Shad Valley is many things – a transformational journey, an exploration in to the worlds of science and business, a preview of university life, a wealth of opportunities, a month with little sleep, a community, a chance to be humbled by incredible peers, and an opportunity for growth, not to mention a lot of fun. I’ve spent time thinking about which of the many facets of Shad are most important, and I’ve come to this conclusion: Shad is incredible because of the values it teaches and embodies within every part of the program.

I attended Shad at the University of New Brunswick (UNB), in Fredericton, you guessed it, New Brunswick. This was a very special year for UNB as this is the 225^th year it has been an established university, and the 25^th consecutive year it’s been a Shad campus. The University of New Brunswick is built nearly entirely out of brick, with the exception of a single stone building. Winding paths weave through impressive vine covered buildings, trees and lush grass at this gently sloping campus.

This year UNB truly demonstrated excellence, one of Shad’s five values. UNB amped up their Shad program by providing fun labs, fascinating lectures, fantastic field trips and inspirational faculty. All the participants rose to the occasion by reaching outside of their comfort zones and working hard. We attended multiple lectures each day, participated in a full week of labs, built robots which competed against each other in a robotics tournament, went on two camping trips infused with history and culture, took the hardest test ever, built Rube Goldberg machines, organized a variety show, and worked together on creative team projects which focused on solving a real world problem.

I feel extremely lucky to have been sent to UNB  not only because I got to visit a new place and culture but because the Shad staff and programming was simply phenomenal there. The directors, staff and program assistants brought so much to my experience in the way of insight, expertise, kindness, guidance and inspiration.

Shad creates an extraordinarily accepting and safe atmosphere which allowed all of us to share our talents, take risks, and challenge ourselves without fearing ridicule or (much) embarrassment. In fact, many nights we had themed talent shows called Late Nights where not only many talents were revealed, but amateur performances were encouraged. We build community, another Shad Valley value, by treating everyone equally, and clapping for each other constantly. Each of us had a connection with every other person there, and the many friendships that were born will be dearly cherished.

I really enjoyed the number of opportunities Shad gave us to be creative. Even though Shad has a science/business focus there was a great appreciation for everyone’s varied talents. Late nights provided an opportunity to showcase musical ability, while the Shad Tiles we made to introduce ourselves provided us a chance to express ourselves artistically. Daily activities were also designed to require our creative input.

Our creative team (CT) design projects required a lot of creative energy as well. This year’s theme was Designing for Canada’s Aging Population. We thought of real life problems relating to the theme and came up with innovative ways to solve them. At UNB we broke into eight groups, each with their own problem to tackle – labelled everything from “forgetting” to “loss of independence” to “unrecognized potential” (that was my group!) We had just over a week to turn a problem in to a product or service, develop a business plan, marketing plan, promotional materials, a prototype, a website, a logo and a company to offer it; and to prepare a ten minute pitch. This process taught us how to work under pressure, what goes in to a business proposal, the importance of being environmentally and socially responsible (another shad value) and the steps it takes to be an entrepreneur.

The last Shad value I have to tell you about is diversity. During every activity, lecture and project we participated in, the variety in people’s backgrounds was a great asset. One of Ian’s, co-director of Shad Valley UNB, strongest messages is to surround yourself with good people, especially people who are better than you. This was very much the case, but our differences brought strength to our Creative Teams, and initiated many interesting conversations. We also held a Cultural Night to honour and learn about everyone’s culture and heritage.

I am very grateful I was given the opportunity  to  attend Shad Valley UNB 2010. I would like to thank the Kootenay Association of Science and Technology (KAST), School District 5 Southeast Kootenay, The Gwyn Morgan & Patricia Trottier Foundation and Cranbrook Rotary Club for financial assistance.