My name is Jo Chambers. I'm 20 years old and I am at Cardiff University studying Biology, about to enter my second year. I was a keen cadet at school with a military family so when I joined university the OTC seemed like the next natural step on my path to Sandhurst in 2011. I have just completed my first year with the OTC and the adventures I have had have far exceeded my expectations. From getting lost in the infamous microclimate of our rugged Welsh training area Sennybridge at the very beginning of the term, to getting dropped 20 feet off a tower on summer camp, the OTC has done a lot more than fuel my interest in the army.

When the whole of Wales OTC gets together that's when the fun really kicks into gear. One of the highlights of the year for me was the annual Christmas sports weekend.  It was a real chance for us to meet all the other students from all over Wales and the competitive environment meant we quickly got to know each other.  Rivalries of the day were soon transferred to the evening parties and lead to the most varied karaoke/cabaret show I have ever witnessed. I am certainly no singer but the Cardiff girls had great fun dressing up (as flowers, of all things) and showing them just how its done.

The sports weekend was a really good way to see how the Army does sport and I surprised myself by really enjoying it. When I started university I was pretty ready to sink into a sedate student life style, but through the OTC I was coaxed into fitness every Thursday and haven't looked back. I now want to complete the Physical Training Instructors course and earn the coveted white vest. You never know, perhaps I will see if I can budge one of the boys out the way and bag myself a place on the Cambrian team.

One thing my non-OTC friends always ask questions about is the black tie dinners. We have several occasions a year where we are shown what life is like in an Officers' Mess. As I learnt last year, cheese boards and port are a big part of it. In the run up to the dinners the girls can talk about nothing else but (below the knee) dresses and hair dos. As potential officers we are taught etiquette fit for any dinner party. Each of us gets an opportunity to "host" a guest who may be the student union president or a Welsh livery guild patriot. It's a great opportunity to brush up on our conversational skills and great practice for the big wide grown up world. For me the biggest issue is monitoring my wine intake and ensuring I don't start throwing cheese at any colonels (mentioning no names).

Because we do such a wide variety of things together we know each other very well and our OTC socials are the most well attended and varied socials of any other university club. The combination of cheap alcohol, brilliant themes and a dedicated social committee means every Tuesday night is full of fun. Each social evening sees the making of legends and enough goes on to ensure that we have plenty to discuss until the next Tuesday!

Other things I have done in just one year with the OTC include climbing up cliffs and then throwing myself off them (into the sea) , learning to shoot, driving Landrovers, administering first aid, learning about map reading and being subsequently (momentarily) disorientated.  I have also been skiing, played rugby for the first time and of course been given the opportunity to throw myself into the military environment that I loved so much at cadets.

I could rave about the opportunities but I think that what has surprised me most about OTC is the people I have met there. Far from being the clichéd army types I had met so many of at my officer selection, although there are a few (!), the range of personalities and backgrounds have been what has made the OTC for me. I met all 4 of my housemates for 2nd year in the OTC and they range from nutritionists to economists and although we are all very different I have found that my friendships with them are my most solid. After all, how can you not bond after being cold, wet, tired, and by some miracle still laughing.

It has been really great to watch all of us develop as individuals and as leaders through the OTC. There is nothing better than watching someone succeed when people have had doubts about whether or not they could. Now when something goes wrong, all of us seem able to take it on the chin, laugh it off and carry on having fun. In my opinion, what the OTC does is give people looking for a challenge an environment in which they can really test themselves. To me everyone in the OTC has 'something' about them and these are the people I know I wouldn't want to be without.