######################################## #Written by David Tam # #davidkftam@netscape.net Copyright 1999# ######################################## Canadian Merit Scholarship Foundation Scholarship Application 1994-1995 ------------------------------------- 2) My most significant achievement to date was my participation in the Shad Valley Program at the University of British Columbia in July of 1994. As a part of the program requirements, I was employed by Silicon Graphics Canada, Inc. for the following month of August. This achievement was of value to me because it allowed me to grow intellectually, socially, emotionally, and spiritually. I gained an insight into the future of science, technology, and entrepreneurship. I developed better social skills because of the amount of teamwork that was involved in completing the academic projects. With a very encouraging environment, I matured emotionally and spiritually. The work term provided me with valuable work experience in the corporate world. I was involved in a project called Smart Toronto. It is a committee that was created by the Toronto business community to insure that the Greater Toronto Area would be a leading centre for commercial application development. My involvement in this project helped the committee to raise approximately half a million dollars for these purposes. After participating in this program, I have matured and gained a stronger drive to achieve in life, and to gain new experiences. With this drive and energy, I have channelled some of this magic into my attempt to initiate school activities that would benefit other students as well as myself, such as the Wilfred Laurier Highschool Stock Market Competition and the Canada First Robotics Competition. 3) In the school year of 1993-94, I decided to establish a computer graphics club in my high school. My goal was to lead a group of creative individuals to provide students and teachers with computer graphics for video productions. By accomplishing this goal, I wanted to create a sense of technological strength within the school. In response to those objectives, I discussed my ideas with two staff members who were potential sponsors of the new club. I recruited members and trained them in the use of the computer systems to create the graphics. A club proposal was drafted and submitted to the student activity council for approval. Once successfully past that stage, the principal reviewed the proposal and conducted an interview with me. The new club was given official status and I took on the role of being the executive. Goals to achieve during the school year were devised. Under my supervision, several projects were undertaken. These included video graphics for a local senior school's 25th year anniversary, a Halloween theme image, the composition of the gryphon school mascot, titles for a culture festival video, and many others. Numerous technical problems arose in these projects but they were successfully solved. To promote the club, I wrote an article in the school newspaper revealing our interesting projects for the year. This year, with the 25th year anniversary of our high school, a video yearbook is being produced by the club for viewing by all staff and students who had ever attended the school. From the successes and failures I had as the club executive, I've gained much experience. From the failures, I learned that projects should be planned well in advance and work should begin immediately. It is difficult for the members to generate new project ideas to maintain high productivity. Tasks should be delegated to all members, and not executed by myself only. Opinions and ideas must be heard by all members. Club meetings should be held on a regular basis to discuss ideas, problems, and solutions. Fund raising and publicity are very difficult to accomplish. From the successes, I learned that it requires a lot of time and patience to complete projects to the desired qualities. There are hidden talents in many of the members which can only be realized by allowing them to work on the projects. My presence was necessary to solve difficulties encountered by the members. Communication with the staff sponsor must occur almost daily to discuss problems and to find solutions, though bureaucracy should be avoided. As an initiator and leader, I've learned that initial goals and desires often become altered as situations develop. I've learned to never set limits on the capabilities of the club and to always experiment with new alternatives to provide several solutions to a problem. From these experiences, I've gained valuable insight into the role of a leader and initiator.