“Honestly, it's a huge privilege.” Ashburton St John Cadet named National Cadet of the Year

“I hope that by the end of the year, people don't remember me for the title, but they remember me for how I made them feel.” 

Ashburton teenager Nate Woods has been named St John National Cadet of the Year after being selected from six finalists across Aotearoa.  

Hato Hone St John national youth manager Kerry Mitchell said Woods stood out with his genuine presence.  

“He has a real mana to him. When you’re around him you can feel his genuine concern and care and interest in other people.”  

Nineteen young people across the country applied for the position before the number was cut to six people.  

“They have to do a bit of public speaking, a presentation where we observe them, do teamwork activities and all that sort of stuff.” 

Mitchell said any one of the six finalists could have done the job, but eventually, it came down to “small little things and often quite a debate at the end of the day to make the decision”. 

Woods became the voice of nearly 3000 young people involved in the programme. 

“I'm very aware that I'm representing something much bigger than me,” Woods said.  

Woods, who had been a cadet from the age of six, said he couldn’t believe he had been given the honour.

“Once it started to sink in, I just felt incredibly grateful because I didn't get there by myself.” 

The work really starts for Woods next year.  

Being the National Cadet of the Year meant attending events, sitting in on panels like the National Youth Advisory Network, and gathering opinions from young people to feed back to senior managers and governance in the organisation.  

The role came as the St John youth programme prepared to celebrate its centenary. 

Mitchell said Woods was excited to support the celebration and spread the word about the programme 

“I know that he really wants to be a great representative for the young people.”