Turn your TV to the Seattle Mariners game Sunday and you might glimpse five Oak Harbor High School students on the field.
The high school’s Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps Color Guard is set to present the colors before the start of the game at Safeco Field in Seattle — by far the largest venue for this batch of students thus far.
“I’m pretty calm now,” said Chase Powell, who carries the American flag. “When I walk in and look around that stadium, that’s when it’s going to hit me: I have to perform for 50,000 people.”
It might not be 50,000 fans — but it will be quite a few.
In addition to Powell, the Color Guard cadets are Mara Rouse, Natalie Schuldt, Sydney Prevost, and Nathan Larsen — all Oak Harbor High School seniors.
The school’s NJROTC has become one of the strongest programs in the Northwest. Even though the students who enroll wear uniforms once a week, learn to march and take classes on subjects such as naval history, it’s not primarily about the military, said instructor Mike Black, a retired Navy commander.
“It’s about developing informed and involved citizens and developing leadership skills,” he said.
A select few are chosen for the Color Guard. It’s an honor and a commitment for the cadets, who practice outside school hours to perfect the crisp, precise movements. The cadets perform in dozens of events across the region, such as parades, retirement ceremonies and military funerals.
This weekend alone they’re presenting the colors at an Oak Harbor High School football game, a retirement ceremony and graduation at Embry-Riddle University in addition to the Mariners game.
The Color Guard includes kids the community can be proud of, said instructor retired U.S. Navy chief William Thiel. He’s watched them grow from “scared little freshmen” into leaders.
“The commitment and dedication they have to this program is phenomenal,” he said. “They’re here early in the morning, they’re here after school, they make sure everything is taken care of.”
Powell, who commands the Color Guard, joined NJROTC as a lark. No one in his immediate family serves. He’s grown from an awkward “choir kid” to a top student and a better leader. He’s still involved in choir but now he’s choir president. He’d like to make the Navy his career as an attorney for the JAG corps.
Rouse carries the Navy flag. She loves the moment when the Color Guard is performing at a retirement ceremony and she can see a veteran “freak out.”
“They’ll get a big smile on their face and want to tell you about when they were in ‘Nam,’” she said. She also is a top-ranked rifle shooter.
Carrying the Washington state flag is Prevost, who was determined not to join NJROTC like her older brother — until she saw everyone having fun. Schuldt and Larsen carry rifles.
Schuldt said the program has bolstered her confidence. Before she joined “I had purple hair and I was really shy.”
She said she feels proud when veterans tell her she and her fellows are future leaders.
Larsen tried nearly every sport in middle school, trying to find his place. He found it here. After graduation, he’s enlisting in the Marine Corps. He used to admire the people in uniform he saw around town.
“Now I’m the person walking down the street people are looking up to,” he said.
“It’s a great experience.”
