Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine answered the Indian Lake High School Class of 2025’s invitation to speak at their commencement ceremony this spring. Friday evening, May 23, he had many encouraging words for the class that has pulled together through last year’s deadly tornado that ripped through the community, just within months of losing two of their classmates in separate automobile accidents.
“This school and this class are very special,” he said to the 125 graduates seated on the field at Laker Stadium, with their loved ones watching from the stands on a cool but sunny evening after a week’s worth of weather that mostly included rain in the forecast.
DeWine, who also served as the featured ILHS commencement speaker for the Class of 1989 when he was a member of Congress, said the school’s culture is part of what makes it special and unique.
“It’s certainly about learning, but it’s about much more than that,” he said, then detailing what he’s learned about “the Lake Effect” in action, witnessing the selfless attitudes of students in the aftermath of the March 14, 2024, tornado. The key tenets of “The Lake Effect” are: own it, stronger together, and embrace the grind.
“The members of the Class of 2025 helped to unload semis and helped those in need, while some of them also were facing the loss of their own homes….To move forward in the face of great joy, and also in the face of great tragedy; that is the Lake Effect,” the governor said.
DeWine along with Class President Czar Dickson each paid special tribute to the two classmates whose lives were taken too soon during their junior year — Nolan Purk and Chloe Hodge, who passed away in December 2023 and January 2024, respectively.
The governor said Chloe was described by her classmates as caring, compassionate, strong and generous; and Nolan was remembered as strong, truthful, honest and loving.
“They’ve touched the lives of everyone here,” DeWine said, gesturing to the graduates and to their families in the stands. Both Nolan and Chloe’s families were honored with special seating together near the stage, close to chairs featuring Chloe and Nolan’s photos and graduation robes.
Despite those difficult circumstances that the class has experienced, DeWine told the students that their greatest days are in front of them, quoting from Romans 5:3-5.
“We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
To encourage the Class of 2025 graduates, the featured speaker also had special advice from Lt. Gov. Jim Tressel, his four-step “journey of success” that Tressel previously used to inspire his national championship OSU football team.
Tressel’s journey of success starts with dreaming and setting goals for the future. The next step is rolling up your sleeves and working hard to make those dreams a reality.
While there will be ups and downs, what matters is how you handle when they do occur.
“You have to believe that you will succeed,” the governor said of the final step, relating his own personal story of ups and downs, starting “at the 13th from the bottom of my class in high school” while his wife, Fran, was “at the top of our class.”
Despite the less-than-stellar high school grades, the governor said he eventually mustered enough courage to put himself through law school at Ohio Northern University, and later began began running for public office after that. He was elected Greene County prosecutor, Ohio State Senator, the 50th Attorney General of Ohio and now is the 70th governor of Ohio.
In his remarks to his classmates, Dickson said they have “rebuilt and remembered” after the storm last year, commenting on the resilience that the community has displayed. He said their class went on in their senior year to make their mark on the state level in football, wrestling, Music at the Parks and Esports.
“We left these halls better than we found them,” he said.
Indian Lake High School announced their top 10 graduates for the Class of 2025: four co-valedictorians Cambria Tuttle, Adeline Robinson, Kailin Fauley and Czar Dickson; followed by salutatorian Svea Martini.
Rounding out the top 10 students are: Laila Lynch, Haylee McCafferty, Cameron Freyhof, Mackenzie Dixon, Caleb Altstaetter and Emma Meyer.
The class motto is: “In memory, we find strength; in unity, we find hope.”
