SHAD Students Visit Hospital and Health Research Institute

For the ninth consecutive summer, the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (our Hospital) and its research arm, the Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute welcomed a group of gifted high school students in the exclusive SHAD program, exposing them to potential careers in health care and patient-centred research.

SHAD, an annual summer enrichment program for high-achieving high school students, is hosted locally by Lakehead University and includes students from across Canada and from around the world.

During the two hour visit on July 15th, 65 students interacted with scientists and health care professionals and toured the Hospital and Health Research Institute. In addition to getting up close and personal with technology such as functional magnetic resonance imaging, and the Hospital’s new SIM lab, the students also learned about the unique health challenges facing Northwestern Ontario.

“It provides a great opportunity for our researchers and their teams to showcase their work and demonstrate how research benefits patient care,” said Dr. Christopher Mushquash, Associate Vice President Research at the Hospital and Chief Scientist at the Health Research Institute.  “The visit also allows us to highlight the variety of academic and professional options that exist in science and research at both the Hospital and Health Research Institute.”

SHAD empowers exceptional high school students – at a pivotal point in their education – to recognize their own capabilities and envision their extraordinary potential as tomorrow’s leaders and change makers. Each year, SHAD provides the opportunity for 600+ students from across Canada and internationally to attend a month-long summer program, in-residence at one of 12 Canadian host universities, focused in STEAM subjects (science, technology, engineering, art and math) and is for students currently completing grade 10, 11 or 12, Quebec secondaire IV, V or CEGEP I, or the international equivalent. There are currently more than 14,000 SHAD alumni including 27 Rhodes Scholars, Top 40 under 40 & Top 20 Under 20 award recipients, and many other accomplished professionals, all sharing the transformational SHAD experience and able to leverage their SHAD network for life.

In a unique element of the program, the students are challenged to come up with an original solution to a societal problem they learn about in the first week. It teaches them about entrepreneurship and innovation and leaves the students seeing how they can make an immediate impact.

Students selected through the rigorous, competitive process for places in the summer program are top performers typically with grades over 90%, who are also well-rounded emerging leaders demonstrating initiative, creativity and flair. They are leaders in their schools, volunteers in their communities, and are often gifted musicians, artists and athletes.

Visit www.shad.ca to learn more about the SHAD program.