Three Shad Valley alumnae amongst Chatelaine’s ‘Women to Watch’

Waterloo, ON – Shad Valley International is excited to inform the Shad community with the news that three alumnae have been recognized in Chatelaine magazine’s May 2008 article entitled ‘80 women to watch’, which is now available in print only.

Jennifer Corriero, Skawenniio Barnes, and Sharon Wei, have been named amongst the 80 women featured in the national publication’s 80th anniversary special. Both Jennifer and Skawenniio were recognized under the category of Politics & Community, while Sharon was noted under Arts & Culture.

Sharon Wei, a 1994 Waterloo Shad, is a musical prodigy who met three other equally talented artists and formed the chamber-music ensemble Made in Canada. Sharon, who attended the University of Western Ontario and the Curtis Institute of Music, also received a diploma from Yale and now tours North America and Europe with an orchestra, often performing as a soloist.

Jennifer’s organization, TakingITGlobal, is considered one of the world’s premiere online communities for youth with 1.8 million hits a day. Jennifer, a 1998 Calgary alumna, co-founded the non-profit organization, and has been called a global leader and a shaper of the future.

Chatelaine highlighted Skawenniio’s efforts and initiative in organizing the creation of a community library at age 13, drawing global attention and a donation of 30,000 books. She attended the Shad Valley program in 2005 at the University of British Columbia and is currently pursuing her undergraduate degree at Yale University.

We would like to congratulate our alumnae for this national recognition! There is certainly a feeling that these women will continue to pursue excellence.

Below are the excerpts from Chatelaine Magazine, May 2008:

Made in Canada, 28 TO 30
Angela Park, Judy Kang, Sharon Wei, and Rachel Mercer are Made in Canada, a chamber-music ensemble that’s leading the next generation of classical musicians, picking up CBC’s Galaxie Rising Stars Award (selected by the nation’s music critics) in 2006. The members, who met at Banff Summer Arts Festival and have since scattered across North America, make it a point to reunite annually in Canada to play together

Jennifer Corriero, 27
She’s been called a digital dignitary, a global leader, a shaper of the future and the Wired Woman Young Woman of the Year. When she was just 19, Jennifer Corriero co-founded TakingITGlobal, a non-profit group based in Toronto dedicated to using the internet to strengthen young people’s abilities to be socially aware, globally responsible citizens. Considered one of the world’s premiere online communities for youth, it has 188,000 members in 261 countries and receives 1.8 million hits a day.

Skawenniio Barnes, 20
Hailing from the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory near Montreal, Skawenniio (whose first name means “one beautiful word”) started her life in activism at age 13 by writing an award-winning essay for CosmoGirl! about her community’s need for a library. Her prize included a trip to New York, a scholarship of US$10,000 and global attention. Before long, 30,000 donated books from all over the world began landing at her door. Barnes worked at the library until last fall, when she began her first year of studies at Yale University.