with each other. The weather today started off very miserable: looking very cloudy and seemed like a low chance of being sunny like day 1. Nevertheless we started off with a Camera Ready: a scavenger hunt in which pictures were taken in groups doing certain poses at certain locations around campus to help us get better with our surroundings. Due to Dalhousie being a very large campus no one managed to complete all the pictures but everyone still had a swell time. A challenge to Camera Ready was that we always got extra points for every “stranger” involved in the picture so we went outside some of our boundaries to be able to win. It also got us familiar with the campus to ensure we don’t get lost throughout the month.
We had our first seminar today: a speech by Tim Little about creative thinking and solutions to problems. Co-director Jeremy finished off the seminar talking to us about how to work in a group and getting to know everyone. Lastly we got organized into our Shad houses. I love everyone in our group and I expect we will do a great job in whatever the topic this year is.
We did the first Shad Speaks today and they were amazing! Anyway, I am heading to bed now thanks for reading.
Jai Mashru, Shad Valley Dalhousie 2011
Hometown: Dryden, ON
Monday, July 4, 2011
July 3 - Day 1
The anticipation came to an end this morning as I woke up knowing that I'll be on my way to Québec City. As I rushed my goodbyes, I pondered over the possibilities that lay before me at Shad Laval.
The university itself is spectacular. Laval is a huge campus and it is easy to get lost on your first day, which is why we were given a map at the beginning of the program. We were taken for a short tour of the campus and were given boundaries for the next 27 days. The buildings are interesting and the architecture is wonderful. One cool aspect about the Laval campus is that it has a series of interconnected underground tunnels! As we walked through these tunnels we were amazed to see some of the works of art and graffiti on the walls.
The program director and supervisors at Shad Laval are hilarious, interactive, friendly, and generally fun to be around. Our group of 50 Shads was divided into smaller groups (houses). We are introducing our houses to each other tomorrow and I can't wait to see everyone's cheers and participate in the ice breaker games.
Oh and I forgot to mention my roommate. His name is Sachin and he is a "dynamic young person from the west coast who has eased my transition into this month long journey". Hahaha he will laugh when he sees this. I can truly say that the friends I've met here at Laval are AWESOME! I know that this experience is going to be (and I quote) "Legen... wait for it... DARY!"
Well to end this off, it has been a tiring first day at Shad Valley Laval. There has been a lot of excitement in the air and I know that there's more to come tomorrow.
Mervyn Mendonca, Shad Valley Université Laval 2011
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario
The university itself is spectacular. Laval is a huge campus and it is easy to get lost on your first day, which is why we were given a map at the beginning of the program. We were taken for a short tour of the campus and were given boundaries for the next 27 days. The buildings are interesting and the architecture is wonderful. One cool aspect about the Laval campus is that it has a series of interconnected underground tunnels! As we walked through these tunnels we were amazed to see some of the works of art and graffiti on the walls.
The program director and supervisors at Shad Laval are hilarious, interactive, friendly, and generally fun to be around. Our group of 50 Shads was divided into smaller groups (houses). We are introducing our houses to each other tomorrow and I can't wait to see everyone's cheers and participate in the ice breaker games.
Oh and I forgot to mention my roommate. His name is Sachin and he is a "dynamic young person from the west coast who has eased my transition into this month long journey". Hahaha he will laugh when he sees this. I can truly say that the friends I've met here at Laval are AWESOME! I know that this experience is going to be (and I quote) "Legen... wait for it... DARY!"
Well to end this off, it has been a tiring first day at Shad Valley Laval. There has been a lot of excitement in the air and I know that there's more to come tomorrow.
Mervyn Mendonca, Shad Valley Université Laval 2011
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario
July 3 - Day 1
Wow! What an amazing first day at Shad! We all got here to the UNB campus throughout the early afternoon and were quickly introduced to the hustle and bustle of Shad life. After being led through a line-up of sign-ins and being shown our rooms, we embarked on a campus-wide photo scavenger hunt, littered with clues that covered Biology, Geography, and even Computing. Afterwards, we got a crash course in pitching tents for our upcoming camping trip. Finally, after a satisfying dinner, we were treated to a presentation outlining our next four weeks. One thing I know for sure, it's gonna be one amazing experience!
Alex Perelgut, Shad Valley UNB 2011
Hometown: Etobicoke, ON
Alex Perelgut, Shad Valley UNB 2011
Hometown: Etobicoke, ON
July 3 - Day 1
Day one at Shad Valley Lakehead
The long awaited first day of Shad Valley finally arrived in the wee hours of the morning today for the 2011 Lakehead Shads. The sixty-five Shads at our campus began the day early to travel to Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario, coming from each end of Canada and even from other continents.
There was an energetic buzz in the air as the Shads arrived at LU throughout the day. Everyone enthusiastically jumped into introductions and light-hearted chatting that gradually transformed into passionate discussions about our many and varied interests.
We were firstly given the tasks of settling into our dorm rooms and familiarizing ourselves with names and the LU campus, through group games and a scavenger hunt. However, by the end of the day, we had been assigned and had started our first business project for the month. Before heading back to our door rooms for curfew at 12 o'clock, we engaged in a group discussion about leadership and its role in our newly commenced projects. After the moderated discussion ended, we dispersed into smaller huddles to continue the conversation, talking until the last possible minute.
Personally, although only a day has passed, I am already feeling at home and looking forward to discussing several topics with fellow Shads. Our group seems bright and dynamic, the staff eager to share, and the schedule packed—this month at Shad is quite promising. I can't wait to see how it unfolds.
Aurélie Paré, Shad Valley Lakehead 2011
Hometown: Moncton, NB
The long awaited first day of Shad Valley finally arrived in the wee hours of the morning today for the 2011 Lakehead Shads. The sixty-five Shads at our campus began the day early to travel to Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario, coming from each end of Canada and even from other continents.
There was an energetic buzz in the air as the Shads arrived at LU throughout the day. Everyone enthusiastically jumped into introductions and light-hearted chatting that gradually transformed into passionate discussions about our many and varied interests.
We were firstly given the tasks of settling into our dorm rooms and familiarizing ourselves with names and the LU campus, through group games and a scavenger hunt. However, by the end of the day, we had been assigned and had started our first business project for the month. Before heading back to our door rooms for curfew at 12 o'clock, we engaged in a group discussion about leadership and its role in our newly commenced projects. After the moderated discussion ended, we dispersed into smaller huddles to continue the conversation, talking until the last possible minute.
Personally, although only a day has passed, I am already feeling at home and looking forward to discussing several topics with fellow Shads. Our group seems bright and dynamic, the staff eager to share, and the schedule packed—this month at Shad is quite promising. I can't wait to see how it unfolds.
Aurélie Paré, Shad Valley Lakehead 2011
Hometown: Moncton, NB
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