Being able to represent your country is an honour that not everyone has the privilege of. But, Bonnyville's Mary Babiuk was able to do this at the age of 17.
Babiuk is a Royal Canadian Sea Cadet with Corps Huron No. 252. She was chosen to represent Canada through an international exchange, after applying through a nationwide selection process.
Cadets who hope to be picked for the opportunity must be of a certain rank, age, and must have a leadership role within their group.
After applying, a recommendation is sent in by the commanding officer. Then, if the candidate meets all of the criteria, they are selected.
The exchange trip, which sent Babiuk to Sweden, took place over 10 days in the beginning of July. Herself, along with a select group of fellow cadets, spent time learning about the Sea Cadets programs of other countries.
Some of the countries in which these exchanges take place include Japan, the United States and Australia. All of the participating countries send a few cadets to each exchange destination.
Babiuk, who was the first person from this area to show interest in the exchange program in the past few years, couldn't believe when she found out she had been accepted.
“I was very surprised. A small town person going to Sweden and representing Canada like that, it's crazy.”
Lt. Stephanie Atkinson has been Babiuk's commanding officer since she joined the Sea Cadets in Bonnyville at 12-years-old. Atkinson felt that being awarded this exchange was well earned for Babiuk.
“She was a little bit more on the quieter side, but over the past five years the cadet program has really helped her bloom into a leader. She's a great leader and a great role model for our junior cadets. She's wonderful.”
Atkinson added that with the role Babiuk has taken over her time with the program it wasn't difficult to write her a good reference.
“I think she definitely achieved a lot and has gone to a lot of summer training and has had a lot of extra training. She's done a lot with our unit to get the moral up with the cadets or to teach the cadets. It was easy to write a recommendation for her and to get selected that way.”
Babiuk is a Chief Petty Officer 1st Class, Coxswain. Not only was she the sole female chosen for this exchange, which included sea cadets from Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, and the United States, she was also the highest ranked cadet there.
“It was really good, it was an honour to be able to do that, and I was the only female in the group which is kind of odd but it felt really good. Finally all of my hard work has paid off and I get rewarded with such great opportunities.”
During her time in Sweden, Babiuk visited the cities of Karlskrona and Stockholm. While there, she interacted with the Swedish cadets and learned how the Sea Cadets program works there.
“We were at their version of summer camp. There were two of them and at the first one I got general insight of what their cadet program is like and did the stuff that they do with their cadet program. We got to talk to the Swedish cadets and we got to see what they do over there for training.”
For Babiuk, the real benefit is what the Sea Cadets program has done for her.
“I like the training opportunities we completed because, myself, I travel a lot with Sea Cadets and that is pretty cool,” said Babiuk. “You work your butt off then it gives you all these great achievements, awards, and medals.”
