Celebrating the Shad alum named 2023 Schulich Leaders – Zachary Xie
Q: How does it feel to be named a Schulich Leader?
Being a Schulich Leader is about being a leader and changemaker in STEM industries, so it makes me very happy that I have been nominated for this position. It makes me proud of my capabilities and the activities that I have done in the past and motivates me to keep on going with my endeavors in the future.
Q: What motivates your passion for STEAM/Entrepreneurship?
Whenever engaging in STEAM/Entrepreneurship related activities, one of my favorite aspects is problem solving. Identifying a problem, say, in my code when I am programming a robot, motivates me to take any necessary steps to solve the problem, and further develop my skills within this area. This can be extrapolated to a bigger scope – there is a seemingly endless amount of possibilities of things that can be done with STEAM education, making it key to solving problems and issues in our lives and our communities. With numerous inventions and scientific breakthroughs changing our society for the better, it only motivates me to step up and become a leader to develop these technologies.
Q: How do you plan to use STEAM for good?
As artificial intelligence is rapidly evolving, I aim to study and work with technology related to artificial intelligence, as it is a highly powerful tool that can solve problems and increase efficiency in many different areas. However, artificial intelligence can potentially be harmful, especially if it ends up taking people’s jobs or does something malicious unintentionally, so I would like to be a leader in the development of artificial intelligence to ensure that this does not happen.
Q: What lessons would you share with incoming Shads?
One lesson that I would like to share is that you should learn from others – at Shad, you will meet many other amazing individuals with many different backgrounds and experiences. It will be great to share your expertise and experiences with each other – maybe you will gain a new point of view or an interest in something you never knew about before!
