Cadets get visit from Gulf veteran
Powell River Sea Cadets had an unusual visitor last month when former US Navy officer Jennifer Salisbury dropped in.
Invited to Canada in 2007 by the US Department of Homeland Security, Jennifer has been spreading her story with a smile ever since. She presented her maritime experiences to the Powell River Sea Cadets, a cadre of about 20. Her stories of her Persian Gulf encounters, helicopters landing ten feet above where she slept and bilge-diving in aircraft carriers wowed the cadets.
During her talk, Jennifer mentioned her skills in the many university entrance interviews when she was the cadets' age. It was those same skills that led Jennifer to decide to attend the US Air Force Academy, Tulane University on a Marine Corps full scholarship, West Point or the US Naval Academy. In sharing with the Powell River teens, she realized her skills could benefit them as well.
Though the Sea Cadets participate in a variety of activities including boating, sailing, citizenship, parades and community events, marksmanship training, sports and fitness, naval knowledge, leadership training, precision drill training, first aid training and public speaking, Jennifer realized they maybe needed some personal interview training.
She created an interactive workshop entitled "From the perfect handshake to the perfect interview: Preparing for the 'real world.'" This workshop taught the Sea Cadets how to do a 30 second commercial about themselves, the three points of a perfect handshake, and what to do when an interview question puts them off balance. Cadets were surprised to discover that not only did they need to do their homework for their interview they needed to be prepared with questions to ask the interviewer!
Introducing cadets to these skills was the first step in a lifetime of handshakes and conversations. This is especially crucial when the Cadets become more seasoned, and earn leadership positions within the Corps.
The aim of the Canadian Cadet Organization is to develop in youth the attributes of good citizenship and leadership, to promote physical fitness, and to stimulate an interest in the sea, land, and air activities of the Canadian Forces.
Cadets are not members of the Canadian Forces and while the program is directed at generating an interest in the Canadian Forces, Cadets is not a recruiting program, nor is there any expectation that the cadets should aspire to a military career.
In a world full of texting, emails, acceleration, and chaos, the Cadet Corps organization brings order and discipline, factors of the real world, back in focus. Jennifer Salisbury, though a former American sailor, continues sharing her experiences with the youth of Powell River.
