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"Would I be the youngest? Would I fit in? How awful could marching be?"
“I applied to the cadets in 2021 when I was 13 after my mum showed me an advert on Facebook.
I was really nervous before my first session – would I be the youngest? Would I fit in? How awful could marching be?
I needn’t have worried. Although I was one of the youngest when I started, it didn't matter as we were all in the same boat even though we were all from different backgrounds.
“I attend weekly sessions where we all work on our policing knowledge. We have talks from all areas of policing like the dog unit and firearms officers. We get to develop leadership skills, I’ve been able to meet royalty and visit the security institute and I’ve also been out patrolling with officers around Leamington which was really eye-opening. In the summer months we even play touch rugby and frisbee.
“Every year we go on a week's excursion. It’s one of my most memorable experiences. It teaches you to push yourself out of your comfort zone when you do things like surfing and raft building – all great teambuilding for when you really need that personal resilience and relationships and trust to work together on a project or issue in the future.
“Oh - and to answer my earlier marching question - you'll get used to it!”
Have you read Calum's experiences being part of the SNT and managing the local Facebook account or seen Lily's story about why she became a PC?
Did you watch Linda's video about the joy of being a Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) or catch our video about “Swiss Army knife” police dog Freddie and his handler Liam?
We’ll share more stories in the weeks to come so watch this space.
Find out more about #BehindtheBadge on our dedicated webpage.