Student Highlight - Pela Terrell from Kohala High School

This year, CTL is walking alongside 1,000 student leaders across 23 schools and 6 islands. Over the next few months, we’ll be introducing you to these incredible young people—their stories, their passions, and the communities that shaped them.

Meet Pela from Kohala High School!
Pela is deeply rooted in her Kohala community, serving as her school’s FFA president. She finds joy in farming, welding, paddling, and running cross country and track. Her love for Hawai‘i shines through in all she does.

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"My name is Pela Terrell and I am a senior student at Kohala High School. I love being involved and am deeply passionate about inspiring change and making positive impact in my community. This is what excites me the most about my participation in Center for Tomorrows Leaders and the various other leadership positions I hold. In addition to working with CTL, I also am an ambassador for my schools Academy of Sustainability, Kohala FFA President, and a member of STUCO.

This past year of high school I decided to expand upon my skills, and branch out from my typical extracurriculars. Mentored by welding educator, Ryan Eubanks, I took an incredible opportunity to participate in a state wide welding competition hosted by Project MFG. I developed an understanding of the science behind welding and the skill set to do so. This year I will be helping to install new welding booths at our school in order to make this opportunity widely accessible for more students.

Last year I also began working with West Hawaii Teen College Counselors, an initiative aimed to promote college and career readiness for high school students in West Hawaii by way of peer mentorship. This year I hope to expand upon my involvement, making post- secondary education more inclusive and approachable.

Outside of my education and extracurriculars, I also enjoy participating in sports. I run Cross Country and Track, but my primary sport is Paddling - something I participate in year round. Last year our Varsity Girls and Varsity Mixed crews both made it to states and we plan to be there again this year! What makes you proud to be from Kohala?
Kohala is a community of people that are always willing to rally behind one another - especially when it comes to the youth of our community. People are always eager to share their time, effort, and money to support one another, expecting nothing in return. When our paddling team hosted a car wash in order to fundraise for states, people showed up in sparkling clean vehicles - not needing a car wash but just wanting to donate. It’s this attitude toward one another that makes me proud to be a part of this community."

What does being committed to Hawai‘i mean to you?

"Being committed to Hawaii means giving back more than you received from it. It means inspiring a generation of individuals more passionate and committed than yourself and ensuring that the efforts of all those that contributed to your success were worth it. Being committed to Hawaii means appreciating the people and places that supported you and in turn supporting them."

How do you hope to give back to your community in the future?

"The people in my community that have influenced me the most have been the educators, coaches, and advisors that have guided me throughout my education. People like my Agriculture and Natural Resource teacher and FFA advisor, Dean Snelling, who has supported me and my peers and provided countless opportunities for students to learn, develop new skills, travel, and give back to their communities. Or coaches like Marley Rivera who cares more deeply for her students and athletes than any other coach I know. My hope is that one day I can make as much of an impact on the youth of my community as those before me have made on me. After high school I plan to attend college and earn a degree in social sciences. With this I aim to pursue a masters degree in social services or education. My goal is to be able to use this knowledge to support the next generations of my community."