West Ferris Secondary’s Caleb Charette is one of a few local high school students who are spending the month of July at university.

He’s taking part in the prestigious national SHAD program, which is all about developing innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership among Canada’s best and brightest youth.

Charette is at McMaster University in Hamilton.

“I’ll be sitting in on university lectures, we’ll be doing different projects together. I’m personally really excited to go, just to have the experience of being a university student, before I’m actually in university,” he says.

He’s hoping this program will help with his post-secondary studies.

“I think that, one, it’ll give me a lot of good experience and two, the other thing about SHAD is it makes you eligible for a lot of scholarships and those can help offset the cost of university, which I’m sure everyone knows, is very expensive,” Charette says.

He’s heading into grade 12 in the fall and is looking to get his Bachelors of Science and Health Sciences in post-secondary school, then his MD, with hopes of becoming a surgeon.

Each year, SHAD provides the opportunity for over 900 students from across Canada and internationally to attend their STEAM-based (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) month-long program, in-residence at one of several Canadian host universities.

Filed under: McMaster University, Near North District School Board, north bay, SHAD Program, West Ferris Secondary School