‘Once a boarder, always a boarder’
Craig Murakami and Eddie Espiritu graduated from Lahainaluna High School in 1971, but their school spirit hasn’t faded. And it never will.
Murakami, who grew up in Wailuku, and Espiritu, who’s from Molokai, met as incoming freshmen. They were not only classmates, but also fellow boarders at the school. Both say it was a transformative experience.
“It prepared us for life in so many ways,” Murakami said.
Among other things, Lahainaluna boarders learn self-sufficiency and self-discipline as they develop good work habits, social skills and a sense of responsibility, Murakami said. He and Espiritu have carried those values with them into adulthood, just as their fellow boarders have. Espiritu says the shared experience binds Lahainaluna boarders together for life, no matter what path they’ve chosen or where they wind up on the map.
“Once a boarder, always a boarder,” he said.
Today, Murakami and Espiritu are working to ensure Lahainaluna’s current 47 boarders, as well as future boarders, will have the same experience with the help of the Lahainaluna Boarders’ Association, a nonprofit that supports the school’s 186-year-old boarding program.
The Lahainaluna Boarders’ Association was established in 2003 during a boarders reunion event on Oahu. Murakami was asked to serve as its president, a position he still holds today. Espiritu serves as the association’s secretary.
Throughout the year, Murakami, Espiritu and other association members support, and often participate in, events like Lahainaluna’s annual David Malo Day Ho‘olaule‘a, the Boarders Picnic and Boarders’ Chorus performances. (Both Murakami and Espiritu were members of the chorus when they attended the school.). The Lahainaluna Boarders’ Association also sponsors a $1,000 scholarship that is awarded to a deserving boarder every year. And twice a year, Murakami and Espiritu accompany a group of senior boarders to the foothills overlooking the campus, where the students ceremoniously lime the school’s iconic “L” and visit the gravesite of one of its most notable alumni, David Malo.
Most recently, the association helped revive Lahainaluna’s agricultural program, which had dissipated in the years following Murakami and Espiritu’s graduation in 1971.
When they were boarders, Murakami, Espiritu and their dormmates tended to chickens and pigs, milked cows and grew fruits and vegetables; it was a daily responsibility they say every boarder took to heart. The food they harvested was used to feed the student body or sold in the community. It could be hard work (for Espiritu, it required rising at 4:30 a.m. to milk cows), but even so, both Murakami and Espiritu say they would do it all over again in a heartbeat.
And in a way, they are. In August, Murakami, Espiritu and other alumni started clearing the school’s old 1-acre orchard with the help of boarders and community volunteers. In November, they planted fruit-bearing trees donated by Mahi Pono, including ulu (breadfruit), banana, mango and avocado; the students will tend to the orchard as the trees mature. A vegetable garden is now in the works and Murakami says he hopes the students can eat what they grow — just as he and Espiritu once did. Both men volunteer in the orchard several times a week and plan to do the same in the vegetable garden once it is underway.
For Murakami and Espiritu, it’s a labor of love.
“I see graduating senior boarders as young adults prepared for life,” Murakami said. “I would like to see if we can figure out a way for the program to be able to have the boarders experience the full value of a living environment that we experienced in preparation of adult life.”
Espiritu says he will do whatever he can to help Lahainaluna’s boarding program thrive in the decades to come.
“I believe it’s important that the boarding program survive into the future because the life skills, ways to effectively communicate, and the sense of kuleana and responsibility cannot be replaced once lost,” he said. “There are way too many ‘last things’ in our world today and perpetuating a successful 186-year institution is important. Once it’s gone, it would be very, very difficult to replace.”
For more information about the Lahainaluna Boarders’ Association or to inquire about membership, volunteer or donor opportunities, contact Craig Murakami at cmurakami@live.com or (808) 870-5217.