Kimmie Gulevich, a grade 11 straight A student from Fort St John, was one of a priveleged group of Canadian students chosen to attend Shad Valley 2009. Students spend a month living in residence at a Canadian host university participating in a program that offers academically stimulating, mind expanding adventure to top well-rounded students currently completing grade 10, 11 or 12. What follows is Kimmie's account of her experience at the University of New Brunswick:
Shad Valley is a summer enrichment program, aimed at diversifying ones interests, and opening up opportunities available to high school students. I attended Shad Valley at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton. Along with sixty other grade ten, eleven, and twelve students, I became immersed in science and business.
The Shad Valley program consisted of stimulating daily lectures. The lectures followed weekly themes including team building and making informed decisions, science, and business. The lectures, given by esteemed professors and corporate individuals, broadened our horizons and gave us the necessary knowledge to complete the projects.
Another main component of the Shad Valley Program is the Creative Team Projects. These projects, completed in groups of 15, including innovating, designing, and creating a business plan for a new product or service. This year’s theme was Moral Fibres, based on the International Year of the Natural Fibre. My team designed a medical mask to protect one against smog and air pollutants. The mask, made from natural fibres, also included a novel fastening design, and the use of activated carbon as a filter. This mask, Zenhale, was presented by Valesteem at the UNB presentations, and received second place.
Our project group was divided into four teams: Market Research, Design, Marketing, and Business Plan. I was a member of the Business Plan which consisted of organizing all the information, and creating a forty page business plan outlining Valesteems’ plans for the first five years. As a member of the business team, we also design a financial plan for the first five years of operations.
While Shad Valley was a science and entrepreneurship camp, it also focused on team building, and a balance between work and play. We participated in daily fitness activities, as well as touring local historical sites.
I found the Shad Valley experience to be very enriching, not only in education, but also about myself and others. Putting sixty high school students from across Canada into a building and expecting them to live together for the next month could have had some consequences, but it did not! Together, we all worked to form lifelong friendships that will not cease, despite geographical boundaries. I learned how to work together as a team, focused on one goal. Through our creative team projects, I learned that if one is determined to do something, it will get done. We were given just over two and a half weeks to design a product, and complete an entire business plan. Despite late nights and early mornings, we were all committed to doing the best job possible.
I often found the lectures stimulating, and many presented me with new concepts that challenged my way of thinking. I would highly recommend this program to any student as it broadens not only one’s education but creates opportunities for the student to excel outside the academic curriculum.
I would like to thank Sci-Tech North for sponsoring a portion of my tuition.
Sincerely, Kimmie Gulevich