The morning started out with going down to breakfast at Howe Hall and frantically trying to beat the morning rush. Finding a table to sit at is an art skill onto itself, only few can do it. Finding a table to sit at is like winning $2 on a scratch and win card – pure happiness. After eating breakfast, all the Shads made sure to get to the MacMechan Room before 9:00:00:00 am. Notice all of the zeroes; “Shad Standard Time” is no joking matter.
Our morning lectures were on Oceanography and “The Cloudy Future” of advancing computer technology. I am amazed everyday at how many people participate in group discussions during lectures. It is a stark contrast to what I am used to at my school, where only three students and the teacher contribute. After morning lectures we went to the field to play a “friendly” game of dodgeball. I will set the record straight here: geeks are good at sports. Apparently to the 2010 Dal Shads, dodgeball is not just any sport . . . it is a lifestyle.
After lunch I attended a seminar about how to engineer our product. The time we had to talk to the lecturer, Tim, was invaluable. I walked away from the seminar knowing how my house team would actually create our prototype. Due to strict rules from my house team (who much like all the other Shads, are highly protective of their products) I will not divulge what our product is.
We had an evening lecture by Dr. Mary Anne White who talked about different types of materials out there to use for our prototype. The highlight was when she made us all homemade frozen yogurt from liquid nitrogen.
The picture below is a picture of my house team doing research for our product. We recently discovered that team dynamics requires everybody’s effort. Do not let this picture deceive you though. It may look as if we are all very studious, however this is not always the case. Minutes after I took the picture they started blasting Katy Perry and commenced to quizzing every house member (guys included) to see who was most compatible to Justin Beiber, according to the magazine. I am proud that my house is realizing we can still have fun and create a product we are all proud of.
I realize that even though Shad is a science and technology enrichment program, there are so many non-science and technology lessons to be learned here. I have learned that there is no “hero” within a team. Most importantly, I have learned that in order for a group to experience success they must also experience failure. So Dear future Shad, I wish you all the best throughout your application process. You may now go back to editing your essay.
Allison Lui, Shad Valley Dalhousie University 2010
Hometown: Vancouver, British Columbia
