Local Malibu High School student and water polo team member Mitchell Erickson swore an oath to serve his country and join the Marines last week. The senior will head to boot camp following graduation in June. In an email to The Malibu Times, Marines Staff Sgt. Adam Leyendecker spoke highly of Erickson, calling him a “very smart young man who always felt a calling to be a part of something bigger than himself.”