Today at Shad Waterloo, it was unlike any other day. It was the one day where you could sleep in until noon without having a Program Assistant hunting you down to see if something horribly wrong had happened to you.
With the design projects done and the entire morning designated as free time, many of the Shads had spent the previous night staying up late celebrating and decided to take advantage of the late start of the day’s scheduled activities by emerging from their rooms a few hours later than usual. Personally, I got up early to go for a run before breakfast and then spent most of the morning lounging on the patio outside of our residence.
By the time lunch had rolled around, most of the Shads were up and about. Many of them turned it into a working lunch, putting the finishing touches on their posters for the workshops, which we presented right afterwards. There were workshops on business negotiations, marketing, circuits, magic, the mind, geometric sculptures (mine!) and water. The presentations were a great opportunity to show everyone what we’d been doing all week, with our colourful posters and dazzling visual displays.
Immediately following that, we moved into a session called “This Week and Beyond”, which meant “designing our futures”. We discussed everything from plans for university to job searching to etiquette in the classroom and workplace. Despite being a bit groggy, a lot of the Shads seemed to be really engaged in the discussion and gained plenty of practical information. After that, the PAs assembled onstage for their panel, answering questions about their experiences as university students. Somehow, the discussion began to revolve around doing dishes, but it was useful information all the same.
After a dinner of baked ham, we headed up a floor to the chapel for a presentation by guest speakers, and sisters, Debbe Crandall and Sarah Haney. For the first half of the presentation, Debbe talked about the Oak Ridges Moraine and various conservation efforts to preserve it. Halfway through, Debbe and Sarah switched places, with Sarah discussing protecting whale populations. Once the Shads’ questions had been asked and answered and the speakers had been thanked, we all went off on her preferred mode of reflection, whether that meant a quiet stroll around campus, group discussions or scribbling down thoughts in a journal.
Tomorrow is the birthday of someone very special at Shad Waterloo: our Program Director, Ed Jernigan! We celebrated his birthday a day early and as we munched on brownie cake, we were treated to a surprise performance from the Water Boys, the all male acapella group at UW, who left the crowd of Shads awestruck and screaming for an encore.
There is currently a massive thunderstorm outside right now, but I think I might head to bed early tonight (for once). Even though the design projects are over, the hard work and stress have only just begun. Over these next few days, we’ve got monthbooks and Open Day displays and Variety Night preparations to worry about—not to mention the fact that in less than a week, we’ll be forced to say goodbye to one another and spread ourselves across the country and beyond. It’s hard to believe that we only have a few short days until our Shad experience comes to an end.
At the beginning of the month, they talk about how time at Shad is non-linear and you don’t really get it, but as your time at Shad goes by, some days end up feeling like weeks and some go by in a blink of an eye. Right now, I can’t help but wish time would just slow down. One of the things Ed has said repeatedly over the past few weeks is that it is up to us to get the most out of our Shad experience and I guess the same is true of our final days at Shad: it’s up to us to make those last few days count. So rather than dwelling on the anxiety that’s been building up since the halfway point for me, I am determined to concentrate on living every last second here at Waterloo to its fullest extent and to end an unforgettable experience with an unforgettable week.
Caitlin Loo, Shad Valley University of Waterloo 2010
Hometown: North York, Ontario
