LAHAINA >> Nothing could be more fitting.

The Lahainaluna High School class of 2024 valedictorian has chosen a career as a first responder to emergencies.

M. Jee Abara is well on his way to his goal of aviation paramedic. Even before Sunday’s high school graduation at Sue D. Cooley Stadium on the Lunas’ campus, he’d already celebrated earning an associate’s degree in liberal arts from the University of Hawaii Maui College at its commencement ceremonies May 9.

In two years he will have a B.A. in business administration and disaster prevention from UH West Oahu.

Before the wildfires of Aug. 8 that changed Lahaina forever, Abara knew what he wanted to do with his life. The more than 100 deaths that day, which were acknowledged with a moment of silence Sunday, made him even more determined. He was already aware of the potential risks.

“A flight nurse told me if I don’t trust my gut and especially if I don’t trust my team, I will probably die in the field. I wrote that down. That opened my eyes,” Abara said. “I already knew it’s a job hazard. But that really made the passion to want to do it stronger, coming to terms with that.

“When I went on the helicopter for the first time, I knew. This would be my office.”

In his speech Sunday, Abara — representing the class’s 35 valedictorians — spoke to his 225 graduating classmates and thousands of guests about preparedness, resilience and teamwork.

Before his speech, to illustrate his point, Abara tore his script into pieces.

“As we all move forward, remember, life is and will continue to be uncertain,” he told the audience. “But remember, don’t fret what you cannot see. Even if you feel like you’re breaking down or when you’re experiencing a low, remember, take a step back, analyze, ask for help, look for ways you can spring back up and change your perspective. And if all else fails, use that backup plan.”

And, with that, Abara shared his Plan B, showing the audience note cards for his speech.

A few minutes after his speech, a spectacular display of 300 drones filled the sky above the school, a donation from the Downtown Athletic Club of Hawaii, and tearful and cheerful relatives and friends presented lei to the graduates.

“Change is tough to grasp. Especially with what happened this year, everyone’s afraid to let go,” said Abara, who like other Lahainaluna students was forced to commute across the island for classes before the school reopened after the fires.

Sophia Nicole Abut is a classmate who has lived two streets from Abara in Lahaina since the Abara family arrived from the Philippines when Abara was 4 and just learning to speak English.

“I’m so proud of him because he came from being this really quiet kid,” Abut said. “He worked hard on public speaking, and he did so many things, starting different committees. He showed anything is possible.

“I think what motivates him is to help and teach other people. The more he does that, the more it helps the entire community.”

It’s a common theme at Lahainaluna, which opened in 1831 as a school to train teachers. Even as teenagers the Lunas are servant leaders. That includes Abut, who taught middle school students volleyball skills while a student-athlete herself.

Her career plans also include health care; Abut will major in nursing and psycho­logy at Washington State.

“I definitely plan to return and serve my home community,” she said. “I think college years are a time when it is good to explore.”

Overcoming challenges

Abut almost didn’t get to play her senior volleyball season at Lahainaluna.

It was uncertain whether Lahainaluna would have sports (or even be open at all) in the fall after the wildfires, so Abut transferred to King Kekaulike. When it was determined the Lunas would have a volleyball season, she returned to Lahainaluna but was told she could not play volleyball because of transfer rules.

She challenged the ruling but got nowhere and felt like giving up. Her mother, Odessa, encouraged her to keep fighting.

“She just told me, ‘Don’t give up because there’s always a way, and people will have a heart and give you the opportunity,’” said Abut, who lost her freshman season to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Eventually, Abut was allowed to play for Lahainaluna.

“My teammates at King K. were great, but it didn’t feel quite right wearing the teal uniform and not the red I was used to,” Abut said.

Second-year swim team captain Emily Hegrenes also had some extra challenges, since the Lunas’ pool was unusable.

Like Abara, Hegrenes and her family came to Lahaina­luna from far away.

Emily’s parents, Stefanie and Jason, brought their four children to West Maui from Minnesota five years ago.

“Changing schools was hard at first, but I adapted quickly,” said Hegrenes, who is among 35 Luna seniors with a cumulative GPA of 4.0 or higher.

Like everyone graduating from high school this spring, freshman year started for Hegrenes with the isolation brought on by the pandemic.

Then, her senior year of high school began in the wake of the wildfires. The family evacuated and slept in their car the night of Aug. 8; they were fortunate to return to the house with it unscathed.

Hegrenes maintained her high grades and was accepted to UCLA, where she will be premed. Her goal is to become a neurologist.

The multitalented Hegrenes also turned her acrylic and watercolor artistry into a way to help the community. She has sold paintings since her sophomore year, with net proceeds going to the Maui Humane Society.

“I did not know the extent of the feral cat problem here,” she said.

Hegrenes volunteered at Roselani Place, an assisted living residence in Kahului. She also interned with a podiatrist and earned several health care certifications while earning dual college credits.

“This graduation is huge for the community, like the first football game (last fall),” she said. “The community celebrating us will be a big source of hope, that it’s remarkable we made it this far. I’m so proud of us to be so resilient, to come from this very tragic event, with our heads held high and with hopes for the future.”

Committed to UH

Lincoln Kaulana Tihada, another 4.0 student and valedictorian, was a star on the football team Hegrenes referenced.

Tihada — the lastest in a long line of family to graduate from Lahainaluna — also possesses a passion for mentoring younger kids. While still in high school he helped coach middle school-age football players. It is in his blood; his uncle Garret is the associate head coach of the Lahainaluna varsity.

Kaulana followed the path of his father, Joey, as a Lunas running back.

This fall he will emulate his mother, Sheri, as an electrical engineering student at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

“She told me it’s a very good program and she got a lot out of it,” he said.

UH’s tuition waiver for Lahainaluna graduates also helped him make that decision, Tihada said.

Seventy-five Lahainaluna students have committed to UH on four-year scholarships, and LHS seniors have earned $3.3 million in scholarships, according to the state Department of Education.

“Dealing with COVID and the fires, I think, built our resilience and made us stronger as a class. It brought us together,” Tihada said.

The Lahainaluna football team helped inspire the community weeks after the fires by returning to practice and then, later, to games. The Lunas were undefeated in Maui Interscholastic League competition and made it to the semifinals of the state tournament.

“After the fire we didn’t know if we’d have a season at all,” Tihada said. “We were all excited to get back together, to get back with our teammates at practice. After that I felt like it gave us more of a purpose to do it, not just for ourselves, but for the community and everyone.”

Tihada was also among the Lahainaluna contingent that participated in the Super Bowl coin toss in February, bringing more awareness to the plight of Lahaina — which will need all the help it can get, for a long time, on the path to recovery.

“I feel like our school, with its deep roots, and all that comes with it, means we hold a deep pride that gets passed on to each class by the one before it,” Abut said. “You can really feel it. Everyone has each other’s backs. We were kind of isolated and introverted coming out of COVID. Then we heard so many stories about starving grandparents, so we went around distributing food and other things. Then the fire. The community is such a family that it helped me push through everything.”

Already leading

That is nothing new for the oldest school west of the Rocky Mountains.

All of the students interviewed said they plan to someday make the traditional 4-mile trek up to the L on the hill above the school, and all said they will continue to contribute to the rebuilding of the town below the school. Much of it will be through their shared passion for learning and sharing what they learn.

In the words of Abara on Sunday, “Life, as a community, we know, has ways of shaking our world, from failures to tragedies and loss. One day we might be really ecstatic and joyful, and just like that, it could change. How, then, can we succeed not knowing what is going to happen?”

Abara and his classmates have already begun to answer that question, emphatically, by serving, teaching and leading — even before they graduated Sunday.

“They are hard-headed, but in the funnest ways,” said their class adviser, Jackie Ellis.