It’s too soon to know what Midshipman Gloria Lee’s second year at Auckland University of Technology will be like. It was her first day back when she picked up the phone for her interview.
Midshipman Lee, 19, from Auckland, is currently studying towards a Bachelor of Engineering Technology, majoring in Electrical Engineering.
“My brother joined the army when I was in Year-10, and that got me looking into the services at bit more,” she says. She achieved accelerated learning at Macleans College, enabling her to do Maths and Physics A-Levels during Year-12 via the Cambridge International Education exams.
“I was looking into engineering or psychology, and I saw that the Defence Force had engineering scholarships. I chose Navy because it would let me travel more.”
In 2017 she applied to join the Navy as a weapon engineer officer, and received a scholarship under the Navy’s Tangaroa Study Scheme. It will fund her course and pay her an officer’s salary while she studies full-time. She was able to complete one semester before her officer training started, and she graduated as a commissioned officer in December 2018.
The 22 weeks of officer training was good, she says, while having its ups and downs for all the midshipmen in her intake. The hardest part was probably the ironing, she reckons. “We do a lot of ironing. Also, I was the youngest one in the intake. I turned 18 two days before I started initial training. It sometimes felt like I was asking questions all the time.”
Officers on the Tangaroa Study Scheme are posted to duties during semester breaks. During the last break, MID Lee found herself working on the Navy’s Maritime Simulation Refresh, exploring simulation technology for future Navy training. “I was quite lucky, I got to work with augmented reality and virtual reality.”
She wears her uniform to university classes, dressed in the more formal “half blues”, although in future this is likely to change to blue shipboard fatigues, known as General Work Dress.
“We do get lots of questions. People ask if we’re pilots, or if we work for Fullers ferries.”
She would advise anyone wanting to follow in her footsteps to look into the possibilities and do the research. “There’s so many different opportunities. I never realised it until my brother told me about it.”
She is excited about her first sea posting, which will come after she completes her degree and is promoted to Sub-Lieutenant. The Navy has new capability arriving, including two refurbished Anzac-class frigates HMNZS Te Kaha and HMNZS Te Mana. “I can’t wait to get my degree over, and go out on one of the frigates. Hopefully there’s a spot for me!”
