Posted on: Sunday, September 19, 2004
'Helping people is satisfying'
By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Central O'ahu Writer
Jennie Onitsuka of Mililani, one of four finalists for a national youth volunteer service award, believes her real reward will come from the work she's doing.
"I don't need an award for helping people because I believe my real reward will be in heaven," she said.
Misty DeMichael, 20, of Newark, Ohio, the National Youth Service Award winner, will be presented with a $10,000 college scholarship on Tuesday. Besides Onitsuka, the other finalists are Ashlee Norris, 14, of Des Moines, Iowa; and Chandler Drake, 19, of Ponte Vedra, Fla.
A Mililani High graduate, Onitsuka volunteers at The Salvation Army's Leeward Corps at 98-612 Moanalua Loop in 'Aiea.
She leads the "Singing Company," a 30-member choir made up of children 7 to 16 years old; teaches sign-language and Sunday school classes; serves as a preschool teacher's aide; and is an assistant teacher for the Corps' "Girl Guard" troop program.
On Wednesday, her busiest day, she volunteers from 4 to 7:30 p.m.
Onitsuka will return from her Mainland trip Sept. 28. She will head to Maui on Oct. 4 to attend Maui Community College and do youth service work for The Salvation Army there. Her goal is to get into The Salvation Army's training college in California and become an officer.
Her father, Glenn Onitsuka, was active in expanding The Salvation Army's youth volleyball program before his death in 1996, while her mother, the former Gail Nakasato, is a third-generation member of The Salvation Army.
The Salvation Army, established in 1865, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian church and the nation's largest charity.
Reach Rod Ohira at 535-8181 or rohira@honoluluadvertiser.com.
"Helping people is satisfying," the 19-year-old Onitsuka said Thursday in a telephone interview from Camarillo, Calif. She was vacationing there while en route to Washington, D.C., where the four will be honored Tuesday by The Salvation Army and the National Football League's Dallas Cowboys.
Jennie Onitsuka
