Before YELL and Shad, public speaking and communicating ideas have been a struggle for me. As a business-oriented student, I knew this would put me at a disadvantage in the future. YELL’s innovative curriculum gave me the necessary tools to challenge my fears and expand my entrepreneurial skills. From our team’s product/service ideation to the final seven-minute pitch in the Venture Challenge, I applied my learning to build a business model. YELL also opened a gateway to new opportunities by inviting speakers to share their experiences and programs – this is how I discovered Shad Canada and attended the McGill campus. 

My experiences from the YELL Venture Challenge helped me navigate the Shad’s real-world design challenge. I leveraged my economics, marketing, and entrepreneurship background to build the planning page (business model) of our project. I even integrated UN sustainable development goals. However, the virtual learning model presented new challenges with team collaboration. Students had other commitments outside of Shad and weren’t comfortable with sharing ideas. YELL conditioned me to adapt to these situations by working through conflicts to meet our deadlines and deliver our final pitch. 

Shad and YELL encouraged me to apply design thinking to solve complicated problems. As a result, my public speaking has improved significantly. Both programs gave me the confidence and support to become a business leader, and to return positive results for my community.

Tammy Lin
YELL Alumni 2021

SHAD is now accepting applications for their 2022 Summer Cohort! Students can apply for financial assistance and SHAD offers $1000 grants to three YELL students to get accepted into their program! The deadline to apply is December 6th at 11:59PM.

To apply or to learn more about the program: www.shad.ca