2026 Sedona graduate enlists in U.S. Marine Corps

Ari Tedrick, a 2026 graduate of Sedona Red Rock High School, will ship off to Marine Corps basic training in San Diego on Monday, Aug. 10. The 18-year-old Tedrick said he made the decision after a two-week solo road trip to Yellowstone National Park, where he spent time hiking alone in the woods.

“I decided that I wanted to do something, and so I decided that I was going to join the Marines,” he said. “I wanted to be part of a team, and so that made the military stand out to me,” Tedrick said. “I wanted to get out of town and travel, but I didn’t know where I wanted to go or how to get started with that.”

Since making his decision, Tedrick’s been focused on hiking, weightlifting and other physical training to prepare. “I really want to get to a place where I’m in better physical shape, where I can really go out and do genuinely anything I want — be stronger in my workouts and work out more commonly, be in the gym every day,” Tedrick said. “That [is] one of my major goals.”

During his time at SRRHS, Tedrick played basketball, run cross country and competed in track and field for all four years, along with taking Advance Placement Calculus and working as lifeguard for two summers at the Sedona Community Pool.

“I’ve got tons of role models who went through the Marine Corps. My teacher James Vogler, he did Algebra II and my AP Calculus class at SRRHS, was a big inspiration for that,” Tedrick said. “I’ve heard that Marines have the strongest sense of pride. If you find a Marine, you have a brother.

Sean Eicher, Tedrick’s former track coach, described him as a hard worker who became one of the best pole vaulters in Arizona. “He’s very determined as a kid,” Eicher said. “Overall, Ari’s always been very goal-oriented and wanting to improve. He was also with [Sedona Police Department Officer Joshua Jones] in the Cadet program.

“One time he actually came to me and said, ‘Coach, I feel like I’m overworking myself.’ And that’s because he didn’t want to let anyone down, but he also wanted to be involved with as much stuff as he could that he found passionate about.”

Tedrick was a member of the Sedona Police Department’s donor-funded Cadet program for the last four years, which gives area youth hands-on experience in how law enforcement operates.

“Ari has shown an adeptness at the concepts of law enforcement and police work,” Jones said. “He’s been an effective mentor for others. Being a senior person in the program, he was able to help guys, especially with stuff like room clearing and weapon handling, and guide newer cadets on how to apply those principles. … He’ll be a welcome addition to the Marine Corps.”

“Part of the reason I decided to join the military was because I have wanted to be a cop for so long, but I cannot be a police officer until I’m 21, and so I figured that the military was a good option that would set me up to get into a position that I could later be a cop,” Tedrick said, although he noted he has not decided if he will pursue being a law enforcement officer.

Tedrick said he asked for an ordnance technician position in the USMC, “from there it will involve making sure the weapon systems are in functional order, and it will be loading the weapon systems.”

“Ari will begin his journey in San Diego, where he’ll complete 13 weeks of recruit training. After a short period of leave, he’ll return to San Diego for Marine Combat Training, where he’ll learn essential combat skills, including close-quarters battle and grenade training,” SPD K-9 Officer Catherine Beers wrote. “Following MCT, he’ll attend his job school in Pensacola, Florida, where he’ll spend approximately three to nine months preparing for his specific military assignment.”

Beers described Tedrick as “funny, accountable, reliable and willing,” noting that he was always willing to participate in the Cadet program’s helping run the city’s annual St. Patrick’s Parade and the Special Olympics Torch Run, and placing and removing crosses at the cemetery during patriotic holidays. He was an active participant in the Cadet program’s annual participation in the tactical competitions in Chandler.

“We hope that he stays in touch, like some of our previous cadets that went away to the military have still kept in touch with us and stop into the station,” Beers said. “When they spend four years with us, even though it’s just a couple times a month, they become family just like anybody else that we work with here. I just hope that I still get to hear about his accomplishments in the future. He signed a five-year commitment, maybe he does five years, and then he decides he wants to come back to Sedona to be a cop. You never know.”

The Sedona Police Cadets meet at SPD, at 100 Roadrunner Drive, generally every other Wednesday from 6 to 8 p.m., though Jones said his is flexible to changing that depending on interest. To qualify, applicants must be between 14 and 21 years old, with 14-year-olds required to have graduated eighth grade, be of good moral character, remain in school or have graduated while maintaining a “C” average of 70% or higher, have no serious police record, attend weekly Cadet meetings, volunteer their time for Cadet functions and commit to the Cadet Code.

“If you’re somebody who is unfamiliar or unknowing of what you want to do in your career, what you want to do when you get out of school, this is an easy way to get introduced to police concepts,” Jones said. “If you have an interest in law enforcement, you can be gainfully employed — at least go to the academy once you’re done and quickly become gainfully employed. It’s common for high school kids to be unsure of what they want to do. They’re still trying to figure out life. This is a quick way you can get up to speed, make good money, be able to fend for yourself, and make a good living when the rest of your peers are still trying to figure out what they want to do.”

For more information about the Sedona Police Cadet program, contact Jones at jjones@sedonaaz.gov, or call SPD at 928-282-3100.