Minnetonka Senior Shows Dedication to Family and Duty to Country

There are many ways a girl could spend her 17th birthday. Celebrating with friends, for example. Going out to dinner. Getting her ears pierced.

Kaia Hanks enlisted in the Marines.

“I know in my gut that I am meant to be a Marine,” said Hanks, a senior at . “When I see a Marine, I see the confidence and pride they have, and I want that.”

“Kaia has a deep sense of patriotic responsibility,” explained her mother, Lynnea Forseth, who took Kaia to the recruiting station on her birthday.

Hanks is getting in shape by exercising weekly with Marines as a guest at the recruiting station.

Being a soldier will be challenging, but Hanks has overcome challenges in life that she didn’t sign up for.

Hanks’ parents divorced when she was 12, and her father lives out East. Her mother went back to college to get a nursing degree and works long shifts at a Minneapolis hospital, often relying on Hanks to care for two younger siblings.

Hanks cooks, does dishes and runs errands, but her sister does the laundry. “I hate laundry,” she admitted.

Hanks also helps support the family though her part-time jobs as a nanny and a waitress. “Family is important and you have to sacrifice to take care of them,” she said.

“Kaia has stepped up in more ways than I can count,” said Forseth. “Her name means 'elder sister' in Hopi and 'shelter' in Zulu, and it is well-suited to her character traits."

Hanks has taken leadership roles at school too. She is co-captain of the girls rugby team and is class president of the orchestra, in which she plays violin.

“Kaia is a strong-willed person, who has drive and ambition, as well as the ability to empathize with others,” said Sarah Finn-Sommerfeld, orchestra director.  “She can lead her peers with a strong hand, but she also understands them and works to make their experience as positive as she can.” 

Last fall, Hanks experienced an unexpected challenge: the death of a close friend. “It was a wake up call that a full life ahead of me isn’t guaranteed,” she said. “If you want to do something, go out and do it. Don’t wait for tomorrow.”

Outside of school and jobs, Hanks likes to work on cars. “Working on an engine is therapeutic,” she said. “It calms me and all the problems and dramas of life just fade away.”   

Hanks is also an avid reader. “I have stacks of books all over my room,” she said.

This summer, Hanks will report to boot camp in South Carolina. She plans to enroll in online college courses and eventually major in forensic science and biology.

“Kaia has what it takes to make a notable impact,” said Forseth. “I am proud of the young woman she is and I look forward to knowing the woman she will become.”