University hosts prestigious summer event for high school students

By Justin Sibbet - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on July 13, 2024.

Herald photo by Justin Sibbet Shad students take part in a medical exercise of a mock apocalypse at Markin Hall at the University of Lethbridge on Friday morning.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDjsibbet@lethbridgeherald.com

The University of Lethbridge has become, for the first time, a Shad campus this summer.

What does this mean? Shad is “a prestigious non-profit organization dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship, innovation, and leadership among high school students across the country. Each year, Shad brings together some of the brightest young minds from various regions to participate in a month-long program focused on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM), as well as business activities,” according to Catharine Reader, program director of Shad Canada (ULethbridge).

Over 50 students have made the trek to Lethbridge to participate in Shad for the university’s inaugural year of hosting the event, coming from “all across Canada”. Reader says the students are all entering either grade 11 or 12 in the fall and each student accepted into Shad “have exceptional academic records and are recognized as future leaders.”

Trushar Patel, another program director for Shad Canada (ULethbridge), says Shad gives these bright young students an engaging opportunity to expand upon their skillsets.

“It’s a very well-rounded experience and program for high school students to ensure that they have the skills that they need throughout the high school period to continue being successful,” said Patel.

Indeed, he says the sky is the limit for the students in the program.

“Students take away a lot of experience and skills. They take away what exists as future opportunities in different domains, be it science, art, fine arts, humanities, business, medical, all of those different units.”

While 56 students were able to come to the University of Lethbridge this summer, Reader says it is an accomplishment to even get this far.

“It’s quite an intense application process and this year I think they accepted about 50 per cent of the students who applied,” said Reader.

Once accepted, the real work begins. Reader says students are given rest and free time, but the program is demanding.

“Their schedules are from eight o’clock in the morning until 10:30 at night. It’s intense, but we build a lot of time in there for them to have fun,” said Reader.

The demanding schedule has not been too great a deterrence for at least some of the students, however. Mojet Adediji, a student from Regina and entering grade 12, says the program offers a diverse range of activities to keep students engaged.

“I’m not going to lie, it is a bit tiring, but they do definitely make sure that we get out breaks. They make sure that we have free time and they also make sure that we remain physically active,” said Adediji. “So, it’s not like sit down and listen to lectures all day.”

Adediji, who made headlines in 2022 for publishing a book titled,”Spitfyar: Rise of a Teen Combatant”, says she has enjoyed the first two weeks of the program.

“The program has been very active, very productive and it’s definitely been a very creative and fun ride.”

Lenore Douglas, a student entering grade 12 from Windsor, agrees with Adediji, saying the speakers are a highlight of the program.

“It’s just been incredible here. They workshops and lectures we’ve attended have just been excellent,” said Douglas. “It’s been a great variety of speakers and just areas of expertise that we get to practice.”

She says perhaps her favourite part has been the interactions with her fellow students and the ability to soak up everything the University of Lethbridge has to offer.

“The community here is also incredible, in my opinion. The other students, I love getting to know them and the campus is beautiful,” said Douglas. “There’s a really good program that they’ve set up here.”

Nathan Yang, who hails from Toronto and is another student entering grade 12 in the fall, says the staff involved in the program are the ones to thank for the experience so far.

“I love the fact that a lot of speakers really seem to be passionate about what they do and include ways for us to get involved. For example, getting hands on and coding stuff or maybe doing group activities or having group conversations.”

Despite all the wonderful things on offer, Yang says his favourite part of the entire program has been simply coming to southern Alberta and seeing the wildlife. Something, he says, is lacking in his hometown.

“I come from Toronto, which is a pretty busy city and one of my favourite parts about being here is seeing the deer. We don’t have any back in my home and it’s kind of cool to see them so close.”

Reader says this program is also about more than create skills and memories for the students.

“It’s about trying to create one inclusive community by the end of this. So, providing students with that opportunity to understand that inclusive is much better than exclusive,” said Reader. “We do a lot of community building.”

Furthermore, Reader says this program can double as a recruitment method for the university, though it is not the primary focus.

“We’re looking at it as, not a hard recruiting push, but more an introduction.”

She says many of the students have never been exposed to the U of L before, so this creates a unique opportunity.

“It’s an opportunity for us to expand our reach into places where we are currently not known,” said Reader.

Meanwhile, Patel says if students enjoy themselves during Shad, they will be able to spread the word to their classmates in the autumn.

“The students are going to go back to their high schools, they’re going to talk about their wonderful summer experiences with their parents and their friends.”

The program started on June 30 and runs until July 26 with participants working on a design challenge, presenting it near the end of the program.

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