When University of Hawaiʻi football player Keliʻi “KK” Padello saw an U.S. Army officer in uniform among the fans watching a morning practice at lower campus one August morning, it caught the student-athlete’s attention more than his teammates. After all, Padello is also a specialist in the Army National Guard and a cadet in the UH Mānoa Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program. He immediately noticed the three stars on the officer’s fatigues. He was a lieutenant general.
So when Lt. Gen. Bryan Fenton stepped forward after practice and looked directly at Padello, Padello’s heart started beating faster. Then Fenton made an exciting announcement as his teammates and UH Head Football Coach Nick Rolovich looked on: Padello, who had walked on the team his junior year, received a coveted football scholarship for his senior year.
“Being granted a full football scholarship to me was my number one goal,” said Padello. “As a freshman in high school that’s all I ever wanted and finally accomplishing that goal was one of those heart-stopping moments. It symbolized all the hard work, all the early mornings, the adversity and the bruises. It was all worth that single moment. Being in the ROTC program and given the opportunity means everything, I was very fortunate to have great cadre who’ve seen the drive and mentality to be a leader in both the football uniform and military uniform.”
A motivated leader
Padello is motivated both as a senior defensive lineman on the football field and as a leader in UH Army ROTC. He is currently in his final year of UH‘s ROTC program, serving as a cadet lieutenant who coaches, mentors and trains junior cadets during morning physical training labs.
“The training is a grueling experience that teaches resilience and leadership,” said Lt. Col. Dan Gregory, UH Army ROTC commander and a professor in the Department of Military Science. “Keliʻi has proven to be a passionate leader who strives to make the organization better. Student, athlete, leader—he’s a great young man.”
Padello recently completed his 37-day Cadet Summer Training at Fort Knox in Kentucky, where he put his football playing grit to the Army test. The training serves as the culminating experience for all cadets across the 274 Army ROTC programs across the nation. Each cadet qualifies by operating an M4 carbine, learning life-saving first-aid techniques, completing a grueling 12-mile march on foot while carrying 35 pounds of gear in a backpack, and conquering other challenging activities.
Most importantly, cadets like Padello must serve as leaders for their peers while conducting simulated combat training over rugged terrain, said Gregory. The training is designed to test the physical and mental abilities of cadets, so they all learn how to lead while under duress.
“KK is one of our team’s inspirational leaders because of his commitment to service outside of our program,” said Brian Smith, the team’s offensive coordinator and running backs coach. “ROTC has taught him discipline and to become a more focused individual. He exhibits outstanding leadership qualities both on and off the field.”
Padello takes the praise in stride.
“Being a leader on and off the field is a mindset,” said Padello. “You cannot choose to one day be a leader then the next day take a break. Leadership is a constant ongoing job that you need to work very hard for and be resilient through anything. A quote that I go by is from The Sandlot, ‘There are heroes and there are legends, heroes get remembered but legends never die. Follow your heart and you’ll never go wrong.’ I apply this to any situation whether in ROTC, football, or anything in life.”
Go to the UH Mānoa Army ROTC website for more on the program.
