{"id":24217,"date":"2025-09-15T18:15:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T18:15:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/24217\/"},"modified":"2025-09-15T18:15:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T18:15:08","slug":"wairoa-air-force-corporal-inspires-youth-after-journey-from-services-academy-to-new-zealand-defence-force","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/24217\/","title":{"rendered":"Wairoa: Air Force corporal inspires youth after journey from Services Academy to New Zealand Defence Force"},"content":{"rendered":"
\u201cThe instructors really made it for me. The way they spoke to us and treated us, they gave us confidence and showed us that we could achieve. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt made me think I could actually do this for a job.\u201d<\/p>\n
She later joined the Air Force in 2019 as a logistics specialist and after trade training, was posted to air movements and has travelled to 12 countries. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe most notable for me would be Japan and Solomon Islands, which I actually got an operational medal for, but my plan was always to become a youth development specialist\u201d.<\/p>\n
Corporal Nikara Ross wants to help others achieve through the NZDF Youth Development Unit. Photo \/ New Zealand Defence Force<\/p>\n
Ross\u2019s motivations have led her back to where it all started, and she now gives back to the unit that first introduced her to the NZDF.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I can change one person\u2019s life like that instructor did for me then I\u2019m set. That\u2019s what makes this one of the most fulfilling jobs I\u2019ve ever had.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ross said her female instructor boosted her confidence in her abilities during the service academy and helped her make her choice to join the Air Force. <\/p>\n
\u201cShe believed I was destined to do something great in my future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ross said she initially had preconceived ideas of the Air Force, which opened doors for her both professionally and personally. <\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t think there would be a place for a girl like me, but I couldn\u2019t have been more wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ross said her motivation went beyond teaching stability and discipline. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about shaping futures and opening doors that many young people never imagined were possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cKnowing they are leaving with more than they expected is so meaningful.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThe instructors really made it for me. The way they spoke to us and treated us, they gave…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24218,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[13035,74,68,2046,24803,1403,24805,5760,24810,71,8455,24807,24804,2203,117,111,43,139,69,24808,13237,9855,1321,24809,14907,1361,1529,61,24806,15289,18324,1354,1079,80],"class_list":["post-24217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-academy","tag-after","tag-air","tag-career","tag-corporal","tag-defence","tag-enticed","tag-force","tag-forged","tag-from","tag-getting","tag-handmedown","tag-inspires","tag-journey","tag-new","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-older","tag-prospect","tag-royal","tag-services","tag-sisters","tag-successful","tag-that","tag-three","tag-to","tag-uniform","tag-wairoa","tag-wasnt","tag-woman","tag-youth","tag-zealand"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24217"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24217\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}