Stories

Eight workshops bring hands-on education through coding sessions that support STEAM learning

Industry leaders expose students to the strategies and complexities of waste management.

Shad program encourages design thinking through #STEAM4Good

Jay Hamidova brings the power of diversity and inclusivity to her high school in British Columbia to instill change—with a leadership style fueled by her Shad experience.

More entrepreneurs are seeing past their bottom line, realizing that true impact doesn’t just come from profits. Shads reveal that true impact STEAMs from a passion to create a better world.

Soon Kitchener will be flooded with incredible innovators and tech gurus that will headline this year’s True North technology conference and workshop. And among the inventors, CEOs, and researchers who will present on topics like the inception of the world wide web and indigenous data sovereignty, there will be three Shads sharing their expertise on the intersection of social enterprise and technology.

Once again, Shads from all over Canada have been awarded for their leadership and talents in STEAM. Every year, the Schulich Foundation gives 50 scholarships to entrepreneurial-minded high school graduates enrolling in a science, technology, engineering or math program at universities across Canada. They receive $100,000 for engineering streams and $80,000 for science and math programs.

In just 27-days, Shads form bonds with complete strangers, many staying connected long past the shared dorm rooms and early morning lectures. Nearly 12 years ago, at the Dalhousie campus, one Program Assistant, Lucas Parafianowicz, helped his Shads forge friendships by creating a safe space to embrace their individuality. And now his peers are celebrating his legacy.

Megan is fresh off a trip to Norway, where she spent just one-week building, testing, and ultimately launching a rocket from the Andøya Space Centre! She was the only Canadian student chosen alongside 23 others for the Fly a Rocket! program, a collaboration between the European Space Agency and the Andøya Space Centre that hosts post-secondary students from around the world with a passion for space.

Penelope Armstrong and Tamara Chisholm left the Canada-Wide Science Fair as Shad scholarship winners, impressing with their projects that monitored water quality and toxicity. They used STEAM to see firsthand if the water in their communities is safe and free of harmful substances. Find out what winner is training for the Arctic Winter Games and which winner is eager to travel to Thailand and Iceland!

Last week’s Canada-Wide Science Fair was yet another reminder of how students across Canada are inspiring others with STEAM. We awarded three amazing finalists with scholarships to attend Shad 2020: Amy Gudmundson, Tamara Chisholm, and Penelope Armstrong. Amy took some time to answer questions about her project, interests and excitement for Shad!

Jonah Leinwand brought his group’s real-world design project to life using the skills and motivation he gained at Shad. In less than a year, he pitched, designed, researched and tested the product—and after bringing it to two science fairs, he’s ready to do even more.