Manitoulin Island student receives $70K scholarship
Alexandra Wilson-Zegil is one of 20 recipients from across Canada receiving up to $70,000 over four years for her post-secondary education through the TD Scholarship for Community Leadership program. Wilson-Zegil was chosen for the scholarship thanks to her work in bringing technology to youth and seniors on Manitoulin Island. The Grade 12 Manitoulin Secondary Student […]
We’re Not Short on Talent—We’re Short on Activation
Shad Canada doesn’t believe our country has a talent problem—we have an activation problem. And nowhere is that clearer than in the disconnect between the untapped potential of our youth and the country’s worsening productivity crisis. The economic warning lights are flashing red. According to the OECD’s latest Economic Survey released this week, Canada’s GDP […]
2025 Loran Scholars
When Shad Alums Charlotte Bolduc, Chioma Ezeonyejiaku, Joti Gokaraju, Rocky Sloan, and Shravya Verma heard they had been named Loran Scholars, they felt an enormous sense of accomplishment at having been recognized for the positive impact they were having in their communities. The scholarship provides these future leaders with a $100,000 investment in their undergraduate […]
Shad Alum Daniel Urquhart’s Journey of Authenticity and Leading with Pride in Tech
Shad alum Daniel Urquhart deeply values the impact of role models. Reflecting on his experience working in tech as a gay man, he credits his openly LGBTQ2S+ colleagues—especially those in leadership—for showing him that being authentic was not only accepted but valued. Now, as Director of Software Programs at Alert Labs, Daniel is committed to […]
Shad Canada Marks 45 Years of Impact With New Report: A Blueprint for Canada’s Innovation Economy
Waterloo, ON — In celebration of Innovation Week, Shad Canada is proud to release its 45 Years of Impact report, a milestone reflection on the national program’s legacy of empowering the next generation of Canadian innovators. Since 1980, Shad has transformed the lives of over 24,000 high school students through immersive, hands-on STEAM and entrepreneurship […]
Tim Jackson to be awarded honorary doctorate recognizing years of achievement
Tim Jackson (BA’92), FCPA, FCA, a sessional lecturer at Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business, will be awarded an honorary doctorate at this year’s spring convocation. Since graduating from the University of Waterloo with a Bachelor of Accounting, Jackson has had significant success in the entrepreneurial world. Some of his notable achievements include co-founding Tech […]
Engineering Change: Luna Yin’s Journey from Shad to Harvard
When Luna Yin arrived on campus as a freshman environmental engineering student at Harvard University last fall, she was filled with excitement as she took in her new surroundings at one of North America’s most iconic academic institutions. Though she had long been working towards a post-secondary experience that included time in a prestigious program, […]
RDP & Shad Canada Sign MOU to Empower the Leaders of Tomorrow
Red Deer Polytechnic (RDP) has become the first polytechnic to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Shad Canada, a summer enrichment program for high-achieving high school students, to advance STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math). “We are very excited to partner with Shad Canada and provide grade 10 and 11 high school students with […]
Shad Alum shares how he’s using his skills as a Software Engineer to harness AI to improve Canadian healthcare
When Michel Bourgeois was diagnosed with an incurable health condition, he experienced firsthand the shortcomings of the country’s overextended healthcare system. Rather than accept the status quo, he saw an opportunity to put his skills as a software engineer to work and created Delphi, an AI powered healthcare tool that streamlines the diagnostic and referral […]
How One Shad Parent’s Donation is Providing Opportunity for Deserving Students
For Meghan Sharir, donating to Shad carries an emotional resonance that stems from her own experience witnessing the program’s impact on her daughter, Zoë, and the lives of the students with whom Zoë shared one of the most significant summers of her life. Shad Donor Meghan Sharir with her daughter, Zoë, who attended Shad in […]
Shad Alum shares how social good motivates her work in AI
Olivia Cao always aspired to contribute something meaningful to the world. Now as a software engineer helping to develop the latest in AI technology at Meta, she’s making a difference through her work on technological advances shaping the future. Shad 2013 Alum, Olivia Cao She hadn’t always seen herself in the tech field. Inspired by […]
Shad Alum shares the importance of Black Leadership and how it shapes his STEAM goals
As Vice President of the Black Student Association at his high school in Brampton, Ontario, Adrian McCalla has spent weeks preparing for Black History Month. Celebrating the contributions of Black Canadians to the country and the world is something he tries to do every day, but having the opportunity every February to celebrate Black Excellence […]