RNZAF’s UOS Students
One Year On
By FGOFF Megan Hodges
At the start of the last university year, five keen Royal New Zealand Air Force University Officer Scholarship (UOS) students piled out of the Iroquois and onto the Massey Campus for the official launch of UOS.
It was an exciting time and we were all interested to see how we would be received by the lecturers and our fellow students. The students in my classes were really interested in learning about the Air Force. I was proud to have a line of people waiting to ask me about the RNZAF and surprised by the class discussions that erupted during the breaks.
For the most part, UOS students have been positively received. The RNZAF flying overalls, and the ‘Step Up’ recruiting T shirts that we wear on casual Fridays, are instantly recognisable and enhance our popularity. However, we have also had the experience of students shying away from us thinking we were security, asking us for directions, or expecting us to provide the answers in class!
Highlights:
- Being dropped off at Massey University by the Iroquois on our first day and having a welcome morning tea with the Vice-Chancellor, Steve Maharey, at the Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies.
- The opening of our ‘super’ student study facility, aka the ‘UOS Frat House’.
- Competing against the RNZAF University Scheme (RUS) and the NZ Army in a 58 hour Adventure Race.
- Assisting the recruiters with the Air Force Challenge
- The mid-year overnight hike to the Otaki Forks Field Hut.
- Successfully completing our first year on UOS!
- Learning about our trades in the RNZAF during work experience and getting involved in Base activities
- Learning about the history and traditions of the RNZAF university scheme from senior officers who began their careers at University Cadet Flight (UCF), the precursor to UOS, at the inaugural UOS/UCF Dining In.
This year there are 11 of us on UOS, which is fantastic. It really feels like a team and we are starting to have a real presence on campus. UOS is the perfect environment in which to pursue your studies, and is an amazing opportunity for direct entrants, commissioned from the ranks and re-enlistments alike. I couldn’t imagine a better way to complete my Masters and pursue my ultimate career—Psychology within the RNZAF.