Connecting Passions

Hello everyone! My name is Laura Shield and I am currently completing my fourth year as a Psychology Major with the Social Entrepreneurship Option. I started my experience at Laurier with the intent of graduating with my current Major and then going straight into a field of providing support and development for individuals who have an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This passion of mine has stemmed from a combination of personal and professional experience in caring for clients and family members that have a lot of undeveloped potential to pursue their own experiences/ goals.

Upon taking the UU150 course as an elective in first year, I enjoyed experiencing the weekly presentations provided by leaders from various sectors in the KW region and it inspired me to enroll in the Social Entrepreneurship program stream. Since acting on that decision, I have had multiple opportunities to expand my knowledge of social change through the development of innovation, local participation and primary business principles. Since having the opportunity to access space and mentorship resources while developing my ideas, my skillset has developed significantly through this form of experiential learning in a structured academic setting.

As I move forward in the Capstone in Social Entrepreneurship Course (SE400) as well as the Social Innovation & Culture course (SE350), I look forward to engaging with my mentors and colleagues on projects involving a process of systemic critique. I look forward to this part of the project’s process, because it will challenge my perception of social innovation through specifically focusing on the limitations and/or negative impacts ideas can have on a society.

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