“It was a huge shock,” she says.
“The tears started rolling. I was trying to shake hands with people. I was trying to maintain the professional attitude that I should and I was bawling.”
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Teens appointed to top cadet posts
Gosse is laughing as she tells the story. She entered the cadet program four years ago — two years later than she could have, but it wasn’t until then that she found out about the program for people 12 to 19 that teaches youth military values, leadership skills, and more.
“As soon as I joined I was like, ‘Oh my God. Where has this been my entire life,’” Gosse says.
She has gotten to travel, make a multitude of new friends and learn about nautical topics and seamanship skills.
Despite joining two years behind some people, Gosse took on the experience with so much gusto that it clearly didn’t affect her success as a sea cadet. She also attributes the officers and senior cadets for encouraging her and giving her the opportunity to do some of the things that helped her get the top cadet award.
“This is part of the final pat on the back for me,” says Gosse.
“I think the biggest thing is to be acknowledged for the hard work that I’ve done. I’ve put a lot of effort into cadets.”
Cadets is a place where you get acknowledged for hard work and initiative, she adds. The National Sea Cadet of the Year award means Gosse will be the keynote speaker at the awards banquet of the Navy League in Ontario next year.
Gosse is currently in university. In December she will age out of the cadets program, but she has the option to become an officer herself and work with younger people who join like she did.
“After everything that I’ve done I can’t imagine not going back,” she says.
She sees how others can benefit from her cadet experience.
“I want to pass it along and make the new cadets realize what you can do and exactly what you can achieve.”
After all this time, it’s also just tough to leave.
“It’s a family. It’s not just an organization.”
“It was a huge shock,” she says.
“The tears started rolling. I was trying to shake hands with people. I was trying to maintain the professional attitude that I should and I was bawling.”
Related stories
Teens appointed to top cadet posts
Gosse is laughing as she tells the story. She entered the cadet program four years ago — two years later than she could have, but it wasn’t until then that she found out about the program for people 12 to 19 that teaches youth military values, leadership skills, and more.
“As soon as I joined I was like, ‘Oh my God. Where has this been my entire life,’” Gosse says.
She has gotten to travel, make a multitude of new friends and learn about nautical topics and seamanship skills.
Despite joining two years behind some people, Gosse took on the experience with so much gusto that it clearly didn’t affect her success as a sea cadet. She also attributes the officers and senior cadets for encouraging her and giving her the opportunity to do some of the things that helped her get the top cadet award.
“This is part of the final pat on the back for me,” says Gosse.
“I think the biggest thing is to be acknowledged for the hard work that I’ve done. I’ve put a lot of effort into cadets.”
Cadets is a place where you get acknowledged for hard work and initiative, she adds. The National Sea Cadet of the Year award means Gosse will be the keynote speaker at the awards banquet of the Navy League in Ontario next year.
Gosse is currently in university. In December she will age out of the cadets program, but she has the option to become an officer herself and work with younger people who join like she did.
“After everything that I’ve done I can’t imagine not going back,” she says.
She sees how others can benefit from her cadet experience.
“I want to pass it along and make the new cadets realize what you can do and exactly what you can achieve.”
After all this time, it’s also just tough to leave.
“It’s a family. It’s not just an organization.”
