Hail to the Brown and Gold Honoring Mililani High School’s History

By itself, 50 doesn’t mean anything significant; it’s a number, a way to measure a certain quantity of something. However, 50 years of education, opportunities and memories is something that’s a testament to the quality of an institution, and is a milestone Mililani High School will reach this year. MHS, which first opened its doors in 1973, not only provides high schoolers with a quality education, but continues to welcome its alumni back to the campus as faculty and staff. In celebration of Mililani High School’s 50th anniversary, the Trojan Times reached out to alumni and students to learn more about this institution.

Becoming the Trojans

Two aspects that permeate throughout the school are its alma mater and mascot. Contrary to its current state, MHS wasn’t always the Home of the Trojans. Initially, the school had to choose between being brown and gold Trojans or silver and black lions. They chose brown and gold due to the fact that black and silver were thought to be too hot for football players to wear.

The alma mater was created by Teresa Kenney for an extra credit assignment. First assigned by Mrs. Fukuda for an English class, Kenney wrote it for an ongoing contest. The lines, “from the mountains to the sea” was a reference to the view from Mililani, as she could see the ocean from her classroom.

“I think now that I’m older, I definitely appreciate (it)…when I was in high school, I didn’t care where our alma mater came from, it just was there, right? But now … I learned about the Alma Mater and the selection of our mascot and our school colors and some of those things,” said class of 1990 graduate Stephanie Grande-Misaki. Grande-Misaki is now Head of the Alumni Association and English Department Head. “...Being part of the Alumni Association, I’m able to get feedback from others…like people have been sharing stories and things that they remember. And so some of those stories are similar to what we have, what I’ve experienced, but then some are totally different. And it’s like, wow, that’s interesting, I didn’t know that. Or the things that are memorable to one person may be insignificant to another, but then it makes you see things in a new perspective and a new light, which as a teacher, then, makes me think about every interaction that you have, no matter how small, no matter how big; it can make an impact on someone else.”

Growth and Change

Opening in 1973, Mililani High School began as a small school with little buildings. B Building and the locker room were some of the first buildings on campus, as the school didn’t have an admin building or cafeteria at first. In fact, the office had been located downstairs in B building. Students had to get their lunch from Wheeler Intermediate, which was where many of the Mil- ilani students previously attended. As other buildings such as C building were constructed, teachers and faculty at MHS got the chance to provide contributions to the blueprints and layouts of their own classrooms. Slowly, the school began expanding. Buildings such as the cafeteria, admin building, library and gym were added, with H Building being the newest edition thus far. Mililani itself got larger as well with the addition of the town center and Mililani Mauka.

“I wouldn’t change anything for my high school time,” said Weightlifting teacher and class of 1982 graduate, James Millwood.. “I think anything that we wanted, we were offered it and we have good guidance from certain teachers that still are around.”

The school went through curriculum changes along with physical changes as the years went by too. Along with more variety of skill levels inside a particular class, the number of courses offered increased. For example, the science department used to be limited to basic subjects like physical science, chemistry and physics. In contrast to today, MHS currently has classes in marine science, sustainability and an agriculture program, showing how this one particular department has expanded. The amount of AP classes has also dramatically increased; students now have access to many classes focusing not only on the four core subjects, but also other ones such as world languages or music, when previously only English and Calculus classes were offered.

“I feel like our students have a lot of pride. And they have a commitment to education,” said Grande-Misaki. “I feel like many of the students that I teach will put academics at the forefront versus some of the other schools I’ve worked at, you know, they’re looking more in social or athletics, but their focus I think is a little bit different than here, where I see a lot more students putting that academic first. And then students are still involved, even though they’re heavily involved with academics; they seek opportunities to do other things like a lot of extracurricular activities.”

The clubs and institutions at MHS also increased. Previously, MHS only had many traditional clubs such as Interact Club and National Honor Society. Now, MHS allows students to form their own clubs if they have an advisor and a charter. Clubs like the Good Dogs Club and Feminist Club, ones that recently formed in the past few years, were organizations that former students of MHS didn’t have access to.

Looking Back

Mililani High School has created a special place for many alumni as they return to the community as teachers or as parents of present and future Trojans. The atmosphere of MHS has cultivated a sense of belonging for many of the past and present students. Lifelong bonds were formed at Mililani

High School for many graduating alumni who still make a conscious effort to keep in touch with their graduating class. Lasting memories were created on MHS’ campus from pep rallies on the lawn outside of B building to bonfires on the beach.

“I was very fortunate as I look back at my time. The guys I played with were all people that I still, maybe not as well as others, I try to keep up with. I follow along with how their lives progress,” said class of 1991 graduate Ken Kawachi. “I look back fondly at those times because I think it set the foundation for why I still love the sport. I’m fortunate to continue to work in it. Because of the people I was around, it made it fun, it made me want to be a part of it.”

Mililani had been a plantation neighborhood beforehand, leading to many memories of the campus being covered in red dirt. In the 1980s through to the 90s, students would normally find themselves hanging out by the front lawn near B Building or the tunnel area near Recreation Center 1. By the bridge were also amenities and events offered such as manapua trucks and shave ice trucks. With a lack of mainstream internet use, MHS students found their time filled with driving around with their friends and going to the movies. Students also spent their time going to the beach or the mall with their friends. Conversations were often filled with talk on what the waves on Waimea Bay were like that day or the next time they could come over to each other’s house.

In the 80s, the Mililani Town Center hadn’t been built yet and was fully taken up by pineapple fields. After school, students would find themselves going across to the pineapple fields and picking pineapples. They would then ice them in the reservoir stream, wait until they get cold and then eat them. Mililani, being a newly developed neighborhood, was considered a country town by many. The only prominent landmark in the Mililani community had been Kamehameha highway. For a while, people had to go to Wahiwa in order to get pizza due to the lack of businesses. However, for many, the countryside-like feel was comforting as it allowed the opportunity to get to know everyone in their community.

“But I think that country feel –everybody knew everybody,” said Millwood. “Not very many people on the road. It was a slower, slower time, much more relaxed time.”

Building a Legacy

Another big part of Mililani High School life was the highlight of sports and athletics as it had not always been a D1 school. Having to rival other schools that have been around for more years, MHS had to work in order to obtain their spot as leader in athletics. In the

70s and 80s, the largest rivals for Mililani students had been those at Leilehua High School, since Wahiawa was the closest town to Mililani. In 1980, MHS’ football team finally beat them.Their coach, Hugh Yoshida, even came into MHS’ locker rooms to congratulate the 1980 football team. Memories were formed around the advent of coming together for pep rallies on the school’s lawn. Students would line up in their classes and pound on large cans of shoyu as if they were drums. They would also take empty cans, put rocks in them and shake them as noisemakers.

“Mililani High School always emphasized academics but never sacrificed the extra-curricular activities such as athletics, music,” said former Mililani Science teacher, June Asato. “They offered all sorts of different things. They were a magnet school for science, drama, and we always enjoyed working –opportunities were always offered for every student.”

The lawn had also held what was considered the first graduation at MHS with the class of 1977. From that point on, graduation ceremonies were held at the John Kauinana Stadium on campus and soon it moved to Aloha Stadium. Graduation ceremonies are now currently held at the Stan Sheriff Center. The growth in technology has also altered the way in which classrooms operate, with a heavier usage of computers and chromebooks, with a chromebook cart in almost every classroom. Prior, classes had to rent out chromebook carts from the library where there were only 6 chromebook carts for the entire school. Overall, many older residents of Mililani agree that life has become not just wired but more fast-paced from the origins of Mililani’s country history.

“As the school grew, Mililani became a community because the whole community had something to rally around,” said Asato. “I’ve lived in the school since 1971 and the school opened in ‘73 and so in between ‘71 and ‘73, there was nothing to rally around. Now, everyone takes pride in the high school, takes pride in a lot of the things that Mililani has produced over the years.”

Many Mililani alumni have returned or stayed in the area, sending their children and grandchildren to MHS, and participating in MHS life through events such as booster fairs and athletic games. Just living in Mililani provided an opportunity to gather around the high school with events like the carnival where both Mililani small businesses, Mililani families and MHS students were able to come together to get involved. There have been bonds deeply rooted within MHS’ community whether it be the annual reunions held for graduates, trips taken with old classmates, lasting friendships amongst staff, memories that students hold about their past teachers and more.

“There was a lot of sacrifice, dedication, commitment from people from our past that got us to this point where we are now,” said Mill- wood. “And, we need to recognize those people and remember those people because everything that we are enjoying now came from a lot of hard work and dedication… so definitely to look back and honor those people.”

Looking to the Future

Mililani High School, along with the community it’s a part of, continues to evolve and change over the years. For the 50th celebration of the school, MHS will welcome back alumni to campus on Sept. 5, 2023. This return will include an assembly on the front lawn by B building and a campus tour. Additionally, MHS is also doing interviews on its YouTube channel, found at https://www.youtube. com/@MililaniHighTV, which goes over the history of the school and stories from its alumni. For more information about the 50th celebrations, visit https://sites. google.com/k12.hi.us/mhs50thanniversary/home.