Maribel Sikes, Military Child of the Year for the Army, Loves to Serve
Founding and presiding over a youth volunteering organization when her family was stationed in Japan, serving with the Red Cross, and dedicating herself to improving childhood literacy are just a few of the reasons Maribel Sikes is Operation Homefront’s 2025 Military Child of the Year® for the Army.
Maribel, 17, lives in Kentucky where her father, Lt. Col. Nicholas Sikes, is stationed at Fort Knox. Her mom, Audrey Sikes, homeschools Maribel and her four younger siblings.
Her move to Fort Knox was one of 12 changes of station Maribel has experienced as a military child. Prior to that, in 2022, they moved to Camp Zama, an Army base in Japan. Once there, Maribel worked with the American Red Cross to create the Camp Zama Red Cross Club. At Fort Knox, she dove into volunteering once again.
In total in the past 12 months, Maribel has racked up more than 1,500 volunteer hours with a variety of programs including Warrior Warehouse, Youth Leadership Hardin County, and the Fort Knox Barr Memorial Library.
Maribel has done all of this while helping her mom, who lives with an anaphylactic airborne allergy to a common, everyday item. Maribel herself and some of her siblings also live with severe allergies and autoimmune conditions. Because of this, Maribel’s journey after graduating will look different than others.
In considering colleges, along with the usual items like location, financial aid, and aligning majors, Maribel must consider her food allergies and whether she can access allergen-free food stations. She hopes to attend school in the Southeast.
Her allergies and medical conditions are why she wants to study supply chain management.
“I want to ensure that other kids will not be worried about where their next meal is coming from because the grocery store is out of the right allergy-friendly foods,” she said. “With a degree in supply chain…I will be able to make a difference in other people’s lives by providing enough safe food for them.”
Her inspiration for volunteering and helping others comes from her parents. Her father’s 21+ years in the Army is a reminder to her that families can sacrifice for service and leave a legacy.
“He is never too busy to stop and have conversations with every veteran he sees, as people deeply matter to him,” Maribel said. “Serving them is just part of who he is. He inspires me with a few of his mottos such as, ‘see a need, meet a need’ and ‘be a problem solver, not a problem admirer.’ I also attempt to live my life using those mottos.”
Maribel left her own legacy in Japan. The founding of the Camp Zama Red Cross Club was an undertaking that involved finding an adult adviser to be at all the meetings and functions, creating the procedures and rules, filing the paperwork to be an official organization, and gathering fellow volunteers. The club grew and catered to hundreds of kids on base. Other volunteers are keeping the club going since Maribel’s change of station.
“I am constantly striving to serve from the moment I wake up until I go to sleep,” Maribel said. “(Whether I’m) helping out with chores at home, listening to my younger sister read, mentoring younger teen girls at my church, and rolling up my sleeves to help process thousands of donations every month for families at the Fort Knox Warrior Warehouse. Serving others and meeting their needs has become a passion by which I live my life.”
Operation Homefront’s Military Child of the Year program, now in its 17th year, recognizes outstanding teens in each branch of the armed forces for criteria that include their scholarship, volunteerism, leadership and extracurricular involvement while facing the challenges of military family life.
Collectively, the seven 2025 recipients logged 3,488 volunteer hours in the 12 months before nominations. Altogether, they have experienced 34 permanent changes of station and lived through 283 months of deployments.
The Military Child of the Year Award recipients will be recognized at a gala in Washington, D.C., in April, during which senior leaders of each branch of service will present the awards. Award recipients also will receive $10,000 each, a laptop computer, and other donated gifts.
Service/Leadership Highlights
- Founder and president of Fort Knox and Camp Zama American Red Cross Clubs
- Main children’s volunteer, book club host, Japanese craft class teacher, and children’s large event leader for Camp Zama and Sagamihara libraries
- Camp Zama Teen Volunteer of the Year for 2024
- Gold Presidential Volunteer Service Award
- Selected leader for the Youth Leadership Hardin Country Program for high-achieving juniors
