Lake Central High School Principal Erin Novak and Lake Central School Corporation Superintendent Dr. Larry Veraco told the class of 2025 on May 28 that graduates should expect both opportunity and challenge and that resilience, empathy and continued learning will serve them well.

“Grab on to that adversity and let it inspire you rather than stop you,” Principal Erin Novak said in her remarks advising students to give themselves grace and to persevere through setbacks. She thanked staff members across the district for staging the ceremony and for supporting students throughout their schooling.

Superintendent Dr. Larry Veraco told graduates they are entering “an extremely exciting but very challenging time in history,” and urged them to prepare for jobs that do not yet exist. “Class of 2025, you, our young people, and future leaders are better prepared and skilled in many ways at your age than was my generation,” Veraco said, praising students’ openness to different perspectives and engagement in community service.

Veraco and student speakers also highlighted community service and extracurricular engagement. The superintendent singled out local charitable activities associated with the student body — including fundraisers for St. Baldrick’s, Riley Children’s Hospital, Angel Tree, pen‑pal programs and book drives — as evidence of leadership and empathy among graduates.

Student speakers reflected on memory and transition. Casey Barron invited classmates to recall their younger selves and to preserve pieces of early dreams as they move forward; James Herr framed the school address as a “chapter” of life, urging peers to recognize the skills and resilience they cultivated at 8400 Wicker Avenue.

The remarks combined encouragement with practical counsel: expect change, cultivate relationships and continue learning and reskilling as careers evolve. The ceremony closed with traditional diploma presentations and the symbolic moving of tassels to the left.