There must be something in the air as the second cadet from Ponoka’s Air Cadets 65th Squadron has earned the prestigious Duke of Edinburgh’s Award this spring.
Kelly Fiedler received her bronze level award June 14 at the Air Cadets Ceremonial Review, which she has been working toward for the last two years.
“I remember I started it as soon as I was eligible to,” said Fiedler. She looked on as her friends entered the program and decided she would, too.
Fiedler found out she had attained the award a week before the review. “I was quite relieved. I had been working on my bronze and my silver.”
As she worked toward her Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, Fiedler realized it was a channel in which she could grow and better herself as a person. “It’s more of a strive-to-achieve kind of thing. You actually kind of feel good about yourself.”
“Just in cadets in general, there’s a lot of discipline in it . . . I’ve come to appreciate it,” she added.
For the bronze level award, Fiedler had to immerse herself in a non-athletic skill, she chose cooking and baking; physical recreation, which led to workouts at school and home and community service volunteerism at a seniors’ centre. The field exercises, mandatory in cadets, counted toward her adventurous journey.
“With the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award you have something to work forward to,” said Fiedler.
Fiedler joined the cadets five year ago and her brother was also a cadet for five years. Her mother is the Ponoka squadron’s commanding officer Tracey Fiedler. “It just kind of became a family thing.”