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New London Class of 2025 sets out to make their days great
Students reflect on growth, resilience, and the moments that shaped them
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NEW LONDON — With memories shared and futures unfolding, New London High School’s Class of 2025 gathered Sunday afternoon for a graduation ceremony centered not only on achievement, but on a message that echoed through every speech: face challenges head-on, persevere, and grow through the hard things.
Principal Scott Kracht welcomed a packed gymnasium of family, friends, and faculty to celebrate the seniors’ accomplishments. “These students have met every challenge with resilience,” he said, before introducing the day’s student speakers and award recipients.
Salutatorian Colin Peeler opened his speech with humor and heartfelt gratitude. “I’d like to thank my parents, who supported me every day — good or bad,” Peeler said, adding a tongue-in-cheek nod to his brother David, “who didn’t do much, besides giving me some advice about high school.”
Peeler emphasized perseverance as a defining value. “It’s never about the fall or setback,” he said. “It’s about how you recover.”
Quoting Ted Lasso and soccer legend Sir Alex Ferguson, Peeler encouraged his classmates to keep moving forward. “A soccer coach once told his players to be a goldfish,” he said. “Goldfish are the happiest animals because they forget mistakes. That quote is always in the back of my head.”
He likened the Class of 2025 to a flock of geese — supporting each other, rotating leadership, and sticking together through fatigue. “That’s what’s special about our class,” he said. “We’ve supported each other, lifted one another up, and kept flying forward.”
Valedictorian Morgan Jones continued the message with a speech that blended humor, personal reflection, and determination — anchored by a simple, powerful mantra: You can do hard things.
“Whether it was waking up early, finishing that project last minute, or competing at state — we pushed through,” Jones said. “Doing hard things is how we grew up.”
Jones recalled asking her mom for advice while writing her speech. “She told me, ‘If you’d tattoo it on your body, it’s probably important.’ So here’s mine: you can do hard things.”
She also shared a phrase from her dad: Make it a great day.“ At first it sounded like a generic Iowa farewell,” Jones said. “But now I see it differently — it means we have a choice. Even if a day isn’t great, we can choose to make something of it.”
Reflecting on the pandemic and its lasting impact, Jones reminded her peers how far they’ve come. “We started our seventh-grade spring thinking it’d be two weeks off. Years later, we’re here. We adapted. We grew. We made it.”
Superintendent Chad Wahls then took the stage to introduce the Class of 2025’s guest speaker: Dr. James Oudenhoven, a New London teacher known for his intellect, wit, and offbeat storytelling.
Oudenhoven delivered a speech that blended absurdity and sincerity in equal measure. He offered a humorous origin story of his academic journey, reflecting on his move from Ivy League aspirations to life as a high school teacher in rural Iowa.
“I never expected to be a teacher at a small high school in southeast Iowa,” Oudenhoven said. “But life isn’t like NASCAR. It doesn’t always turn left. The most meaningful moments are often the ones we didn’t plan.”
He encouraged graduates to welcome the unexpected, lean into their values, and stay open to reinvention. “You don’t always get to choose the road,” he said. “But you do get to choose how you travel it.”
Before diplomas were awarded, Principal Kracht recognized students who maintained Honor Roll status for all eight semesters, including both Jones and Peeler. Personalized certificates honored their consistent academic excellence.
Then came the moment students had waited for: the confirmation of their graduation. As the words rang out and tassels shifted left, cheers erupted — and caps flew skyward in celebration.
The message was clear: the Class of 2025 is ready to meet the future not because it will be easy — but because they’ve already learned how to do the hard things, with perseverance, humor, and heart.
Comments: AnnaMarie.Kruse@southeastiowaunion.com
