It鈥檚 four weeks that can change a life 鈥� or, at the very least, focus a student鈥檚 passions and inspire their path ahead.
For more than 30 years, Shad Valley has been providing high school students across Canada an experience that challenges and excites them. Students selected for the camps, held across the country, get a hands-on learning experience in the sciences, engineering, technology and entrepreneurship.
鈥淭hey have lectures in the morning and seminars in the afternoon, and we have guest speakers from the community as well as researchers,鈥� explains Jenny Baechler, who is the program coordinator for Shad Dalhousie. 鈥淭he goal is to balance all the different elements of the curriculum.鈥�
Shad solutions
At the camp鈥檚 closing Open House last month, students showed off their work to family and friends. Each team was tasked with coming up with a product, aimed at kids, that would help combat childhood obesity. The students conducted research, built prototypes and put together business plans 鈥� the latter of which, several students said, was something new and particularly rewarding for them.
One team showed off their bamboo and spandex blend exercise fashion, designed for young girls.
鈥淚n our research, we found that girls between the ages of seven and 12 had a decrease in the amount of physical activity, and a higher rate of dropping out of sports,鈥� explained Megan Llewellyn, a student from PEI. 鈥淲e got the idea to make a shirt that would help girls feel for comfortable when they鈥檙e exercising 鈥� especially if they鈥檝e gained weight while they鈥檝e grown.鈥�
Another group demonstrated its kid-friendly snow shovel: a smaller head size, a fun shape-making stamp, and handles that change colour when the shovel is being held properly.
鈥淭he problem is that kids shovels are often adult shovels, just smaller,鈥� explained Afroza Damji, from Toronto. 鈥淏ut that isn鈥檛 what they need.鈥�
Giving back to Shad
Helping the students figure out their devices and business plans were a group of Shad staffers, many of who are current university students. They also lead the attendees on a variety of day trips and other adventures: camping in Cape Breton, hiking at Cape Split and much more.
鈥淸Shad] changed the way I saw myself,鈥� says Dal psychology student Marissa Levy, who went through the program when she was in high school. 鈥淭hat experience carried with me through university, and I want to give others that same experience.鈥�
Taylor Quinn, a Dal IDS and anthropology student, and another Shad alum, agrees.
鈥淔or me, Shad was about growing as a leader, a person and a team member. That鈥檚 what great about Shad: it鈥檚 facilitating their growth in those areas, getting them to be more comfortable with who they are.鈥�