University

Royal Military College of Canada 411

An RMC insider’s perspective on campus life

Royal Military College of Canada students

Unofficial school motto:
Being a military academy, everything is official. We all take pride in ‘Truth, duty, valour!’

Best place for a nap:
Your room, any minute you can

Royal Military College of Canada student Eliza Bruce.

Royal Military College of Canada student Eliza Bruce.

Best cheap lunch:
Score’s pizza

Best hangover breakfast:
Smoke’s Poutine

Favourite watering hole:
The Toucan for a classy pub, and Tir Nan Og for karaoke!

Perks of living in this town:
Kingston has an unreal, timeless vibe, and there are so many exciting attractions and community events in the downtown core.

Best place to study:
Fort Frederick Martello Tower or by the waterfront

Weirdest tradition:
Skylarks (division- or squadron-led morale boosters, like moving the old torpedo onto the parade square or painting the Commandant’s white picket fence . . . not white)

Best campus event:
FYOP obstacle course—by the end everyone is doused in mud, paint, water, sun, and spirits are high as the entire school comes together alongside the first years in their final mission.

Best giveaway:
Free tuition, free medical plan, free gym membership and access to professional training staff, and free uniforms!

Best live music venue:
The town square in the fall and spring, and the Grand Theatre for the winter months

University Insider: Eliza Bruce, 21, English

I have so much appreciation for what this college affords its students now that I’m halfway through my third year and hold leadership positions in both the choir and my squadron. RMC really does bring out the best in you. This is a life-changing career path and educational journey where I am continually inspired. I sometimes surprise myself with what I’m capable of. Just be prepared to enter an entirely different mindset.

You will focus on new skills and become a member of a self-sustaining team. Being in the military makes going to school your job, but it also gives you a sense of pride and responsibility you wouldn’t otherwise acquire. With the Canadian Armed Forces implementing new policies to promote an effective and safe workforce, the college is looking for new recruits who demonstrate critical thinking, a strong ethical core and the ability to meet the challenges of an increasingly complex range of service.

PROFILE: Royal Military College of Canada | Kingston, Ont. | Founded 1876

As a member of the band, I participated in the many yearly concerts (Concert in Scarlets, Christmas Concert), military services (Remembrance Day), city traditions (Copper Sunday) and parades (Sunset Ceremony and Grad Parade). All of these occasions emphasize the relationship and shared history between the college, civilian and military worlds. At various parades and events, there are opportunities to interact with members of other forces as well as high-ranking officers and non-commissioned officers. This allows you to benefit from their knowledge.

You can also prepare for your chosen trade through these chances for on-site or in-person training. In addition, RMC’s uniquely small class sizes allow for frequent one-on-one tutoring, along with writing centre appointments, individual language training and interactions with the academically distinguished faculty members.

To find the drive and focus needed to excel at RMC, you must dig deep and develop inner motivation. Excellence and proficiency are the ultimate goals of the school’s four pillars of academics, military leadership, second-language training and physical fitness. You have to earn everything through your own hard work. In each successive year, you are given greater leadership responsibilities, a defining point of RMC’s combined academic and military education. There is no ‘I’ in team, so RMC tests leadership, group and individual skills to produce the refined officer-like qualities indispensable to the Canadian Forces.

Extras

The campus is always alive and teaming with student traffic, whether it’s the sailing club or windsurfers adrift on the waves, the Sandhurst members running with their rucks and tac gear, or varsity athletes mid-game in the sports fields. RMC boasts one the best fencing facilities in the country. There is also an ever-expanding world of clubs and teams for music, exploration, journalism, photography, gaming, computing, writing, rock-wall-climbing, swimming, scuba diving, debating, flying, and firing off at the range. RMC has many opportunities such as exchanges, expeditions, internships, summer on-the-job training, and military history trips.

Local Vibe 

One of the best aspects of Kingston is its sparkling atmosphere and diverse attractions. The biking and walking trails sprawl to the waterfront and countryside. Natural features such as Wolfe Island provide a peaceful, picturesque escape via free ferry rides. Lake Ontario offers many fair-weather activities such as swimming, fishing, sailing and boating. Historically intriguing, Kingston’s main core draws in the population because of its convenient geographical situation, its clean and renewed integrated old downtown, markets and festivals, the K-Rock centre, concerts and plays, fantastic eateries, cafés, and restaurants, and the nearby Fort Henry and military base.

The Skinny 

RMC Portal contains information about application, registration, training, academics and extracurricular activities: rmcc-cmrc.ca/en. For articles, pictures and information about the life and history of RMC check out: everitas.rmcclub.ca.

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