She graduated from the University of Auckland with a degree in Dance Studies and said she decided it was time to jet\u00e9 to a different rhythm. <\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to prove to myself that I was more than the box I was put in.<\/p>\n
Private Char\u00e9 Park of the NZ Army Reserve Force mid jet\u00e9 across the dance floor. Photo \/ NZDF<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd in doing so, show that women can be strong, competent, and capable of kicking ass too.<\/p>\n
\u201cDance has gifted me with self-confidence, mental perseverance, and grit to do hard things \u2013 standing on your toes takes a certain kind of determination.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a sport like dance, you learn to love constructive criticism, and you are continuously chasing a better version of yourself. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very similar to the army, where you overcome challenges, while gaining strength and resilience.\u201d<\/p>\n
In civilian life, Park works as an event planner for Auckland Thoroughbred Racing at Ellerslie Racecourse. <\/p>\n
She credits her army experience with helping develop her leadership and interpersonal skills, which added value to her career. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe Army identifies your strengths and helps you cultivate them. Each member\u2019s skills work together, filling the gaps and creating a team that is knowledgeable, well-rounded and able to overcome challenges. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I\u2019m with my fellow soldiers, I know they have my back \u2013 because we are stronger together. We fit together like a puzzle. That\u2019s something I carry through to my civilian life.\u201d <\/p>\n
Park said she had developed a passion for her life in the Reserve Force, particularly her unit. <\/p>\n
\u201cI like to live by our RNZALR motto \u2013 M\u0101 Nga Hua Tu Tangata, By Our Actions We Are Known.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 38 Combat Service Support Company is part of 2nd Combat Service Support Battalion.<\/p>\n
They are now preparing for Exercise Tauwharen\u012bkau, a Reserve Force training exercise in July that will see more than 300 soldiers operate alongside the Australian Army Reserve in Gore, Southland.<\/p>\n
Each Reserve Force company has its own training programme in line with its Battalion\u2019s training focus.<\/p>\n
Company-led training typically occurs one weekend a month, with platoon-level training once a week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"She graduated from the University of Auckland with a degree in Dance Studies and said she decided it…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":463637,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[21531,8831,8227,806,121483,194262,2006,105431,793,35838,2740,71,13838,5194,2862,2959,17090,111,43,139,69,8143,1136,12886,10665,4062,9631,1515,223,200983,61],"class_list":["post-463636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-adrenaline","tag-an","tag-army","tag-as","tag-battlefield","tag-char","tag-dance","tag-dancer","tag-felt","tag-floor","tag-former","tag-from","tag-girls","tag-hastings","tag-heart","tag-high","tag-jumps","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-park","tag-private","tag-professional","tag-reserve","tag-school","tag-student","tag-surge","tag-the","tag-thump","tag-to"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/463636","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=463636"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/463636\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/463637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=463636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=463636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=463636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}