As the 2024-25 school year came to a close in Coronado, students from the Coronado High School (CHS) Class of 2025 were recognized at the recent Senior Class Awards ceremony. One of the most prominent awards given to a student each year is the Jike Wong Award, which was established in the 1940s to honor the memory of Wong, a fellow CHS student, and his legacy as an outstanding member and leader of the community. Connor Gray was selected as the Class of 2025 recipient of the award, adding his name to an ever-growing list of standout students.
Gray moved to Coronado with his family when he was around ten years old, where he’s been a Coronado student and community member since fourth grade. “My dad was in the Navy, and Coronado was his final shore duty, and he retired here,” Gray mentioned. “One of the things that I’ll probably miss [at college] is just knowing my classmates for so long.
“I think that’s one of the most interesting points about the Coronado Unified School District. Since we only have one middle school and one high school, and the two elementary schools, there’s a much higher chance, compared with some other school districts that, that if you go to primary school with someone you’re going to continue that with them for the rest of your middle and high school years. And I think that’s really special.”
Gray was not only surprised to receive the Jike Wong Award, but also to learn about its history in Coronado. “At first I didn’t really understand what it meant because I hadn’t been aware of the award beforehand,” he commented. “But doing more research into it, I thought it was really cool that I get to be a part of this group of people now that’s been going for over 50 years, and who have made a positive impact on their school’s community. It was very nice to be recognized for [what it represents].”
During his time at CHS, Gray was involved in junior varsity and varsity water polo, varsity rugby, the Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (NJROTC), the National Honor Society, mock trial, and the Eagle Scouts. Last summer, he completed an eight-week U.S. Navy Summer Flight Academy aviation program at Delaware State University to get his FAA Private Pilot’s License. As a CHS senior this past year, he also served as the commanding officer for the NJROTC unit, where he’s seen the value of service-based leadership in action.
“I hope to leave a legacy of always trying to put people first,” he mentioned when asked what example he hopes to have set from his role as a leader in the community. “It’s a very common thing, especially in the military, of servant style leadership and wanting to put the team above yourself. And I’ve been able to see the positive effects of putting others before yourself, in terms of either trying to lead a bunch of Boy Scouts in setting up camp, or trying to get a bunch of people in NJROTC to line up and make sure the uniforms are ready to go.”
He also recalled the early morning practices for water polo as something that brought people together. “In the moment it kind of sucks getting up so early, but then you’re together with everybody on the team and getting that team bonding. Looking back, it was a great experience.”
Gray’s favorite aspect of his involvement in these different groups throughout high school, however, has come from their inclusion of community outreach. “Working with communities is something I really like doing, and I try to build community with the teams and different clubs I’m a part of,” he told me.
As an Eagle Scout, Gray had to fulfill a service project requirement, and he chose to lead efforts to refurbish parts of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) building for the chapter in Coronado. “I installed a new sign at the front of the building and we did some other small renovations, doing some replanting, some power washing, and some painting,” he noted. “But the big project was that we designed and installed an entirely new sign at the front that had a metal plate as a replacement for the old wooden plate they had, which was rotting away. We replaced that and put in a cement base for it and just made the front look as pretty as we could.”
When reflecting on his time with classmates as a member of the Class of 2025, he brought up the pandemic as a turning point. “Coming out of the whole COVID-19 epidemic, we were getting back to in-person school after a year of not having it,” he explained. “I think that gave people an incentive to try stuff that maybe they wouldn’t have tried before because they were sick and tired of being cooped up in their house all day long.
“It personally made me more of an outgoing person because I wanted to reestablish those roots after that experience, along with the rest of my class,” Gray added. “And going into the future, I’d say I have more of an understanding of the importance of personal connections, and not just the people I interact with every day, but with people in the community in general.”
Gray will be attending the University of San Diego (USD) this fall, having also earned a Navy ROTC scholarship for their program. “I’ll be attending USD alongside my sister, who just finished her freshman year there, which will be pretty cool,” he said. “After that, the plan is to commission as a Navy Officer and go fly jets for the Navy. That’s what my dad did, and that’s what I would like to do as well.”
His dad is one of the people who has had the biggest impact on Gray’s life and who he said has helped him navigate his journey to join ROTC and the Navy. “He’s such a great influence on my life, and because that’s what he did as a kid, it’s been great to have someone who can help show me the ropes and things like that,” he mentioned.
One of his NJROTC instructors at CHS, Senior Chief Tom Hellwig, has also been a source of inspiration. “He’s been a really great influence on me over the last four years, too,” Gray said. “I’ve been taking NJROTC as a class for the last four years, and Chief Hellwig has made me a better person. He’s a really great guy who does a lot of good things for the community. One thing he’s always tried to teach us is that even if we mess something up, to have the wisdom to recognize that there’s always a bigger picture. [For him] it’s more about our development into becoming fully functioning adults in society, rather than just making sure his department looks the best at all possible times.”
At CHS, Gray also found a passion for history, and he has a great respect for CHS’ staff. “All of the history teachers at CHS show such a great passion for the subject and diving into their profession, and the way they engage a bunch of high schoolers who don’t necessarily want to sit there and learn a bunch of history has always been really impressive to me,” he stated.
As we finished our conversation, Gray further added that being this year’s recipient of the Jike Wong Award is a reflection of all of those people and more. “It’s been a great honor to receive it, but looking back, I’d definitely say that the biggest influence in my getting this award has been the people around me and who I’ve surrounded myself with,” he noted.
“I think, especially with my family, they have a right to also be proud of that because they helped teach me the things I needed to know in order to help other people. I want to recognize their accomplishments, as well as mine.”
The community is wishing for nothing but the best for Gray as he embarks on his next steps towards his career and life goals.
VOL. 115, NO. 25 – June 18, 2025
