Celebrating the Youth Cadets

Photo by Jason Chan

Twelve Molokai young adults started their summers a little differently: early mornings, endless push-ups, miles of running, ocean rescue training and more. As part of the third class of the Maui Police Dept.’s Youth Cadet Leadership Program, these Molokai high schoolers were honored on Friday, June 28 for completing the challenging course.

The four-week program was led by Molokai police officers. From 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. every day, the cadets were put through various physical and mental challenges, focusing on “mind over matter,” explained one of the program organizers, Officer Lani Caparida.

At Friday’s graduation ceremony, Caparida explained that he was proud of how the Molokai cadets “just put their heads down and didn’t quit” during the program.

“What I see are disciplined individuals,” said Caparida.

Throughout the program, the cadets worked with police officers, firefighters, lifeguards and other emergency service professionals to get a sense of what a career in those fields could look like.

“They didn’t kid glove them…and they stuck with it. They earned it,” said Maui Police Chief John Pelletier at the graduation. Pelletier was in attendance, along with Sen. Lynn DeCoite and County Councilmember Keani Rawlins-Fernandez, as well as family, friends and supporters of the cadets.

“These men and women are better on the backend of this journey than they were when they started,” said Pelletier. “I’d love to hire all of you.”

Pelletier also explained that while this is a county-wide initiative, the Molokai program has something special about it.

“Without a doubt, Molokai does it better than anyone else,” said Pelletier. “How could I not be anything but proud?”

The Youth Cadet Leadership Program started as a two-week course and has grown to a month long. Pelletier explained he’s open to continuing to expand the program if the Molokai community wishes to do so.

At the graduation, the cadets were given various awards including female and male physical fitness, and the notebook award for best classroom student. The Molokai cadets had the look of a group that has gone through something only they really know – their perfect posture punctuated by quick, shared grins.