Last night, I posted about the procedures in applying for the NSA Cadetship Program. If you missed that article, click here. You might know somebody who is deserving and qualified  for that scholarship.

Now, I want to elaborate the benefits of being an NSA Scholar. There are a lot more advantage in being part of this prestigious program than you might have heard of.

1. Free School Tuition, Dormitory Stay and Food Too.

The very basic necessity for your college survival is given for free. You will be housed in a dormitory together with other scholars. Your tuition fee is taken care of in just a wave of a pen. A three-times a day meal is ready everyday including Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Don’t worry about electric and water bills. Those are taken care of as well.

2. Assignment to Different Shipping Companies.

This is the real deal. As early as your First School Year, big companies will come after you. Meaning, you won’t have to go out there and go through the process of application just to get hired. There is a shortage in competent Officers and Engineers today so these companies are securing their future by sponsoring NSA Cadets. This is a huge advantage for you because unlike the regular students, they have to apply to different companies just to get hired. Imagine applying for 400+ companies after graduation!

3. Free In-house Training.

During your scholarship, there are advanced in-house training that will be conducted on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Your summer and Christmas vacations will also be limited too. This is a worthy sacrifice to prepare your knowledge on the advance level. The modules discussed will be very applicable on board. The instructors are well experienced Officers, Engineers including Masters and Chief Engineers. Your mind will be shaped to become the best Officer or Engineer.

4. Shipboard Training Onboard T/S Kapitan Felix Oca.

On the summer season of your first academic year, you and other NSA Cadets from other Schools will intermingle together on board T/S Kapitan Felix Oca. This sea trip will help you taste a bit of the life at sea for two weeks. You will be exposed to the practical aspects of shipboard operation. You may also get to know the sea and weather too. This is like a floating classroom wherein your textbooks are the actual equipment that you can use and practice. The best part of the trip is when you go for an island hopping in Coron, Palawan, Camiguin or Boracay. You learn a lot while enjoying the process.

5. Instilled with Discipline, Camaraderie, and Teamwork.

The program offers a wide variety of training and character building. Since the manning structure on board follows a chain of command, NSA Scholars are shaped to be a man of discipline as early as their college days. Not only that, a spirit of camaraderie is also introduced in the program. On  an actual vessel, it is very important to get along well with the crew. Having a friendly relationship on board plays a big factor on safety. Lastly, NSA Cadets are taught that no man is an island. They are always a team. More than that, they are brothers from different mothers bonded together not by blood but by the spirit of brotherhood.

6. Value Time Management.

Time is very important on board. Being late in an actual emergency could bring more disaster to the ship and crew. As early as their first year, NSA Cadets are taught of the value of time. Every move, every assignment, and everything that you have to do should be time bounded. You will learn how to budget your time not only to yourself, but for your classmates as well. You will work together as one and help each other finish their job so that no man is left behind.

7. Transformed from Being a Boy into a Man.

As you get constant exposure with the training, your character is also shaped. The once skinny and spineless Jose have become the mature and tough guy who stands proudly. His childish voice before is transformed into something more eloquent. His feeble posture is replaced by a muscular stance. Yes, those transformations happen. The NSA will not only build your character but it will also shape your physique.

8. The Twelve Month Apprenticeship Program.

After undergoing all those training, exercises, seminars and workshops, it’s time to test your mettle and see what you’re truly made of. Your first and second years in college are a preparation to this big event. Now, you will be deployed to your respective companies and serve on one of their seagoing ships for twelve months! That’s a very long time and a lot could happen. That’s why your preparation is robust. The crew on board will test your knowledge. They will also teach you lot of things. Sometimes, you will get shout at by your superiors. You will make mistakes. Nature will toss your ship during bad weather that you won’t be able to eat or sleep. But if your preparation is superb, then those twelve months will just pass by smoothly.

9. Budget Money.

Now hold your horses on spending! Being an apprentice for twelve months could earn you a lot of money. But don’t go all out on buying things. This is still part of your training. You yourself will learn to budget your money so that you will be afloat for another twelve months at school. You will be stripped with the benefits the project has given you. All the expenses needed to finish college will come from your pocket. But you will still have your company right after you graduate.

10. Chick Magnet.

“The hardship of a Seaman is worth to be loved by a beautiful Woman”

Even during your school days, whenever women hear you being an NSA Cadet, there is a good chance that the same forces of nature of action and reaction will act on your favor. This is the part which is not taught or harnessed in the Project but is felt by the Cadets. Maybe the combinations of the those traits listed above creates a composite character and this must be its side effect.