The Shad Experience

Shad is a month-long summer program for Grade 10s and Grade 11s. Students have the opportunity to stay on campus at one of the participating postsecondary institutions across Canada. The program creates interdisciplinary teams to tackle a project with STEAM principles or entrepreneurial skills. The Shad program also offers students opportunities to learn from mentors and guest speakers. Attending Shad also qualifies for a gold project credit as part of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award program.

Over the summer, two Greenwood students attended the Shad program. Here’s a recap of their experiences:

Jake Diehl ‘24 attended Shad at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia. His team’s project brief was to reimagine living spaces in Canada. “Due to this very broad prompt, everyone had a very different and unique project,” says Jake. “My team designed an apartment complex focusing on intergenerational living on a sustainable blueberry farm.” On the weekends, Jake went on Shad excursions to visit different places in and around Kamloops. Some notable sights included waterfalls, Riverside Park and the Historic Hat Creek Ranch. 

Max Xu ‘24 had the opportunity to work with a group of like-minded individuals on a design project while attending lectures hosted by various professors and entrepreneurs. “There’s a reasonably large focus on business, where you can learn about pitching and market research,” says Max. One great aspect of the Shad program for Max was the ability to live on campus for a month and experience some part of university life.

Both Jake and Max highly recommend this experience for anyone interested in spending part of their summer to challenge themselves, apply new skills and make new connections.

Are you a Grade 10 or 11 student and are interested in applying to attend Shad in the summer of 2024? Applications are open now on the Shad website and will close on December 1, 2023.