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47474| O akville B eaver | T hursday,A ugust 23,2018 insidehalton.com NOOO HST VIP SALE TOMORROW AUG 24TH 8 AM1276 Cornwall Road, Unit C, Oakville Ontario, L6J 7W5T: 905-845-0767 • F: 905-845-5552 •www.haxelllaw.com • lawyers@haxelllaw.com Personal Professional Service at Competitive Rates Buying? Selling? Re Call us for a quote at 905-845-0767 ext. 223Jameson Glas GOLDGOGOGOGOGOGOGOLDLDLDLDLD 905-845-0767 ext. 223Jameson Glas When natural disasters strike, temperatures can spike to extreme highs and drop to severe lows, and hav- ing the power go out is almost always a guarantee. When that happens, dia- betics could face a possible fa- tal event if they find them- selves unable to keep their in- sulin refrigerated. Enter high-schooler Mac- kenzie Keeler and a team of 10 other students who tasked themselves to create Insta-lin - a 10-day survival kit for dia- betics containing crystallized insulin that won't spoil in ex- treme weather conditions. Keeler and her team cameKeeler and her team cameK up with the innovative prod- uct last month while attend- ing SHAD, a pan-Canadian, month-long enrichment and entrepreneurship program for high school students thatfor high school students thatf is held at one of 16 partner university campuses. Founded in 1980, studentsFounded in 1980, studentsF from grades 10-12 apply sci-from grades 10-12 apply sci-f ence, technology, engineer- ing, arts and math (STEAM) disciplines to real-life public policy and entrepreneurial challenges. According to its website, SHAD aims to empower "ex- ceptional" youth to make the world a better place. Every year, a design-en- trepreneurship (DE) project is assigned to the partici- pants with a theme (a societal problem affecting Canadi- ans) and they are then tasked to propose an original solu- tion. This year's theme was how to help Canadian com- munities be resilient in natu- ral disasters. Participants heard first- hand accounts from experts involved in extreme events, such as floods in New Bruns- wick and Calgary, hurri- canes in Nova Scotia and wildfires in British Colum- bia. Keeler said through herKeeler said through herK team's research and inter- views, they discovered there are approximately 1.24 mil- lion Canadians living with di- abetes - a chronic condition associated with abnormali- ties in blood glucose (sugar) levels in the body. People with type 1 diabe- tes cannot make insulin natu- rally through the pancreas and need insulin injections to allow their body to process sugar and avoid complica- tions, such as hyperglycemia. "(They) rely on insulin on a daily basis and that number (of those with diabetes) is pro- jected to rise to 1.82 million by 2025," said the Halton teen. Injectable insulin can on- ly be safe for use between 0 C and 30 C, but Canadian tem- peratures have been record- ed as low as -63 C and as high as 45 C, said Keeler. "So, we created a product that can last between what we estimate to be between -100 C and 50 C. This product would be able to withstand those extreme temperatures, allowing diabetics to have ac- cess to insulin during natural disasters." she explained. The survival kit contains 20 adjustable doses of insulin for 10 days, which Keeler saidfor 10 days, which Keeler saidf would usually be enough time for a support team to be put in place after a natural di- saster occurs to provide fur- ther aid. Also included in the kit are cotton swabs and bandag- es. Keeler's team had to putKeeler's team had to putK together a 15-page business plan and prototype, as well as pitch the product to and face Q-and-As from a panel of fourQ-and-As from a panel of fourQ judges. "They really loved how in- novated and unique our prod- uct was," said Keeler, noting her team won the best overall award. award. a In addition to the DE pro- ject, the SHAD program of- fers lectures, workshops,fers lectures, workshops,f labs, group projects and rec- reational activities. This year, there were 1,000 students from across Canada participating, including 47 from Halton Region.from Halton Region.f "We are thrilled that we are reaching a record 1,000 students this year. Support from our partners has al-from our partners has al-f lowed us to include more op- portunities to transform lives," said SHAD president and CEO Tim Jackson. Keeler was assigned to at-Keeler was assigned to at-K tend SHAD at its University of British Columbia campus and said among the life les- sons she picked up the one that affected her the most was the idea to live life by al- ways choosing courage over comfort. "I was definitely nervous going in on the first day to meet the 51 strangers I'd be living with for the next month, but everyone was so kind and accepting, and we all quickly became friends," she said. "Everyone brought some- thing amazing and unique to the table. Once I started working with them, it had felt like I'd known them all my life. The students there were absolutely incredible and the program would not have been the same without them." Keeler said participatingKeeler said participatingK in SHAD was life-changing for her and she would encour-for her and she would encour-f age other high school stu- dents to think about applying for it.for it.f "I think my program di- rector said it best, 'SHAD is not the best month of your life; it's the best month for your life,'" she added. SHAD FELLOW HELPS DEVELOP SURVIVAL KIT FOR DIABETICS IN EXTREME WEATHER CONDITIONS Burlington's Mackenzie Keeler, a M.M. Robinson High School student entering Grade 12 in the fall, participated in the 2018 SHAD pan-Canadian month-long program at the University of British Columbia. Nicole Naccarato photo JOHN BKILA jbkila@metroland.com EDUCATION OAKVILLE STUDENTS • Andrei Adam, Grade 10, Abbey Park High School -- Carleton University; • Chloe Asselstine, Grade 10, Abbey Park H.S. -- University of Saskatchewan; • Mihika Bahadur, Grade 11, Abbey Park H.S. -- Queen's University; • Malika Bhambra, Grade 10, Thomas Aquinas Secondary School -- Western University; • Aditi Bhatnagar, Grade 11, Garth Webb Secondary School -- Ryerson University; • Jack Ceroni, Grade 10, Robert Bateman High School -- University of Prince Edward Island; • Aadi Chaudhary, Grade 10, Abbey Park H.S. -- University of Calgary; • Nicholas Chronis, Grade 10, Iroquois Ridge High School -- Western University; • John Chung, Grade 10, White Oaks Secondary School (WOSS) -- Queen's University; • Tim Chung, Grade 10, WOSS -- University of Calgary; • Taylor Conn, Grade 11, Thomas A. Blakelock (TAB) High School -- Lakehead University; • Stephanie Cristea, Grade 11, Iroquois Ridge H.S. -- McGill University; • Simone Darveau, Grade 10, École Secondaire Catholique Ste-Trinité -- Ryerson University; • Shane Ding, Grade 11, WOSS -- University of Waterloo; • Nathaniel Eichhorn, Grade 10, Appleby College -- University of New Brunswick; • Gurjog Gambhir, Grade 11, Abbey Park H.S. -- Western University; • Brian Ho, Grade 11, Iroquois Ridge H.S. -- University of New Brunswick; • Marie Jolicoeur-Becotte, Grade 11, St. Mildred's-Lightbourn School (SMLS) -- University of New Brunswick; • Kelly Kan, Grade 11, Holy Trinity Secondary School -- Queen's University; • Umer Kazi, Grade 10, Iroquois Ridge H.S. -- Lakehead University; • Jason Liu, Grade 11, Iroquois Ridge H.S. -- Queen's University; • Luke Liu, Grade 11, Oakville Trafalgar (OT) High School -- University of New Brunswick; • Alexander Ma, Grade 11, Iroquois Ridge H.S. -- Mount Allison University; • Clara Mitchinson, Grade 11, Iroquois Ridge H.S. -- University of Waterloo; • Yash Mulki, Grade 10, Abbey Park H.S. -- University of Waterloo • James Ouyang, Grade 10, WOSS -- Western University; • Anuar Saenger-Gomez, Grade 11, St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School -- Queen's University; • Urmi Sheth, Grade 10, OT -- Mount Allison; • Navya Sheth, Grade 10, OT -- University of Calgary; • Anjali Siromani, Grade 11, Appleby College -- Carleton University; • Shreeya Soneji, Grade 12, WOSS -- University of Saskatchewan • Samhith Sripada, Grade 10, Garth Webb S.S. -- Queen's University; • Olivia Sun, Grade 10, Iroquois Ridge H.S. -- University of Prince Edward Island; • Vincent Tang, Grade 11, Hillfield-Strathallan College -- Ryerson University; • Stephen Wang, Grade 10, Abbey Park H.S. -- Ryerson University; • Ayush Warikoo, Grade 11, Iroquois Ridge H.S. -- Ryerson University; • Cathy Zhang, Grade 11, Iroquois Ridge H.S. -- University of Calgary; • Jerry Zhao, Grade 11, Abbey Park H.S. -- McMaster University