Meet Officer Cadet Étienne Jacques

Étienne Jacques : I was part of the “Grand rendez-vous des voiliers”.

I did three weeks on a large sailboat.

This experience confirmed my decision.

I want to be in navigation, it's a passion that I want to pursue.

It's really a great opportunity to arrive in an institution and to already be employed.

When you come to the College, you have an allowance, you have a uniform, you have a room, you don’t have rent to pay, there’s food, medical insurance, dental insurance.

The pension fund begins to accumulate, it’s a big difference from the reality that other students have to live through in private institutions.

All of this is paid for by taxpayers.

It’s very important to have the honour of being here, studying, and being part of the Coast Guard family.

It’s a program that is demanding, we have a workload, we must organize our schedule.

Staying at work every day, even on weekends, is demanding in itself because we have a code of conduct, we have values and we have a code of ethics to follow.

When I was living through those difficult times, what I forgot was that I had just stayed at the College, on campus, all week.

I hadn't left the campus. You have to change your environment from time to time and get outdoors.

There’s Peters Field Park which is close by.

It really is a great park.

For me, it's my sanctuary.

When I want to find myself, I go for a walk there by myself.

It's a beautiful park.

Also, it’s always good to have a hobby.

For me, it was playing music.

It was a way for me to unwind and release all my emotions.

I would especially like to work in the Great Lakes, and then slowly transfer to the Quebec City region where we go to the Arctic and make science trips.

There are different challenges there and that's my perspective for my career.