LCC Speakers: Perseverance is the key to success

LAUREL — Members of the Laurel-Concord- Coleridge Class of 2025 received some important advice Saturday.

Senior Class speakers Lainey Schutte and Koby Detlefsen talked about what they’ve been through as a class and shared some personal experiences during their graduation speeches Saturday.

Schutte said the 31-members in the class have shared many great moments together, but they’ve also had to deal with a lot of adversity.

“This class has overcome several obstacles, including COVID, construction and three different school buildings,” she said. “Adversity didn’t break us, it shaped us. We learned how to rise to be leaders and keep going even when the path wasn’t clear. It helped us build resilience that we will use for the rest of our lives.”

Schutte said dealing with adversity early in life will help the graduates as they navigate through college or the work world.

“Adversity will still be there, but so will everything we’ve learned from it,” she said. “Let us not be defined by the obstacles in our path, but the courage we showed by overcoming them.”

She closed her speech by quoting from a bible verse from James chapter 1, verse 2 through 4.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete.”

This Bible verse tells us a lot, Schutte said, “although it may be hard finding joy in the troubles that we face. We must realize that it’s a part of your life. If you push yourself to persevere, you will find yourself stronger, more confident and even full of gratitude.”

Detlefsen acknowledged some of those same shared trials, but then spoke about a unique challenge he had to face himself. His desire to play college baseball, despite not having an organized team all the time he was growing up in Laurel.

He told the audience how he had to learn to ignore the naysayers and pursue his dreams.

Detlefsen shared how his love for baseball drove him to succeed. That drive was instrumental in him being able to get a scholarship to play baseball at Mt. Mary University in Yankton, S.D.

His dream was challenged by many people, but he ignored them to persevere.

“The dream busters in your life, will try to keep you from going after your dreams,” he said, adding that a person’s dreams must guide them, not other people’s ideas.