July 25 – Day 25

Wow! I can't believe today was the penultimate day at Shad Valley (and one of the last days together before our parents arrive)! Time has sped by, and it feels as though I've only just arrived.

Today started off as usual - breakfast. Today's was more enjoyable than yesterday's because everyone had finished stressing out about our projects.

Pod groups then “debriefed”. Mine started with a birthday hug for our Program Assistant James!!!! We then sat to discuss our feelings and what we'd learned. I'm so proud of us for our group dynamics, and for working hard on an extremely difficult task (and winning Best Prototype)! Neil suggested we each take a turn addressing each other member. This discussion was so heartfelt, and our group dynamics are something I will always treasure - I was really lucky to be grouped with my pod. I love them to Mars and back!

Next it was lunch, some presentations, rec, dinner, choir practice and preparation of display boards for Open Day.

As crazy as Shad Valley has been, I've loved it and all of my new friends - but I'm actively looking forward to eating some real food. :)

Jessie Hallett, Shad Valley McMaster 2012

July 24 – Day 24

Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock. I intently watch the needle on my watch as it strikes 1:00, wishing it would magically stay still for a long, long while. I can still vividly remember the first day; the warm welcome and friendly smiles had me anticipate what was to come for the next 27 days. “Creativity, challenge and community,” summarized our Program Director Ed Jernigan. Indeed, every instant truly captivated my heart. Now that Shad Valley 2012 is coming to an end, I cannot help but think of all the bittersweet memories we will treasure.

This morning, we worked in a group of three on a special design project: a mini-golf hole themed on dancing! (We finished our design project last Friday.) After lunch, we had an amazing speaker on “Powerful Presentation Skills” who talked about social psychology, the principle of distraction, optimal times to ask professors for extensions and so much more! At 8:30 P.M., we had Warm Fuzzies with our house groups.

Thinking back, it’s unbelievable how the past week went by much more quickly than the first few days. This once in a lifetime experience has been more than what I could have ever imagined.

Alice Kim, Shad Valley Waterloo 2012

July 24 – Day 24

As the end of our month-long journey draws near, the Shads seem to be under more stress than ever, rather than enjoying their last days together. In preparation for the house projects, committee projects and variety show, eating and sleeping has become secondary for most, if it hasn’t already.

We were given the whole morning to work on these tasks, which held large amounts of value among the procrastinators (of which there were many). After a productive three hours of working, fueled by leftover Caf food and intermittent napping, we participated in the Shad Olympics.

Competing in a series of relay races, including the wheelbarrow, egg-and-spoon and sponge races, we racked up points for our respective Rec teams and worked up a big appetite for the President’s event later that night.

After an amazing dinner and brief walk around the Rose Garden, the Shads walked back to Totem Park Residence. Navigating through the chaos and stress, the Shads slept (relatively) early in preparation for their big event tomorrow – the Entrepreneurship Cup!

Jeremy Gungabeesoon, Shad Valley UBC 2012

July 23 – Day 23

It was the best of times, it was the Shadliest of times. We finally received feedback on our final projects, and we have decided which project we are to send to the inter-campus competition in Waterloo in October. As the program is winding down, there is a visible shift from the stresses of project and committee work to a more relaxed atmosphere. The Shads are starting to let their hair down. All is quiet on our not-so-western front.

The members of the Shad Valley Queen’s community are recovering from the stupendous maelstrom that was a shaving-cream and water-balloon fight after our shad Olympiad. Rehearsals for both our variety-show play and an immensely secret operation that I am not aloud to talk about went well. I probably have said too much already.

Moving on. Today we had lectures in two very different topics. The first being stem-cell research and application, and the second being civil engineering. The first was particularly interesting to me, though they were both very good. I was surprised by the lack of ethical discussion, but rather thankful as it meant we could talk about more science.

I’m running out of steam very quickly, so I will have to cut this entry short. I’ll end on a bit of a clichéd (but none-the-less important) note. As we have limited time left, let’s make these last few days the most memorable. Cheers everyone!

William Gertler, Shad Valley Queen’s 2012

July 23 – Day 23

As the days are looming closer to the end of Shad Valley, activities at Lakehead are becoming more and more chaotic.

Today, after an overnight experience completing the business plan for their Entrepreneurship Cup projects, the Shads at Lakehead were rewarded with no activities until 1:55 p.m. in order to accommodate the little or lack of sleep amongst all the Shads hastily trying to finish their lengthy business plans to be presented to the judges.

With fatigued faces and exhausted bodies, we were told by our schedules that we were going on a field trip to “Cosmo Pops”, however, no Program Assistants or the Program Director were willing to explain what this field trip was about. All the Shads were having numerous discussions and predictions about where the destination of this field trip was, with rumours from an ice cream factory tour to shopping at a mall. When we got on our busses and arrived to the movie theatre, we found out that we were going to see The Dark Knight Rises!

When the movie was over and everyone had become reawakened, we headed back to the campus for dinner and were informed by Sultan Siddiqui, our Program Director, on how to properly create and present our Cup presentation in front of the judges tomorrow. After that, we had time to work on our presentations and project-display boards.

The last three weeks at Shad Valley have flown by in unforgettable memories and we are all currently in a state of sadness, which we know will become even greater as Shad Valley draws to a close in the next few days. However, we know that we will all keep in touch and will together endeavour to be the leaders of tomorrow.

Munaza Saleem, Shad Valley Lakehead 2012

July 22 – Day 22

At Shad Valley Laval, Sunday is the sleep-in day. On sleep-in days, Shads are allowed to get up later than the usual wakeup time of 7:30 a.m. Because I had a disturbingly little amount of sleep during the previous week, I overslept this morning. Breakfast is generally placed outside our dorms in the common hallway in baskets of fruits, croissants, or granola bars. Unfortunately, by the time I got to the hallway, all the food had been taken. On the bright side, however, I heard the food was not that good.

Today is the last day before the Shads at Laval present their final project to a panel of judges, all of whom have never seen our previous presentations before. We had the entire day to work and perfect our project. Some groups were done and were well into the stages of rehearsal while others, like mine, were hoping for a miracle to happen. To help us prepare for the apocalypse (tomorrow’s presentations), the Program Assistants offered mock presentations where they could give us feedback on our work up to date. I will now be leaving for the rehearsal. Wish us luck!

P.S. I hate French keyboards...

Zhiheng Zeng, Shad Valley Laval 2012

July 22 – Day 22

Though the days here at Shad Valley have been long, I will be the first to admit they have never been quite as long as today. As our curfew was extended, for most, the day began at 12:00 and still has not ended. Across Canada, screams of frustration, shortly followed by cheering could be heard, as our abilities to be innovative, while managing time, were put to the test.

While everyone was told that they had to be in bed by 1:00, determination forced many to work through the entire night. Stress levels rose in the morning, as printers ran out of ink and bodies became too tired to stay awake… Today, I finally understood what former Shads meant when they said, “Week three will be the most stressful week of your life.”

Though I have never felt more exhausted in my life, I have never felt so proud either. The happiness I felt this morning at 10:00 as my Creative Team group passed in our final business plan and prototype was unlike anything I have ever felt before. It was an incredible moment when eight students felt as though they were one, as though they were a family.

Maike van Niekerk, Shad Valley UNB 2012