Flying High!

Two years ago, after watching an older cousin have an amazing time at Army Cadets, Sienna Chavda in Year 8 decided to take the plunge and join the Sea Cadets.  Many hours of boating, kayaking and camping later, Sienna has earned multiple badges, and quickly moved through the junior ranks to become a fully qualified Sea Cadet.

Each year a select group of Sea Cadets are chosen to take their Naval Airman’s Proficiency test after receiving instruction from professional pilots. Last year Sienna was delighted to hear that she would be able to prepare for this course and just before Christmas she passed it with flying colours!!  This success means that she has qualified for more advanced naval aviation studies, where she’ll continue to learn about aircraft designed to operate at sea, and the planes that take off from and land on the decks of Royal Navy battleships.

Achieving this level of success at lightning speed takes real dedication and Sienna usually attends Sea Cadets two evenings a week at their base in Ross Walk near the Space Centre.  Right now, of course, all the activities are virtual.   But Sienna’s drive and determination are certainly not going to be stopped by a global pandemic and she already has her eye on a Duke of Edinburgh Award – something that the Sea Cadets support.

While we might expect her to be commanding an aircraft carrier in the not too distance future, Sienna is not yet certain about her choice of career.  A medic with the Marines is one possibility.  Careers involving biology, psychology, criminology are also all in the mix.  However, Sienna is certain of one thing – the skills she is learning at Sea Cadets are not just fun and exciting, they will make her more confident and more successful – whatever path she chooses.

Congratulations Sienna!

If you are interested in finding out more about the Sea Cadets, the following link will take you to the Leicester site: https://www.sea-cadets.org/leicester