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Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Student Was Told She Couldn't Wear Military Stole at Graduation, Then School District Revised Policy amid Controversy
An Arizona high school senior spoke out after initially being told she couldn't wear her military stole at graduation Shortly before the ceremony, the school district announced they were revising the policy "I am proud of my country and being able to serve," wrote Daniela Rascon-Rivas on social media before the decision was announcedA high school senior was told she couldn't wear her military stole while receiving her diploma, so she spoke out and started a petition. At the last minute, the district reversed its decision. Daniela Rascon-Rivas was a week from graduating when a school official told the Mesa High School student, who is preparing to join the Arizona National Guard, that she couldn't wear her military stole during the ceremony, CBS affiliate KHOU reported. 'Mesa High is not allowing me or my classmates to walk the stage this Thursday with our military stoles on,' the student wrote on X on Monday, May 19. 'I am proud of my country and being able to serve. I want my community to know I am fighting for them!' When reached for comment, Mesa Public Schools told the outlet that the reason was rooted in a long-time policy, but that students were permitted to wear stoles after the ceremony. 'Mesa High upholds a longstanding tradition of unity at graduation, in alignment with district policy 5-217.D and state law ARS 15-348, that promotes uniformity during the ceremony by limiting adornments on graduation attire,' the school said, according to KHOU. The response was not enough for Rascon-Rivas, who started an online petition to amend the policy, the outlet reported. When he heard of the news, Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne offered his support and urged the district to reconsider. 'This country owes its existence to the bravery of people willing to fight for our freedoms. Miss Rascon-Rivas has done a tremendous amount of extra work to prepare for service in the Arizona National Guard, which she will join after she graduates,' he said in a statement on Wednesday, May 21. 'This goes above and beyond the efforts required to graduate high school and deserves praise and recognition." That same day, the school district announced it was revsiting its policy, making it so that all students who have formally enlisted can wear military stoles while walking across the graduation stage, CBS affiliate KOLD and NBC affiliate KPNX reported. 'This is an important and appropriate way to recognize the commitment of our students who are preparing to serve in the United States military,' incoming Superintendent Dr. Matthew Strom told KOLD. 'Graduation marks a major milestone, and it is fitting that students entering military service are honored for their choice to serve our nation.' The updated policy will be presented at the school district's governing board during the summer, according to KOLD. Neither Rascon-Rivas, Horne nor Mesa Public School immediately responded to PEOPLE's requests for comment. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. After the change was announced, Horne applauded the decision. When she graduated on Thursday, May 22, Rascon-Rivas shared an image of a card on her Instagram Story that read, "Thank you for your commitment to the Arizona Army National Guard. Congratulations on your graduation." Read the original article on People
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'This was my calling': Head of Arizona National Guard to leave 'best hobby I could have'
Adjutant General Kerry Muehlenbeck, who led the Arizona National Guard for four years and through two governors of different political parties, is stepping down to return to her civilian career. Muehlenbeck leaves state government June 7 to continue her work as a professor at Mesa Community College. As adjutant general of the Guard and head of Arizona's Department of Emergency and Military Affairs, Muehlenbeck also oversaw the state's emergency response agency and over 8,000 employees and guard members combined. "I am grateful to Major General Muehlenbeck for her service to the people of Arizona," Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs said in a statement. "She is a valued member of my cabinet who is dedicated to fostering public safety across the state." The timing of Muehlenbeck's departure is the result of federal law, which requires employers to keep a job open for up to five years when an employee leaves for military service. Muehlenbeck said she hits five years this summer. Hobbs will pick a replacement who will need to be confirmed by the Arizona Senate. Two years into Hobbs' first term, the administration is still working to get most of its nominees confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate. Muehlenbeck began active-duty service as an assistant staff judge advocate at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson in 1993. She joined the Guard four years later. Today, her rank is major general, and she's often known by the acronym for the adjutant general — TAG. "I've tried to treat this TAG position like a timeshare," she said in an interview with The Arizona Republic. "I feel like it got loaned to me for a little bit. I inhabit it for a little while, and then I pass it on to the next person." That is the nature of service in the National Guard, she said, to have a civilian job but commit one weekend a month and several days a year to train as the nation's war fighters. That training allows the Guard to do other functions, like responding to forest fires or evacuating people after natural disasters, she said. "I always kid people, I tell them, as a drill status guardsman, I think being in the National Guard is probably the best hobby I could have," Muehlenbeck said. "It's actually something I like to do, and it's not like golf where you have to pay lots of money to play. I get paid to do this, so it's just been the perfect hobby. People serve in all different areas — this was my calling." That hobby has come with high-stakes missions. Muehlenbeck took the helm in 2021, while the state was still responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. She shepherded the Guard through multiple activations at the border and during last year's high-profile rescues of more than 100 hikers trapped by floodwater near Havasu Falls. Under her watch, the Arizona Guard formalized a training partnership with the military in the Middle East nation of Oman and marked 30 years of collaboration with the Republic of Kazakhstan through the National Guard's State Partnership Program. The program pairs states with about 100 countries to conduct military-to-military engagements in support of "defense security goals." Muehlenbeck was one of few agency leaders who Hobbs held over from the administration of Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican. She was the first woman to lead the guard in Arizona, a historic appointment that often drew headlines. While the historical importance of that achievement was not lost on her, Muehlenbeck said it also was something she preferred to downplay. "I tend to shy away from that because anytime I distinguish myself from other people, I make myself different," she said. "I don't want to do that, I want to develop connections with people to show them how similar we are and how we have this common, unified purpose to serve the state and nation. I'm not a girl airman or a girl TAG, I'm just a TAG. Just an airman, just a member of the military." Muehlenbeck said she navigated the Republican and Democratic governors with the same mentality. "I think this position is certainly a political position," she said. "Anytime you're an appointee by an elected official, it's a political position. I know that. I just have always tried to focus on the fact that it should not be partisan." It helps to have a military mentality of taking orders from the governor, after providing advice on possible courses of action, she said. Muehlenbeck said she will most miss the people of the Guard when she returns to her job in education. "They are talented in ways that I will never be, and so it's been quite the privilege to just create the best possible environment for them to succeed," she said. Those talents? Training Ukrainian pilots on how to operate in a Western environment or how to fly F-16s. Assembling people in an infantry formation and combat skills. Flying a Black Hawk helicopter to rescue hikers at Supai, she said were examples. Muehlenbeck is not a pilot, not an infantryman. "But I can go there and thank them and maybe knock on a few doors, or kick down a few doors, to make what they do easier and more supported," she said. Reach reporter Stacey Barchenger at or 480-416-5669. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Head of Arizona National Guard to leave 'best hobby I could have'
