“My dad, Steve Favela, was a Solo Bike Officer for The Honolulu Police Department. I was three years old when my dad passed away, so my memories of him are foggy. But through home videos, pictures and stories shared to me by my mom, older siblings, grandparents and the men and women in blue that worked with my dad, a crystal clear picture emerges of a humble and hard working man who loved his family and community. One of my favorite stories told to me by one of my dad’s police friends is of an incident in which she was in a car accident while on duty and her leg was pinned underneath her police vehicle. My dad was first on the scene and he lifted the car by himself so that his fellow police officer could slide out from under the car. She refers to my dad as her superhero and that pretty much sums up who he was. My dad’s love for his family and his country, and his love to serve has been the biggest inspiration to me and so I have spent a lot of my time throughout high school and in college volunteering my time within my community and giving back as much as I can.”

—Matthew Favela