LIHUE — This is the first year that Devon Hartsell, Melia Okura, and Julia Hirano will be leading the Waimea High School JROTC battalion in today’s annual Veterans Day parade in Lihue, but it’s certainly not their first time marching.
LIHUE — This is the first year that Devon Hartsell, Melia Okura, and Julia Hirano will be leading the Waimea High School JROTC battalion in today’s annual Veterans Day parade in Lihue, but it’s certainly not their first time marching.
“Being in a parade is nothing new to us, but we’re in command this year,” the 17-year-old Hartsell said. “We’re seniors now, and the three of us have been going to school together since middle school, so we’ve been doing these kinds of things together for awhile.”
The trio is heavily involved in school clubs and sports and all three are in line to graduate with valedictorian honors this May, according to their senior army instructor, Major Victor Aguilar.
“Most of the (student) leadership within the school is part of our ROTC program,” Aguilar said. “It’s great because the seniors get to mentor the freshmen and the sophomores and there’s a real sense of camaraderie.”
The entire battalion, 150 members strong, has coordinated a full marching show for the parade and is one of two high school ROTCs that will be marching.
Karla Bermudez, 17, from Hanapepe, has been practicing with her sabre so she and her fellow cadets can show off some sword play and the battalion’s drill team has been keeping their skills sharp for the parade.
“We’re also excited because we have new uniforms and they’re going to look great,” Julia Hirano said. “They’re blue instead of green.”
Aguilar said that one in three kids at Waimea High School is involved in ROTC — making up nearly 30 percent of the student body. On Mondays, when ROTC students are required to wear uniforms, there’s usually one or two of them in every group around campus.
“It really is so popular just by word of mouth,” Aguilar said. “We even have a foreign exchange student that is involved this year because it’s such a social thing.”
While they are busy gearing up for Veterans Day weekend, parades and ceremonies are just part of what the Waimea High School ROTC is about.
“Kids are here for the competition and the camaraderie,” Aguilar said. “Plus, we help lift each other up. We’re a high academic achieving group.”
The program teaches kids about cadence and physical endurance, but it also provides life skill tips that prove useful as they move toward college.
“The class teaches us all about health and we learn CPR,” Hirano said. “And we also learn English and how to manage money.”
Aguilar said the program teaches students how to balance budgets, invest, and do taxes. It also is a resource for students as they move toward a career.
“Our goal here is to have students deciding what they want to go to school for by their junior year,” Aguilar said. “That way they have some direction, and then we work really hard to get them scholarships.”
Last year, Aguilar said the Waimea ROTC had three students receive scholarships. He’s hopeful this year there will be more.
“Of course, if these kids want to go into the service, we will get them there,” Aguilar said, “but really, we want to see these kids go to college and have successful careers and lives.”
