STUART, Fla. — The Stuart Air Show is happening all weekend at Witham Field, and WPTV got to meet some of the young volunteers at the heart of the event.
As the sun sets over Three King’s Academy in West Palm Beach, a group of young, rising stars — our local U.S. Naval Sea cadets — are just getting started with their workout.
"It can be pretty physically straining," said Petty Officer First Class Eden Price.
Price helps lead the conditioning charge.
"Something that I always like to say to my cadets when they’re doing their P.T. is mind over matter and just push through it," Price said.
Price is a different person now, a high school senior and a leader, no longer a timid teen, because being a sea cadet lit a fire within her.
"It turns shy, not assertive people who don’t know how to stand up for themselves and be loud, and it changes them into people who can be bold and stand up for themselves, who know how to stand out while also working with a team," Price said.
This will be Price's third year volunteering at the Stuart Air Show.
"It’s truly a great experience. One of my favorite things is I get to interact with the crowds," Price said.
Make sure to say hello when you see Price at the air show, and her 40 fellow sea cadets, because they can’t wait to tell you more about why all this grit matters.
"It just makes you feel like you have such a greater purpose," Price said. "It shows you that you can be a part of something greater at such a young age."
Price wants to work in medicine while serving her country in the Air Force or the U.S. Navy.
Here are a few more things we learned about the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps. The program got its start in 1958 and was chartered by Congress in 1962. It’s a national program with about 400 units across the country. Kids get started as young as 10 years old and often carry through their senior year of high school.
For more information about this weekend's Stuart Air Show, click here.