KAPAA – Selena Morita was looking forward to summer fun in the sun. But her father, Anthony Morita, a lieutenant with the Kauai police force, handcuffed that idea. The law enforcement veteran had other plans for his 14-year-old daughter – a
KAPAA – Selena Morita was looking forward to summer fun in the sun.
But her father, Anthony Morita, a lieutenant with the Kauai police force, handcuffed that idea.
The law enforcement veteran had other plans for his 14-year-old daughter – a week in Washington D.C. at the FBI Academy.
“It was a youth leadership program,” Morita said. “My dad was telling me to do it. He got everything together for me and I just showed up for the interview.”
The police interview put his daughter in the hot seat to compete for the honor to attend the Leadership Academy Program in the nation’s capital June 17-26. Selena stood out with her 4.0 grade point average and her essay on “What is Leadership?”
Upon arriving in Washington, the Kapaa teen was assigned to a dorm room at the Drug Enforcement Agency, where students from across the country were housed for the program. Morning routines were grueling, she said.
“We were up at 5 a.m. every day and had to run two miles,” recalled Morita, who was honored Tuesday with a proclamation from Mayor Bernard Carvalho, Jr. “Then we walked around an average of 10 miles a day.”
Daily classes and workshops with her 57 classmates were stimulating and culminated in a final exam. During free time, Mortia toured the city. She rode to the top of the Washington Memorial, visited the tomb of the unknown soldier at Arlington Cemetery and stood up close to the Lincoln Memorial.
“Definitely, this trip was a rush,” said Morita. “I had to push myself to go on the trip but afterwards I liked it. It was like going on the Zipper at the fair for the first time. Before you go, you’re nervous but then afterwards you want to go 20 more times.”
Morita’s favorite part of the once-in-a-lifetime experience was graduation day.
“I gave my classmates these leis that my mom made. They had never gotten one before and didn’t know what they were,” Morita recounted.
In return, her classmate’s admiration for Hawaii has given her a new-found appreciation of Kauai.
They would rave, “You live in a paradise,” when she would show them photos of the beach.
“I told them it’s an every day thing,” said Morita, who wouldn’t mind becoming a pharmacist when she grows up.
Her connection with her classmates continues today. She said she is staying in touch with at least half of them through Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat.
Morita was grateful for the help she got on her first solo journey to the Mainland.
“It was scary traveling by myself. Everything seemed much bigger than here,” she said. “Officers met me at each of my layovers. The Chicago Chief of Police met me at O’Hare Airport.”
She is accustomed to being under the watchful eye of her father.
“He is very protective of everybody. But he is overly protective of me,” Morita said with a laugh.
Morita’s gratitude for her escorts during her cross-country journey had an Hawaiian flair.
“My mom made sure I had chocolate covered macadamia nuts for each of the officers. They were all excited,” she recalled.
The next opportunity for a Kauai youth to participate in the program will be in four years.
As for what she would advise her younger siblings and friends to do if they got an opportunity like she did, she said, “I would tell them to do it if they want to get off the island and see the world.”
Morita’s answer to what makes a good leader came easily to her upon her return from Washington, D.C.
“It means making sure others are helped out before yourself,” Morita explained.
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Lisa Ann Capozzi, a features and education reporter can be reached at lcapozzi@thegardenisland.com.
