By Darrell Kirk

Sounder contributor

As Orcas Island High School Class of 2025 graduate Lili Malo prepares to leave her island home to explore the world beyond, she reflects on the extraordinary community that shaped her into the young woman she is today.

From dedicated educators to hardworking janitors, from loving family members to visiting tourists, the people of Orcas Island have woven together a tapestry of support that has prepared her for whatever lies ahead.

“I’m really lucky and I don’t know what I did to deserve being born into the family I was born into,” Malo says, “but everything that I am or will be is because of the amazing parents I was fortunate enough to have. My dad has fought really hard to have the opportunity to help other kids. He has instilled in me and my siblings that we were incredibly fortunate to be born into a good family in the United States — the odds of that are so slim. He has shown us how to be kind even when you’re going through hardship.”

Basketball played a transformative role in Malo’s development, particularly through the influence of coach Jeconiah (Jay) Sack. Starting when she was in third grade, Sack volunteered his time to coach even though none of his own children played the sport.

“He has been a support of the basketball community for a very long time,” Malo recalls. “He was more than just a coach on the court, and he didn’t want us just to learn the technical skills, but to also learn how to have that rhythm in your body and how, when you’re all on the same rhythm, like your team’s gonna work better.”

His philosophy emphasized teamwork over individual stardom, creating an environment where everyone contributed meaningfully rather than supporting a single standout player.

One lesson from Sack has stayed with Malo throughout her life. When teaching her to shoot while in elementary school, he used the expression, “Make it your bread and butta.” That phrase became her personal mantra for developing good habits.

“Make making your bed in the morning bread and butta. Make being kind to people bread and butta. Make it so much a part of your routine that you don’t think about it anymore,” Malo said.

Sack’s impact extended beyond basketball fundamentals to life skills.

“His happiness and his joy for the game were infectious. And it spread to me, and I know several other of the girls,” Malo remembers.

The Islands’ Sounder reached out to Coach Sack about Malo, and he gave an emotional retelling of a story about a nail-biting one-point game against a gold-level team. The team had gone undefeated all season, and Malo found herself under the hoop with the game on the line. When she missed the first shot with everyone screaming “shoot,” she didn’t hesitate or shrink from the moment — she grabbed her own rebound and immediately put it back up again. Even after missing the second shot as the buzzer sounded, costing her team their perfect season, Malo demonstrated the very essence of her character. Rather than hanging her head in defeat or being crushed by the weight of the moment, she walked off the court with her head held high, embodying the resilience and determination that had defined her throughout her basketball career.

As Sack observed, this moment perfectly captured what made Malo special: her unwavering drive meant that whether she missed one shot or a thousand, she would always give the same relentless effort, never allowing failure to diminish her spirit or commitment to the game and her teammates.

“Honestly, we won that day … We won that day,” Sack said with deep conviction.

Golf became another avenue for growth, thanks to the influence of Malo’s grandfather, Kendall Taylor, a general contractor who owned the island’s golf course.

“My grandfather got me in it. And when I play golf, I feel closer to him,” Malo says.

Their routine of working construction together during the day, then heading straight to the golf course, created lasting memories and life lessons.

“Golf is a very, very mental game,” she explains. “You have to hold yourself responsible to get the outcome that you want because there’s nobody else to blame but yourself if you don’t get it.”

Perhaps no story better illustrates the island’s caring community than Malo’s experience presenting a $1,000 award to James (Jimmy) Taylor, the high school janitor, at graduation. As class president, she had written one of six letters nominating faculty members for the award, funded by a generous island family.

“He genuinely knows every kid in our school and takes the time to read all our posters and get to know each one of us,” Malo says of Jimmy. “He was the type of person who would quietly slip into the gym during games and stand in the far corner by the door where nobody could see him … but in all the pictures from volleyball season, you can see him cheering along every time we get a kill.”

Jimmy’s surprise and emotion upon receiving the award demonstrated the deep connections that make Orcas Island special. “He is another great example of somebody that works in the shadows and kind of just, you know, is very happy to let other people shine.”

The island itself has been perhaps the most influential teacher of all.

“The island is a bubble of so much diversity and being raised here, you learn to love people,” Malo observes. “I’m so thankful that the community here supports both the rich and the poor and that there isn’t this big, you know, people aren’t judged for what’s in their bank account or what clothes they’re wearing or what activities they do, but they’re judged on their actions and their decision-making. And I’m glad that I grew up in such a loving community.”

Her plans include a mission trip to Australia for the next year and a half, and then pursuing chiropractic medicine, driven by the same desire to lighten others’ burdens that has guided much of her life on Orcas.

Malo offered hope to others facing similar journeys through advice given to her by her mother, Kim Malo: “Everyone is just trying to do their best, and it’s not a movie and no one’s born to be evil … everyone’s just trying to be good at the end of the day.”

With this perspective shaped by an entire island community, Malo steps into the world carrying not just her own dreams, but the collective wisdom of Orcas Island – a place that has proven that with enough love, support and community investment, any young person can be prepared to change the world.

Darrell Kirk photo. Lili Malo speaks at graduation.