Merced high school district honors grads set to serve in military with inaugural luncheon

Buhach Colony High senior Elaine Delguidice felt joining the Navy would open doors for her future that she couldn’t find elsewhere.

Delguidice, 18, who has compiled a 4.0 GPA during high school, ultimately wants to become a neonatal nurse, which would allow here to care for critically ill newborns in neonatal intensive care units.

“I was inspired by a Navy recruiter who came and talked during our health class,” Delguidice said.

Delguidice was one of 50 soon-to-be high school graduates from the Merced Union High School District who were celebrated during the district’s inaugural Salute to Service Luncheon on Tuesday afternoon at Merced High School.

The event was created to honor the seniors who have taken the oath of service to the United States Armed Forces.

There were more than 200 people in attendance, including the enlistees, their families, recruiters, active service members, school and district administrators and local dignitaries.

“It’s important to celebrate them, it’s important to honor them, it’s important to say, ‘Thank you,’ because they are doing something incredibly important for all of us and they need to feel the community support,” said superintendent Alan Peterson. “That’s the No. 1 reason behind all of this.”

Peterson said he was emotional as he addressed the crowd, which included veterans and active service members.

“It was special, it was all I could do to hold back the tears,” Peterson said. “I don’t get nervous about speaking in public but it was a different feeling. It was the goosebumps you had, the vibe being so special with all the veterans here, active duty, all the recruiters and the parents with their students about to go off.”

The event to honor the future service members was spearheaded by Merced High counselor Regina Cherf.

A few years ago, Cherf held a small ceremony for 12 Merced High seniors who enlisted in the military and discovered the event was well received and suggested to Peterson that they hold a district-wide event.

Cherf discovered the Clovis Veterans Memorial District holds a similar event. San José and San Diego also honor future service members.

Cherf said it was nice to see the future military members feel honored during the luncheon.

Every enlistee was introduced and came up on stage to be recognized. They went through a receiving line, shaking hands with local dignitaries and then were congratulated by active service members and veterans as they left the stage.

Military saw a 40-year low enlistment in 2020

Every recruit received a gift bag.

“It was seeing their faces,” Cherf said. “It started with the music the band was playing and I just looked out at all the faces in the crowd and I recognized so many.”

The 50 seniors from the district enlisting into the military was a large number this year, according to Peterson.

The number of active military has decreased nation wide from 2012 to 2022 by 6% from 1.4 million to 1.3 million, according to U.S. facts. The 143,318 enlisted into the military in 2020 was a 40-year low.

There were 17 seniors from Buhach Colony enlisting in the Navy, including Delguidice.

“We’re like one big family,” Delguidice said.

Merced High’s Warren Parker is also enlisting in the Navy and was grateful for the luncheon.

“This means a lot,” Parker said. “I couldn’t be more thankful for everyone who helped and supported me.”

Parker comes from a family who has had members serve in the Army, Navy and Air Force. He knew early on in high school he wanted to join the military.

“I’ve known since freshman I wanted to join Air Force, Marines or Navy,” he said. “It was just a matter of which service. I felt the Navy offered jobs I was interested in and it’s an opportunity to help me see the world. I’m pretty excited. I’m ready to start.”