Advice to Current Youth

Sally Hasler: The cadet program’s an incredible opportunity to create new skills and have fun and make new friends and it can really shape your development as a young person, and it most importantly allows you to give back and serve the community.

Robert Tremethick: The first aid skills are paramount. Learning those are your life skills. It doesn’t matter. You can be out of St. John for 15 years, but still apply all of that practice in a situation at any time.

Robertson Susan: This is the beautiful thing about learning things in our youth and in our childhood. They become part of our automatic response. So they are part of react, not respond. It becomes instinctual. In fact, the earlier you can learn something, the more likely you’re gonna remember it going through.

Alan Brown: The other advice I’d give to a cadet would be to ask questions. At the right time and respectfully but challenge what’s going on so as the understanding is there, because generally the ability of the people around you is exceptional. You know, across my time, the people I have worked with, I’ve had conversations with are astounding. And there’s not too many organizations where you can be out on a football field one day and then standing in Government house the next.

Jodie: I say, you know, get the most out of it, you can learn from the people that have been in longer than you. And just enjoy it. And, you know, do the organization proud by being a good first aid and a good person, really.

Robert Wilson: If you want to get into the healthcare profession, whether it’s an ambo or a nurse or a doctor, or even just in any type of allied health go for it because St. John actually gives you the skills as a youth member or paid later on in life. And I know I’ve heard so many stories of other people having done their nursing or their ambulance officers or paramedics course and even being doctors, because of St John.

Carl Graham: You can actually do as little or as much as you can in the organization. You know, there are the chances to develop your leadership skills and experience and to make a difference in your community. What you get back is proportional to what you put in.

David Heard: Even if they’re just standing watching, they’re learning. You can ask them, can you get that thing for me? Or whatever. And so they learn. But they’ve gotta have fun. If you are not enjoying or having fun while you’re training and doing things then you don’t learn.

Steph Ave: If I had one piece of advice for somebody who wants to become a youth member today, give it a go. Anyone can do it. It doesn’t matter who you are. How old you are doesn’t matter what background you’re from, everyone can learn first stage, and if you are not social or if you’re very shy this is your way to get out of your shell. It’s a safe environment. You’re not judged.

Damian Kaushik: I would encourage anyone and everyone to join St. John. I mean, even from a practical standpoint, just by learning something simple as basic first aid, you’re actually prepared to do something in an emergency. ‘Cause the amount of people that I’ve seen in some emergency situations that just sort of watch, you know, that bystander effect and aren’t sure what to do. So, having that first aid certificate as a starting point really helps. And I think with cadets it allows you to just not just hold a certificate, but actually get out into your local community and do some basic first aid as well.

Jo-Anne Crennan: Take the advantages of any opportunity that St John Youth Program gives you, because it does help you work out what you wanna do in your future, it helps give you some experience. When you leave school going into the workforce you’ve got something for your resume you know, but especially anyone who’s looking at. You know, healthcare professionals when they leave school, having that hands-on experience, learning to work with the community, that sort of stuff is definitely a bonus in your future careers.

Damian Kaushik: Give 110% to everything you do no matter how small the task is. And I think the biggest thing I can encourage you with a program like ours, it’s so vast and far reaching so take on every opportunity and challenge. You can really enjoy the experience because St. John, particularly as a youth program, has a lot to offer young people.

Noel Hender: I’d encourage young people to be involved. I think the leaders that we’ve got today are first class and we know they have to go through a fairly rigorous sort of process to be there. But they’re people that are dedicated and committed to their responsibilities there. They recognize their responsibilities and I think they do everything they can to try and make the experiences interesting and valuable for the young people.

Alana Cornish: If you just want to make friends, if you want to just learn with more confidence, you wanna talk to a crowd, do it.