High school students get hands-on STEAM and entrepreneurship experience at Shad Laurier program

July 29, 2025

More than 60 grade 10 and grade 11 students from across Canada are leaving Wilfrid Laurier University with more knowledge, business skills, and core memories after spending a month living and learning on Laurier’s Waterloo campus as part of the Shad Laurier program.

“We came for the academics, but we are leaving with friends we’re going to have for the rest of our lives,” says Shaan Shah, a high school student from Brampton, who said the highlight for him was a camping trip to Guelph Lake Conservation Area and the friends he made from Vancouver.

The experiential program brings high potential secondary school students from across Canada to further develop their skills and knowledge in science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics (STEAM) and entrepreneurship in a university setting. Students participate in activities on Laurier's Waterloo campus and visit the Brantford campus.

Shah was part of the winning team for the Design Entrepreneurship Challenge, which encouraged students to think creatively about ways to support green transportation. The winning pitch addressed the problem of cyclists looking down at their phones while they are biking.

“In our research, we found that two thirds of cycling accidents are due to inattention,” says Shah, noting many cyclists use their phones to map routes while cycling.

The team came up with the idea of ARrive – augmented reality glasses that give cyclists real-time navigation updates, negating the need to look down at a phone for directions.

“Everyone at Laurier was so welcoming and I have great memories I’m going to take back with me,” says Janani Rayudu, a high school student from Hamilton who plans to study Health Sciences in university.

For Lily Zhou, a high school student from Toronto, a highlight of the month was a tour of the Toyota manufacturing plant in Cambridge. “It was really cool to see how the cars were assembled,” she says.

“We are so proud of these students who have been with us for a month,” says Joseph Monks, Shad Laurier’s program director and contract teaching faculty member in the Faculty of Education. “Laurier is proud to be inspiring the next generation of entrepreneurs and leaders in STEM.”

“It was an honour for Laurier to host Shad participants and to witness their engagement and enthusiasm for learning,” says Faculty of Education dean Maria Cantalini-Williams. “I want to extend my sincere appreciation to the Laurier Shad team and to senior administration for their support of this impactful experience for diverse young people from across Canada.”