BC Justice Minister Shirley Bond, Prince George RCMP Superintendent Eric Stubbs, and Constable Rob Lamont inspect Troop 11 at their graduation from the RCMP’s Youth Academy

Prince George, BC – The first week of spring break was no picnic for the 26 participants of the Prince George RCMP’s Youth Academy…

At this past weekend’s graduation ceremony, Troop 11 was praised by many involved in their week-long training as being an exceptional group.  The teens applied not just from Prince George’s School District 57, which helps to host the academy, but from across northwestern BC, as well.

In detailing how the days were spent, Constable Kyle Sharpe told the crowd of local dignataries, parents and friends gathered at Kelly Road Secondary the troop was running by 6am every morning, and continued on with classes and evening training exercises until 10pm.  Sharpe said there were a few participants talking after lights out the first night, but ‘all was quiet’ the rest of the week.

The troop demonstrated what they’d learned in eight hours of drill practise, as Constable Rob Lamont called orders.  (click photo at right for video clip)

Justice Minister and local MLA, Shirley Bond, attended a regimental dinner with the troop the night before Saturday’s graduation.  She said it was a solemn and thoughtful event and told the parents in the crowd they would have been extremely proud of their children.

"Experiences like this are ones that shape, hopefully, your future," Bond told the grads.  "And your choices in life."

Prince George RCMP Superintendent, Eric Stubbs, said he spoke with the troop on the first morning of the academy and told them it would be a difficult week – they’d be tired, stressed out, and it would be easy to criticize one another – but he urged them to pull together as a team when those times came.  Stubbs said he heard time and time again that they did just that, "I would be proud to hear in a number of years that some members of Troop 11 are with the RCMP, so we’re going to keep at ’em and keep encouraging them."

"They were just a very outstanding group," said academy organizer, Special Constable Davy Greenlees.  "They bonded really quick, started working together very well and they just did everything really well."

"It was not what I expected at all," said 17-year-old Troop 11 grad, Kelsey Monsen.  "I first came here thinking it was going to be a fun week, I was going to meet new people and just have a good experience – which it turned out to be in the end."

But the Kelly Road student said, "The first few days were, ‘Oh my goodness, I just want to go home, this is so scary’."

She said the whole experience really opened her eyes to what the RCMP is all about and gave her a new appreciation for what officers go through on a daily basis.  Monsen said she had no intentions of being an RCMP officer when she looked into the academy just three short months ago. 

"After this academy, I’m really gung ho about pursuing all that the RCMP has to offer and possibly pursuing it as a career."