2nd City celebrates its first grads
By Tanya Bricking Leach
Advertiser Staff Writer
KAPOLEI — Their team nickname may be the Hurricanes, but they've called themselves the "guinea pigs."
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They're suburban teenagers at Kapolei High School, and they've spent the past four years forming their identities in a sprawling community without much of an identity itself.
Krystal'Ann Toilolo was among the 328 seniors who graduated last night from Kapolei High School, the first class to graduate from the "Second City's" high school.
These teens have been something of a social experiment: the first class in the first new public high school O'ahu has seen in three decades.
In four years, the community's reputation has grown around them. And last night, the class of 2004 made history, when 328 seniors became the first to graduate from Kapolei High School.
Hundreds of onlookers carrying lei, balloons, posters and pool floats cheered as graduates in the center stage turned the tassels on their silver caps to signal they were moving on.
Glenn Molina, one of the five seniors who tied for class valedictorian, said he was so excited he couldn't sleep the night before. In his speech, 18-year-old Molina, who will study film and music at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, mentioned the "guinea pig" tag that stuck with his class since freshman year. Now, he said, "we're ready for the world."
First, he and his classmates took a nostalgic look back.
"When I first came here, I was excited to be at a brand-new school and meet brand-new friends. Today, they're still my friends," said Tiffany Garrett, 17, whose resume is stacked with titles such as Miss Kapolei, senior class representative, editor of the school paper, first girl to be named "Hurricane of the Year." "To leave this school, I don't want to."
She plans to go on to Hawai'i Pacific University and wants to become a TV sports anchor.
The ambitions of her classmates run the gamut from attending Mainland schools to joining the military or staying close to home.
All eyes on them
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"Home" for the class of 2004 in O'ahu's fledgling "Second City" has meant living in a place bursting with subdivisions featuring $400,000 homes, and notable demographics. Kapolei has a median income of $69,640, among the top six wealthiest ZIP codes in the state. And the community's population — more than 70,000 today — is projected to reach 100,000 by 2010.
Kapolei High School first commencement ceremony drew thousands of supporters. The ceremony was a milestone not only for the graduates but also for the young town.
Safeway was Kapolei's first commercial tenant in 1992. Today, a range of businesses and services exist: a movie theater, water park, Kmart, police station, office complexes, strip malls and restaurants. Just down the road at Ko Olina are a resort, spa, lagoons and marina.
Kapolei High School regards itself as the community's hub, made up of the people who were part of its birth and then became its epicenter. So it's understandable that some graduates want to stick around to see what happens next.
"We've pretty much been the focal point of the community," said Alex Takeda, 17, who plans to go to Leeward Community College and then the University of Hawai'i. "I want to come back here and teach math."
For parent T.J. Cuaresma, the highlight of the school's growth came during football season.
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"Everybody was saying, 'Oh, Kapolei. New school. New coach,'" shrugging off the team's chances, she said. The team won the O'ahu Interscholastic Association White regular-season championship. Losing to 'Aiea in the conference title game and to Damien in the first round of the state Division II playoffs didn't diminish the team's achievement.
Kerisiano Tuaniga,third from the left, takes a moment to reflect on his years at Kapolei High School.
Cuaresma was so proud to have her son, Andrew Miram, on the team that she wore her own black Kapolei football jacket all over town.
"They got beyond the fact that they came from different parts of the island," she said. "These kids came past that and brought the community together."
So did the girls' softball team, which won the state title.
But graduates, who know so many conversations about growing up in Hawai'i go back to where you went to high school, say they hope the school's reputation will go beyond sports.
"We already have a reputation for air-conditioning and football," laughed 18-year-old Tiffany Balangue, who plans to go to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and become an elementary school teacher. "People have doubted us. But it's made us strive to show that we're more than that."
Getting over growing pains
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That's not to say it has all come easily.
Butch Flores waits for the right moment to photograph his son, Brandon Keith Flores, walking across the stage to receive his diploma.
In a town started in an empty field, the class of 2004 began their high school careers in much the same fashion. They were the only class at Kapolei High School that first year. The buildings were largely empty. There was no stadium, no track, no reference point on the road to the future.
Traditions have been hard to come by.
Not everyone sang the alma mater at graduation because it's so new that not everyone knew the words.
"Make it up as you go along is the theme," said Diana Agor, the senior class adviser. "The theme is there is no precedent. There's no: 'This is how we did it last year.'"
David Llenado, a 17-year-old junior, expects his class will still be one of "firsts."
"They were pioneers, and we're still pioneers ourselves," he said. "The traditions probably will be set a few years from now because Kapolei's so new."
Garrett (Miss Kapolei) wants to start a tradition next year.
She plans to come back for homecoming. It will be another first for the class of 2004: Becoming alumni.
Reach Tanya Bricking Leach at tbricking@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8026.
