Superintendent Message - June 2025
As we bring the 2024–25 academic year to a close, I want to take a moment to recognize and celebrate our graduating students. This year’s message to the Class of 2025 reflects on the unique challenges they’ve faced. Challenges that demanded resilience, determination, and empathy. These exceptional students have risen to the occasion, and their accomplishments speak volumes. It is with immense pride that I share my letter to this remarkable graduating class. Congratulations to each one of you!
Dear Lake Washington School District Graduates of 2025,
Congratulations! You made it. After 13 years of early mornings, late-night study sessions, pop quizzes, group projects, spirit weeks, and probably way too much time wondering how AI could appropriately help in your studies, you're here, standing at the finish line of your K–12 journey and at the starting line of everything that comes next.
Let's rewind for a moment.
Back in 2012, when you first walked through the doors of kindergarten, the world was a different place. Frozen hadn’t yet taken over every family car ride where your parents would quickly learn every word to “Let It Go,” and they loved it. You may have been wearing light-up shoes and proudly showing off your character backpacks such as Doc McStuffins, LEGO Ninjago, and Dora the Explorer. You probably didn’t have the new iPhone5 yet but I’m sure your parents did, which meant Angry Birds for hours.
Since then, you’ve grown through a decade of incredible change; globally, nationally, and personally. You have learned a lot from letters to equations, from history to biology, and you determined credible sources in a world of imposters. But we can be honest, Wikipedia still made a few appearances. You lived through a pandemic that shifted school and life overnight, but still showed up, at times with cameras off, to continue learning. You've adapted, persisted, supported each other, and found ways to make meaning in a world that hasn’t always made it easy.
That’s something no diploma can fully capture.
You also had some fun along the way. Think about the people you met while doing the things you loved whether it was sports, music, robotics, DECA, drama, clubs, or something entirely your own. Throughout this journey, you didn’t just find teammates or castmates or co-conspirators for late-night project deadlines, you found your people. And more importantly, you started to find yourself.
Not just in the activity, but in the discovery of your passion, something that made you feel like you belonged, like you mattered, like you were becoming who you were meant to be.
High school has a way of becoming a collage, seen best through the rearview mirror. That collage includes serious, silly, and unforgettable moments. And here you are, a mosaic of your experience, your values, and the people who helped shape you.
Now, as you prepare for college, career, service, travel, or something entirely new, I want to leave you with this:
Be the kind of person who both dreams big and follows through. You’ve already proven that you can adapt and overcome. The world ahead of you needs people who are creative and compassionate, bold and thoughtful. Be that kind of person.
Stay curious. Keep asking questions, even when the answers are hard. Especially when the answers are hard. Curiosity is the engine that drives change in a world that desperately needs direction.
Lead with kindness. No matter what you accomplish or the accolades you earn, the way you treat others will always be your most powerful credential.
Don’t underestimate the power of showing up. Great things can be accomplished by small actions. Sometimes, the people around you just need you to be there. Sometimes the world just needs you to show up. I am often struck by a quote from James Clear’s Atomic Habits, where he says, “You don’t need to be amazing to start, but you have to start to be amazing.” Sometimes, the start of something amazing begins simply by showing up.
To the Class of 2025, the road ahead is filled with possibility and opportunity. The world needs your greatness now more than ever.
We are extremely proud to call you graduates of the Lake Washington School District. We believe in you and can’t wait to see where your journey leads and the impact you’ll make along the way.
With admiration,
Jon
Dr. Jon Holmen, Superintendent
Lake Washington School District