Shad@Mac Highlights: Day 2

Disclaimer: I apologize for not being able to update this blog as much as I'd like to. Shad Valley has been a very intensive program thus far - running from 7 A.M. in the morning to 10:00 P.M. in the evening. Anyways, here is an update on what happened during Day 2 of Shad@Mac. I will post Day 3, Day 4, and the remaining days when I get the chance. Thank you all for your patience!

Day 2:  This was the first full-day of Shad Valley at McMaster. To my frustration, the sounds of birds chirping awakened me at 6:15 in the morning. Still tired, I cupped my ears with my pillow and went back to sleep. 15 minutes later, at 6:30, me and my roommates slipped out of bed unable to stand anymore of the annoying birds' endless chirping outside our window.

The program day officially began at 7:15; my roommate and I went downstairs at Hedden to assemble with the remaining Shads in the Ravine Room. There, we went off to breakfast at Centros where we were served omelets, bacon, sausage, and potatoes.


After the meal, we went to Hamilton Hall where we were given a lecture by Dr. Robert Fleisig - an engineering prof at the University. The topic of lecture was The Design Process. In a nutshell, he taught us that The Design Process consisted of 3 important steps:

1. Get to know your teammates. You can't design a successful project if you don't know the people who you're working with. Get to know your teammates; find out more about their strengths, weaknesses, talents etc. and put them to good use!
2. Think before you act, and act on what you believe.  Before jumping the gun to build your project, take some time off to think about the final product - what will it look like? What are its shapes and dimensions? After you have that figured out, draw the final product on paper so you and your group have an idea on the goal you're striving to create.

3. Build the project!! No explanation required here :P

Where the Lecture Took Place - Hamilton Hall

After being taught The Design Process, all the Shads were then divided into groups of 3 and asked to build a spaghetti tower using a strip of masking tape and 20 pieces of spaghetti. The tallest spaghetti tower built within a 5 minute deadline would be crowned the winner.  Unfortunately, the spaghetti tower my group built imploded on itself like the World Trade Centre during 9/11 by the time Dr. Fleisig came around to measure the height. Damn you gravity!!

After the lecture and workshop on The Design Process, all the Shads then headed back to Centro for lunch.  After lunch, in the afternoon, all the Shads went on a school bus, which took us to one of the hundreds of waterfalls in Hamilton. There, we went on a nature hike and learned about the different types of rock, organisms, and plants surrounding the waterfall. Here are some pictures from the trip:

School bus ride to Hamilton Falls

School Bus Ride Part 2/ Fancy School Bus With Speakers

Erosion of  Trees Due to Water Flow From the Waterfall

The Whomping Willow

A Waterfall in Hamilton (Side View)

Thumbs Up for Waterfalls! :D

Lighting Bolt

After the invigorating hike, we returned to McMaster and had rec time. The options were to play either Ultimate Frisbee or Capture the Flag for an hour. An hour later, when all the Shads were sweaty and tired from the aerobic exercise, everyone went back to Centros for one last time to have supper!  After that, at around 6:30 P.M., we returned to Hedden Hall to host our evening activities (which I can't remember right now off the top of my head - my apologies). Finally at 9:30 P.M., we had some free time, and all the Shads went to play their favourite card game/board game for the remaining hour.  Just like that, the extremely exhausting but exhilarating day came to a close and at 10:30, we all returned to our rooms so we can sleep and rejuvenate for the next day. 

Day 1: Perfection is Not a Reality

After eagerly anticipating today for more than three months, it finally arrived - the first day of Shad Valley. For those of you who are not familiar, Shad Valley is an intensive summer enrichment program for students interested in the math and sciences. Carrying a fully-loaded suitcase, two heavy backpacks, and a suit (for formal events), I eagerly left my house to catch the Go Bus. Two hours later, I arrived at McMaster.

When I arrived at around 3:00 P.M., I was greeted by a group of very enthusiastic staff including Program Assistants and the Program Director, Kingsley. They gave me, as well as a group of other Shads, a tour of the McMaster campus that included the Medical Building (MDCL), the Engineering Building, the Humanties Building, and of course the Student Centre. After the tour, me as well as the other Shads introduced ourselves to each other and we played a couple of ice-breaker games to get to know one another.


Then, at 5:00P.M., Kinglsey told us to head to Centros (McMaster's Food Court) where we were served grilled fish, chicken balls, spring rolls, rice, ice cream, salad, and chocolate-cream pie - YUM!

Finally, the program officially began after dinner. All the Shads went back to Hedden Hall (our residence for the remainder of the Program) and we all went down to the Meeting Room, where we learned our first of many lessons: perfection is not a reality. Although this may sound strange, I beg you to hear me out for a second. Nobody is perfect, but as ambitious students, we always strive to become perfect.  Take myself as an example. I have a problem, you see; I am a procrastinating perfectionist. What does that mean? Basically, I like to leave everything until the last minute and then stress myself out to make everything perfect (or as perfect as possible).  Assignments, projects, test, you name it! I leave everything right up until the last night and then expect to pull an all-nighter and get 100% the next day. However, I learned a valuable lesson today: perfection is not a reality. There is no such thing as "perfect" and we all should stop trying to be perfect. Now, don't take this the wrong way; all I'm trying to say is that we should strive for excellence instead of perfection.  Excellence refers to bringing out the best of yourself with the limited time and resources you have. With that said, stop chasing perfection! The chase for perfection is a fool's game because perfection simply does not exist. Instead, pursue excellence - use the resources and time you have wisely and produce your best work.  This is one of the keys to lifelong success.

Anyway, it's 1:05 A.M. and I should probably catch some Zzz's as I need to wake up before six tomorrow for the 5km morning jog . Remember, don't fall into the trap believing perfection is a reality, as this will only stress yourself out. Instead, pursue excellence!

Good night and I'll see you all tomorrow with Day 2. :P

My room where I will be sleeping.  Zzzzzzzzzzz.