This Lakehead Leader Award Winner is Someone to Look Up to

On the road to success, some people sprint up the corporate ladder, while others extend that ladder behind them, lifting those who need help.

Brandon Rehfuhs, a Master of Science in Management student, offers a firm grip for those coming up behind him because he believes his purpose is to share his knowledge and experience.

The impact he’s had on and off campus hasn’t gone unnoticed.

Brandon received a 2025 Lakehead Leader Award in the Luminary category. The university’s Student Success Centre recognized him with this honour for his success in spearheading projects that address community needs through entrepreneurship.

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Welcoming High School Students to Lakehead

In 2022, Brandon started working as a program assistant with Shad Canada as another way of giving back.

Shad is an immersive mentorship and entrepreneurship program for high school students that takes place on university campuses. It’s focused on young people who want to make a difference in the fields of science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics.

“I love being able to teach the amazing students going into Grade 11 and 12 who come to the program for the month of July,” says Brandon, who recently became the program coordinator for Shad Lakehead.

For ‘Pitch Day!’, he matched entrepreneurial students with business mentors who could help them develop their ideas and pitch them to a panel of judges.

“I’ve gotten messages from past students who are now in university about how the Shad program affected them and helped them grow,” he says.