“Shad Valley is not a summer camp. It is an academic program with focus on entrepreneurship, business, science, and engineering.”
As with every day in Shad, I woke up in the morning not knowing what to expect. This is an intentional part of the program, as it ensures that every day is a new adventure, an adventure that is full of surprises. What I will tell you now is an account of one day, with specific focus on what interested me the most, and why.
After a sumptuous breakfast, we retreated to the ‘Ravine Room,’ which is a room in the basement of Hedden Hall in Mcmaster. There, two of our PA’s (program assistants) designed, and had us participate in, the World Trade Activity. At first, we did not know what it was, as we were only given a few instructions. We were divided up into different countries, and were given an envelope. I was India, and our envelope contained a sheet of paper containing a template of the dimensions of different shapes, as well as blank sheets of paper, and glue. Then we were told to start the game. As you can imagine, it was very difficult to play a game in which we were given basically no instructions. We had to figure it out on our own. Soon after the game had begun, the ‘World Bank’ opened. Run by two PA’s, it was a place where you could cut out shapes in the blank paper using the template as a guide. We could then deposit these shapes to the world bank for varying amounts of money, which differed each day (approximately 20 minutes). The bank also gave out interest and loans. We could also purchase different materials that made it easier to earn more money, such as scissors or extra paper. The object of the game was to earn the most money. We later found out that different countries received different amounts of resources. USA and Canada received the most resources. The most interesting aspect of the game was that there was one country (Mozambique), which had all girls, and another country (Tanzania) which had all guys. They each received the same amount of resources. In the end, Mozambique ended up winning the game, while Tanzania threatened to bomb the UN and was forbidden to trade with the World Bank.
After lunch, we had a very unique workshop in which we were given a medical case study, and had to diagnose the subject based on the evidence. This was a very complicated, challenging, and fun workshop. I personally respected the fact that this was exactly the kind of activity that we would do in university and medical school, and it gave me something to work up to.
The rest of the day consisted of our normal schedule. But it was these two activities that really made the day unique for me. Every Shad Valley day is like this, and that is the number one reason, why I enjoy this program so much.
Deepak Venkatesh, Shad Valley McMaster University 2010
Hometown: Surrey, British Columbia
