Friend of Youth winner turned tragedies into life-saving teaching

T​​​​​he Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association gave its 2026 Friend of Youth Award to Shirley De Rego, who created a foundation that has empowered more than 1,000 young people on Hawaiʻi Island with water-safety knowledge and life-saving skills, as she honored the lives of her two sons who died in separate accidents.

The HSTA Friend of Youth Award recognizes an outstanding individual who is not an HSTA member whose work has had a lasting impact on Hawaiʻi’s young people. This person dedicates their time and service to empowering and uplifting youth through meaningful, community-based initiatives.

De Rego experienced unimaginable tragedy in 2005 when she lost her 12-year-old son, Alex, during a camping trip when he was believed to have fallen into the ocean at night and was never recovered. Then in 2010, she lost her 14-year-old son, Duke, when he was thrown from a golf cart and suffered massive head trauma. She created the Alex and Duke DeRego Foundation to honor her sonsʻ lives and turn tragedy into a gift that teaches keiki ocean awareness and practical life-saving skills.

De Rego and her team of volunteers have worked with nine middle schools across Hawai’i Island to create a water safety and ocean awareness program that has benefited more than 1,000 keiki in the last six years.

During the program’s two-part series, students attend a classroom session in which they are introduced to the real-life stories behind the program. The second part involves hands-on learning at Hapuna Beach Park, where students participate in activities that aim to build confidence and respect in the water. The activities include learning swimming techniques with a certified lifeguard, learning about currents, rip tides, waves, and rocks, and gaining practical knowledge of basic first aid, CPR, water rescues, and the importance of calling for help.

When she accepted the Friend of Youth Award Saturday at Honolulu Country Club from members of HSTAʻs Human and Civil Rights Committee, De Rego said, “the work of the Alex and Duke De Rego Foundation was born from unimaginable loss. For a long time, grief felt heavy. But somewhere along the journey, God showed me that pain can become purpose.”

“Today, when I see students learning water safety, CPR, ocean awareness, and how to protect one another, I see hope. I see healing. I see the next generation becoming stronger, wiser, and more prepared than the generations before them,” De Rego added.

“This award may have my name on it, but it truly belongs to every teacher who makes space for this message, every student who listens, and every family helping us build a culture of water safety education, compassion, and awareness across Hawaiʻi,” she said.

Jessica Bautista, a teacher at Kohala Elementary who nominated her for the award, said, “Shirley De Rego’s mission is to equip Hawaiʻi’s youth with the knowledge, skills, and awareness to stay safe in the ocean and make decisions, take action, and get help needed in emergency situations. Shirley’s impact on Hawai’i’s youth gives them real-life, practical skills that could make a difference in critical times.”

The program has clearly already had a strong impact on the keiki of West Hawaiʻi Island.

James Lau, an 8th grader at Kohala Middle School who went through the program, recalled, “When I was in 7th grade, I walked to my tutuʻs house after school and saw her on the couch, and she was having trouble breathing. So I called 911 right away.”

“My tutu stopped responding, so the dispatcher asked a lot of questions and then asked me if I knew how to do CPR. I said yes. I kept doing CPR until the paramedics came. I remembered what to do because of what I learned down at Hapuna,” Lau said.

Not only does De Rego contribute to students through the water safety program, but she is also instrumental in several community outreach programs. She is a strong advocate for the Hawaiʻi Water Safety Coalition, has collaborated with Queenʻs North Hawai’i Hospital and Kona Community Hospital for the Infant Water Safety Program, and has also donated rescue tubes for beaches around Hawaiʻi Island. De Rego and the Alex and Duke DeRego Foundation are working to plan an aquatics center in Waimea to continue water safety education for the community, integrate water safety into school curricula, and publish an infant water safety picture book for Hawai’i families. She has also been a big supporter of the Hawaiʻi County/Hawaiʻi Fire Department Junior Lifeguard Program and awards an annual college scholarship.

“When I look at the hundreds of children we now serve each year, I realize that my greatest challenges have become my greatest strength. And if there is one thing I hope our youth carry forward, it is this: Your story does not have to end in your hardest moment. With faith, purpose, and aloha, even brokenness can become something that helps others heal,” De Rego said.

Watch a video of the ceremony held by HSTA’s Civil and Human Rights Committee honoring winners of both the 2026 Pono Award and the Friend of Youth Award.

Read about the winner of HSTA’s 2026 Pono Award, who runs a co-ed touch football league on Oʻahu’s Leeward Coast in which the players and coaches speak Hawaiian.