Empowering success: A student testimonial – Jack Gehring
September 23, 2024 - Defence Stories
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Jack Gehring
My name is Jack Gehring, and I am a former student that was hired as an indeterminate employee into the Officer Development Program (ODP) in November 2022. I am currently working at the Fleet Maintenance Facility Cape Breton in Esquimalt, British Columbia on my coastal rotation for the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). I am also a Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) reservist, working with the Air Cadet Program as a Flight Instructor and Squadron Commanding Officer.
I am from Regina, Saskatchewan and graduated from the University of Regina in 2022 with an Industrial Systems Engineering Degree, Computer Science Minor, and a Level II Business Administration Certificate. I was the first ever student hired within the Canadian Forces Information Operations Group (CFIOG). Shoutout to Commander Graham Hill for making it possible!
For me, working at the Department of National Defence (DND) all started with a poster on the wall outside the university career office. From there, I reached out to the hiring manager, sent my resume, and they ended up hiring me through the Federal Student Work Experience Program (FSWEP). I enjoy the work-life balance and flexibility DND offers.
When I worked as a student, I gained the following experience working within DND:
- Network Engineering Student at the 3rd Canadian Division Support Group Signal Squadron in Shilo, Manitoba
- Integrated Logistics Support Management (ILSM) Engineering Student with Project Management Office Maritime Helicopter Project (PMO MHP) in Gatineau, Quebec
- Engineering Support with Canadian Forces Electronic Warfare Centre (CFEWC) in Ottawa, Ontario
- Maintenance Analysis Engineering Student with the Aerospace Technology Engineering Support Squadron (ATESS) in Trenton, Ontario
I have worked in the following positions since being hired full-time:
- Project Engineer-In-Training (EIT) in Ottawa, Ontario with Project Management Office Canadian Surface Combatant
- Project Control EIT with Project Management Office Future Fighter Capability Project (PMO FFCP) in Ottawa, Ontario
- Naval Architecture EIT with Marine Equipment Program Management Submarines (MEPM SM) in Gatineau, Quebec
The projects I worked on at DND helped motivate me to finish my degree, even when times and classes were tough. I am fortunate to have had superb military and public service supervisors mentor me. I have stayed in contact with most of them to this date. In my free time, I enjoy flying airplanes, camping, hiking in the mountains, gymnastics, meeting new people, and networking. While I am not bilingual, I have been studying some French to eventually achieve a profile. As a CAF reservist, I can work at DND in many different capacities. I have also met some amazing individuals with very diverse backgrounds and experiences, offering different perspectives on the team. Overall, I enjoy being able to support Canadians and the CAF!
In my current position, I hope to gain valuable insight into engineering practices, points of success, areas where improvement is needed, and the operation on the coast as a whole. If I can take this experience back to Ottawa, and use the knowledge gained to help make informed decisions to supervisors, ultimately enabling the fleet and coast to be successful, I know I’ve been successful. This will be especially true when Canada acquires the River-Class Surface Combatants, as that is where I will be working following graduation from the ODP!
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Contact
- If you are a student and want to submit a testimonial, please send an email to hrciv_communications_rhciv@forces.gc.ca
- Hiring managers, if you need support finding a student for your team, contact the National Student Hiring Team at CIV.DND.NationalStudentHiring-EmbaucheNationaleEtudiants.MDN@forces.gc.ca