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Red Deer high school student psyched for SHAD

Lindsay Thurber’s Kaden Nivens will head to Newfoundland for the annual program in July
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Kaden Nivens, 17, will go to the Memorial University of Newfoundland from July 1 to 27 to participate in SHAD. (Photo by SEAN MCINTOSH/Advocate staff)

A Red Deer student will be one of 1,000 students taking part in an award-winning enrichment and entrepreneurship program this summer.

Kaden Nivens, a Grade 11 student at Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School, will go to the Memorial University of Newfoundland from July 1 to 27 to participate in SHAD.

“It’s a huge honour to be invited,” he said. “There were like 3,600 applicants … so being one of the people accepted is incredible. I’m really excited to go.”

SHAD, which focuses on science, technology, engineering, arts and math, takes Grade 10-12 students from across Canada and brings them to one of 16 university campuses to participate in hands-on workshops and activities.

Nivens, 17, said he’s excited to visit a place he’s never been before.

“I’m looking forward to meeting a whole new group of people with an equally focused mindset, who all want to have the ability to change the world and solve real world problems to help people,” he said.

READ MORE: Red Deer high school students attend 2017 SHAD

Nivens said his dream is to become a paediatric surgeon.

“Being in SHAD and getting that new mindset of how to solve a problem … I think that would really help as a surgeon,” he said. “I’ll learn to see multiple perspectives too, which will help in the future.”

Nivens can’t wait to get on the plane and head to the east coast in a couple weeks, he added.

“My family’s always been super adventurous,” said Nivens. “I have always been super motivated to pursue our dreams so there are no nerves, there’s really just excitement.”

Tim Jackson, SHAD president and CEO, said he’s thrilled to reach new record for how many students and universities are participating.

“We hope program participants end the month not only dreaming big, but empowered with the tools and passion they need to take risks, roll up their sleeves and get going,” Jackson said.

An NHL executive, a NASA researcher, an international best-selling author and 32 Rhodes Scholars are some of the nearly 17,000 people who have attended SHAD since being founded in 1980.



sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com

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Sean McIntosh

About the Author: Sean McIntosh

Sean joined the Red Deer Advocate team in the summer of 2017. Originally from Ontario, he worked in a small town of 2,000 in Saskatchewan for seven months before coming to Central Alberta.
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