The valedictorian of Marian Catholic High School’s Class of 2025 shared three lessons with her fellow graduates.

“Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is smile,” Erica Boyle said during Friday’s commencement exercises at the school in Rush Township.

A smile — even on a bad day — is an act of courage, she said, and could be just the thing that someone facing an obstacle needs.

“Smiling is contagious, and happy people make other people happy,” Boyle said of her first lesson.

Her second lesson was to surround one’s self with uplifting people.

“As we move forward and meet new people, remember this: Choose friends who help you chase your dreams, not ones who make you lose sight of them. Find people who see your potential, even when you don’t,” she said. “And be that kind of person for others, too.”

Boyle’s final lesson was to live in the moment but to not forget about the future.

“Here’s the truth: There are so many great things that still lie ahead of us,” she said. “If we live to be 80 years old, high school only makes up 5% of our lives. Only 5%. The lesson is this: Live in the moment — but don’t get stuck in it. Enjoy every laugh, every memory, every bittersweet goodbye that will echo within these walls, but remember that even though high school shaped who we are, it’s only the beginning of who we’re meant to become.”

She closed her speech by thanking all teachers, parents and friends.

“We wouldn’t be here without you,” Boyle said.

In his speech, salutatorian Connor Rehnert said he has a special connection with his classmates.

“Connection is so important today in our society,” he said. “Connection is needed to make advances in life and allows us to have a meaningful life with each other.”

The graduates spent four years building connections to one another, the community and the school, he said.

“These people around us are some of our biggest supporters, some of our biggest motivators, and some of our greatest friends,” Rehnert said.

And as a small class, he said, students really got to know one another.

“Our next four years are going to be different,” Rehnert said. “New connections will have to be made. Some old connections will be broken. That is OK. Life isn’t a circle; it is a continuous line. We need to continue forward. We need to make sure to build connections and companionship.”

Without connections, he said, the class will struggle.

“Connection calls us to each other,” Rehnert said. “It makes us listen and learn from each other. It allows us to have love for another. Connection makes us all one with one another.”

Michael Brennan, head of school at Marian, noted that the Class of 2025 was his “first” four-year class.

Brennan took the position in 2021, and in his address, he looked back on key events that had happened.

He talked about the first day of school, retreats, the formation of the Evangelization Team, Catholic Schools and Spirit weeks, and the class’s move to their final year.

“The members of the Class of 2025 are not the same wide-eyed freshmen that entered on Aug. 30 of 2021,” Brennan said. “They are now young men and women that have so much to be proud of. They grew up so quickly before our eyes, especially to the parents in the room.”

Brennan said class members also learned last year that their APP, or Academic Prep Period, would be eliminated as part of the school’s Middle States process. The elimination of the APP — or study hall — meant the students had to take an extra class.

“For this group, it was mostly taking an additional dual enrollment class, which is why they graduated with over 500 credits for college,” Brennan said.

Students dealt with other challenges related to academics, athletics, extracurriculars, mental health and personal lives.

“All of us have dealt with challenges together,” Brennan said. “On good days and bad days there was always someone in the building here for you, and we are fortunate that there are so many adults in this building who have a great rapport with students,”

He finished the timeline by talking about graduation.

“It is a great day for all 57 of you, as you are moving on away from Marian Catholic,” Brennan said. “It is a great day for me and your teachers. Not because you are leaving, as many of you think may be the reason, but because we are so proud of the young men and women you have become.”

As class members finish their high school days, Brennan had a request: “That you always remember to ‘Be Marian.’ ”