By Amanda Thomas

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Looking forward to a night to remember, the class of 2012 boarded buses that transported them to Sea Life Park on Saturday, Nov. 12 for their Senior Luau. The first senior class activity allowed attendees to spend time with their peers, engage in a variety of activities and view the park’s different attractions.

“It was fun. There was a lot of energy. I think the place that they chose was really good because (there were) a lot of activities that you could do, like walk around and see the animals. And the food was really good,” stated Senior Dillan Clemente.

The Senior Luau Committee started the initial planning process of Senior Luau in the first week of October in hopes of providing the best venue, entertainment and food for their fellow classmates. “We had to decide on different venues we

could look at depending on their cost and the activities they could provide for us. Then we started working on the decorations and we came up with different ideas. Lastly we priced it all and chose what we could fit into our budget,” explained Senior Luau Committee Co-chair, Lehua I. They also coordinated with multiple companies to provide entertainment and a variety of activities that would fit into their budget of $13,000. “We had to coordinate with Ishikawa Photography, Sea Life Park, Roberts Hawaii for the buses and Champion Sounds for the DJ,” stated Senior Luau Committee Co-chair Zevan Cuaresma.

As a result of the committee’s planning, entertainment such as a dolphin show was provided before dinner, an attraction unique to the location. The committee also provided five games including face to Oreo, ping-pong hula and limbo. Following the games, the class of 2012 had a chance to dance for the remainder of the event. “It was good. The best part was the dance cause I just got to let loose and just have a good time,” explained Senior Kami Pihana of her favorite activity.

Although the committee did run into a few challenges along the way, they worked through them to make Senior Luau a memorable night for all. “We had a couple of difficulties such as choosing the perfect senior get away. We had a few venues to choose from such as Polynesian Cultural Center, a boat cruise, Sea Life Park and Hickam base. We needed an exciting and exclusive place to excite the seniors to join us in celebration,” explained I. The committee also struggled with meeting their minimum requirement of 250 guests, compelling them to extend bid sales for an additional two weeks.

After the time that was put into the event, the committee was proud of the outcome. “I think Senior Luau was super successful, it was super fun, there was good vibes, no problems, no students getting into trouble and everyone was just enjoying themselves,” stated I. “Everything went pretty smooth, all the seniors looked like they were having fun, so honestly I think it was a success,” agreed Cuaresma.

The seniors look forward to more events planned for their last year at MHS.