August 9 - Engineering Science Quest

Today, I finished my 6th day interning as a camp leader at the University of Waterloo's summer camp for kids known as Engineering Science Quest. On my very first day, I was told that I was going to be in a 'floater' position, where I would move from camp to camp helping specific children who needed a little extra help. I was a bit unsure about being in this position because there was no way of predicting what I was going to be doing or what kind of situations I would be faced with. On day one, I was placed into a camp that had lost one of its full time leaders for the day, and quickly realized that being a science and engineering camp leader involved many skills that I had developed and strengthened while being at SHAD. The children who attend ESQ are similar to SHAD's because they are innovative and require a challenge, but when being in a leadership role, it was my duty to provide a suitable mental and psychological playground for the innovators of tomorrow. It was challenging, but what I learned at SHAD helped me to make the experience for so many children educational but most importantly, enjoyable.

I have met so many unbelievable people within the last 6 days, that have influenced me and have pushed me to be a better leader. All of the staff members are very inclusive and they have made my internship so exciting and funny. The most important and influential part of my internship are the children I work with everyday. Every child is so unique and has impacted me in a different way. I had the pleasure of working with a camper who was visiting from Trois-Rivières in Quebec and was only able to speak French. I was able to use the French I learned from attending the bilingual SHAD campus at Université Laval to make an awesome experience for this otherwise isolated camper. I love having the opportunity to play and educate kids everyday because seeing smiles and hearing laughter is the best kind of reward. I look forward to the rest of my internship and all the future friendships I will make!

Olivia Godwin
Hometown: Waterloo, ON