Nine Shads receive prestigious Schulich Leader Scholarships
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.
To date, some 65 Schulich Leaders are amongst Shad’s alumni network. As always, we remain committed to supporting STEM education across Canada.”
Seymour Schulich who established the scholarship in 2012.
Nine incredible Shads received an award this year:
- Mia Battad
- Maxwell Bauer
- Katie Brown
- Shiloh Burton
- Caleb Lammers
- Tommy Moffat
- Anna Mueller
- Aidan Mundle
- Andrea Stachow
Even though Mia, Caleb, and Aidan are still celebrating, they took the time to share what leaders they look up to and what they’re hoping to accomplish in the future: inspiring women to pursue STEM, studying mathematics and physics, and working towards a greener future.
Mia Battad
University of Manitoba, Science Program
Balmoral High School, Winnipeg, MB
1. How did you feel when you received the news?
I was very much caught off-guard at first. I’ve always felt as though the work I do meets my personal standards, but this award shows that it doesn’t go unrecognized by others. To be able to receive this award absolutely feels like the payoff of my dedication and determination to STEM throughout high school. When I received my scholarship offer, it felt so sudden that I couldn’t even imagine all the ways in which it would change my education and career opportunities—even now, there are all kinds of possibilities waiting for me after graduation that I have yet to discover.
2. What leader do you look up to?
For me, it has always been easier to look up to people I know personally—I can respect their qualities and achievements, but also know them well enough to remember that they’re human and a realistic role model. One leader that I look up to is my computer science teacher. Since I started taking computer science courses in Grade 9, she has been a driving force in my interest in programming. In our class projects, she has always valued our process over our product, encouraging us as students to explore new ways of solving problems and to be creative in applying what we learn, regardless of whether it produces a working program or not. Instead of being preoccupied with having the most complex or impressive projects, in her class, I learned more about dealing with failure, understanding how others solve problems, and challenging myself appropriately. My computer science teacher has used her personal experience to lead by example, teaching us qualities much more vital to a career in computer science than simply the syntax of a programming language.
3. Why are you passionate about STEM and entrepreneurship?
I’ve always been interested in math and science, but it truly became a passion when I started coding as a hobby in middle school—at this time, I didn’t know that what I was doing was considered “coding,” or that coding and computer science are areas in which women are underrepresented. Learning about other women in computer science inspired me to pursue it as a career. Especially as a graduate of a girls’ school, I place great importance in my position as a role model for young girls. Because I, fortunately, have always been in a supportive environment, I hope to be a leader for girls with the same interest in STEM that are less encouraged to consider it as a career.
4. What was your biggest takeaway from Shad?
The way Shad promotes teamwork and co-operative mindsets has been invaluable to me. In my Shad group project, I worked to create an organization to increase Canadian communities’ resilience to natural disasters with five other students, each with unique specialties, qualifications, and opinions. Being that we all had our own ideas and plans to contribute, it was somewhat of a balancing act to try to incorporate everybody in our group; however, we all shared the common goal of creating a product we could be proud of. As we worked together on our project, we became better at adapting to each other’s habits and work styles, becoming a more tolerant, discussion-friendly group. Through this project, I learned different ways of conflict resolution and mediation among people with equally strong opinions, as well as to have more confidence in myself, my contributions, and my role in a group.
5. What would you like to accomplish in the future?
The primary reason that I want to pursue computer science is to solve problems. I want to use my experience and passion for computer science, as well as the opportunities I will have access to due to the Schulich Leader scholarship, to create new technology that helps others less privileged than me. Given how quickly technology can change society, I may end up working in a career that doesn’t even exist yet! No matter where I end up though, I want to continue inspiring young women in need of somebody to look up to. I hope to help spark the next generation of capable, confident, and unapologetic women in STEM.
Caleb Lammers
University of Toronto, Science Program
St. Ignatius Secondary School, Thunder Bay, ON
1. How did you feel when you received the news?
Finding out I was selected as a 2019 Schulich Leader was a very surreal experience. After a fairly normal day at school, I had just gotten home and walked upstairs to my room. Then, I saw an email pop up on my phone which had “Schulich Leader” in the subject line. Thinking it was another update on the selection process, I opened it without speculating too much. When I saw it was from the University of Toronto, I began to wonder why I was being contacted, but my thoughts were interrupted by the line that read “Congratulations.” Quickly, I was on my feet yelling in excitement. I rushed downstairs to tell my dad. I was overwhelmed with feelings of surprise, excitement, and awe. For the rest of the evening, I enjoyed the company of family and went for a long relaxing walk, and truthfully, it never quite felt real.
2. What leader do you look up to?
One leader that I personally look up to is scientist Richard Feynman. However, he is not the type of leader you may expect. He didn’t march armies into battle, found companies, or even work on many teams at all. Rather, he was an incredible physicist, and above all, an extraordinary teacher. In fact, his famous lectures inspired everyone present in his often-overflowing lecture hall. More than anything, Richard Feynman was passionate about sharing his curiosity about the world with everyone he met. His lessons were a marvel to behold, engaging and filled with ingenious analogies. You see, he led others by being a passionate teacher and inspiring many along the way. I hope to one-day influence those around me as Feynman did. One of the biggest contributors to Feynman’s teaching brilliance was his incredibly deep knowledge. Being a teacher tests the gaps within your own knowledge. Feynman used to take difficult concepts and continue to break them down until he could explain it easily to a child, a learning trick aptly known as the “Feynman Technique.” I love understanding ideas on a deep level and I look up to the way Feynman consistently challenged his own knowledge through teaching.
3. Why are you passionate about STEM and entrepreneurship?
My love for STEM comes from my curiosity about the world and how things work. Truly, the mysterious properties of nature are fascinating. It is amazing to me how the tools developed from careful thought and reasoning – that is, mathematics, can be used to quantify physical phenomena. Even incredibly complex systems, such as language, can often be represented using mathematics. This never fails to impress me, and I genuinely hope to be challenged by interesting science and mathematics for the rest of my life. Using these tools to create something new, as is often done in engineering and technology, is an incredibly rewarding experience. In reality, it is one of the few opportunities in life to start with nothing and create something completely new. Entrepreneurship, too, involves the unique experience of building something from the ground up. Working to turn a passion into something bigger than yourself is a humbling experience that I hope to continue to be involved with in the future.
4. What was your biggest takeaway from Shad?
My biggest takeaway from Shad was, without a doubt, the teamwork and leadership skills I learned. Honestly, I have never been surrounded by so many bright and friendly people my age, all united by similar interests. As the activities and lectures I was involved with at Shad begin to grow fuzzy in my mind, I will never forget the friends I made over the month at Carleton University. The experience of working on a novel Design-Entrepreneurship project has been invaluable to me ever since. The supportive environment within my DE group at Shad is something I try to recreate in all teams I am involved with. Shad showed me not only the incredible work I was capable of, but also how much can be accomplished as a part of a team. In four short weeks, I learned more about hard work, balance, and teamwork than I could have ever anticipated. These lessons have prepared me for future endeavours in a way that is hard to put into words, all while making the best friends I could ask for.
5. What would you like to accomplish in the future?
In the future, I hope to continue developing my passions within STEM, especially in the fields of mathematics and physics. Being a Schulich Leader gives me the opportunity to prioritize what is important to me and opens new doors that were not available to me before. Though I am not exactly sure what the future has in store for me, I hope to remain a passionate learner and to get involved with important research within STEM. I also wish to further my passions for teaching others and problem-solving. With these goals in mind, I imagine that I will be involved in education for many years to come. No matter where I end up, I am thankful for the opportunities provided to me by both Shad and the Schulich Leader Scholarships and I would not be here without the endless support of friends and family.
Aidan Mundle
University of British Columbia, Engineering Program
Albert College, Belleville, ON
1. How did you feel when you received the news?
I was completely caught off-guard. I received a call from someone in Vancouver during my lunch break on a Thursday, and when I answered, he introduced himself as director of admissions at UBC. He said they would be pleased to offer the Schulich Leader Scholarship to me at UBC! At this point, I involuntarily sank to one knee, and was completely shocked! I was not expecting the award and am still getting over it!
2. What leader do you look up to?
There are some amazing leaders at Gould Lake Outdoor Center, where I participate in adventure trips into the wilderness. They have perfected the art of leading in a very niche environment, and I have modeled many of my leadership qualities from them. I also felt that the leadership displayed by my Shad leaders was incredible. It is no easy task to immediately have the respect and admiration of 80 teenagers, but somehow, the Shad UNB 2017 leadership team pulled it off!
3. Why are you passionate about STEM and entrepreneurship?
I really became passionate about learning when I attended Shad. I was always a naturally curious student, and Shad really elevated my expectations for what I could be learning. I was even able to go to the Canada-Wide Science Fair with a project that stemmed from Shad discussions. I owe my passion to wonderful mentors and teachers who allowed me to see why STEM is amazing.
4. What was your biggest takeaway from Shad?
I think that Shad really gave me increased confidence in my own ideas. I felt completely comfortable throwing ideas into the ring to be talked about and fleshed out. I gained more confidence about collaborating on projects and learned the value of great teammates. I truly became excited about learning after Shad. I was able to meet like-minded people who shared the same passions I did. That experience has contributed to my success.
5. What would you like to accomplish in the future?
I hope to innovate and invent. I can see myself working towards a sustainable, eco-friendly future. I could possibly work in climate change mitigation, helping people cope with the new and difficult situation that we may find ourselves in. I don’t know what the future will hold, and I can hardly begin to guess.
