By Cyanne Ito

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Alumnus Jarrett Razon has come a long way from his high school days playing soccer at MHS, having moved up to become a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army. In December of 2012, he visited the boys varsity soccer team, meeting with old friends while making new ones.

“I went to the practice one day and I actually got to see the new field ‘cause I haven’t seen it, and I went to the game and they introduced me to the guys; it was pretty cool,” said Razon.

Part of the graduating class of 2001, Razon was on the varsity soccer team the year that the teams started the tradition of bleaching their hair gold during the Oahu Interscholastic Association playoffs. “It’s pretty cool to see to this day that people carry on with it. I’m amazed, you know, that everyone’s parents let them do it still,” said Razon.

Even after leaving the islands and joining the military, Razon’s passion for soccer is something he’s carried with him up until this day. “I played soccer as much as I could, it’s not as popular (in Washington, where he is currently stationed), I mean I guess it is, but it’s hard for me to find leagues and stuff like that, but I found some and I’ve been playing off and on,” said Razon.

Players and coaches alike learned much from Razon’s visit to MHS. “He just showed me that somebody like him can be so strong and live through that and come out and talk to the players, talk to me. I thought that was pretty inspirational,” said head coach Jeff Yamamoto.

Razon was also part of the first team from MHS to win the state championship in 2001, his senior year. “You couldn’t take a harder path than that year’s group,” said Yamamoto, “It really meant a lot, and he kind of set the standard for our team.”

Following his graduation from MHS, Razon has attended Saint Andrew’s University in North Carolina, a school where he was offered a soccer scholarship, in addition to the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Since joining the military in 2007, Razon has been to Afghanistan twice and was injured during the last tour in July of 2012. “Even going through all that pain, he always seems to find the high road by making jokes and looking forward, what he wants in life after recovery and just having a positive attitude in life,” said Timothy Liu, a soccer coach at MHS and one of Razon’s good friends. “(I’m) still very lucky to be alive and still be here. I have all of my body parts and still walked away with all of the damage that I had,” said Razon.

Though Razon will be retiring from the military in May of this year, he will continue to stay in Washington.