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EDWARDSBURG — Thursday evening, Edwardsburg High School seniors donned blue and orange robes to close the chapter of their high school experience.

Edwardsburg Public Schools hosted a graduation ceremony for the Class of 2025 Thursday, May 22 in the school gymnasium. The event featured performances of Brian Balmages’ “Summer Resounding” by the high school band, Edward Elgar’s “Fanfare and Recessional” by the high school choir and speeches from Salutatorian Kaylee Seabolt and three Valedictorians — Mason Baldwin, Julia Lewis and Madelyn Pobuda — who delivered on what were their final assignments as high school students and looked back on their time as Eddies.

First to take the stage was Seabolt, who encouraged her classmates to live without regrets.

“We only have one life to live and these next years are our opportunity to discover what and who we are,” she said. “To take a path and decide it is not the right one, and to change it. To make mistakes and to learn from them. Ultimately, this is our time to leave our youth with no regrets and the only things we will ever truly regret are the chances we never take. To close off, I would like to thank the class of 2025 for making this last year one to remember and these last 13 years ones to be proud of.”

Next up to the podium was Baldwin, who ensured his fellow graduates that they will be able to overcome obstacles in their way.

“Humanity is built to handle change, no matter how severe it may be,” he said. “My advice to you is to recognize that you can overcome this change, even if it doesn’t feel like it at first. You will find people who can make that change much easier to bear if you’re willing to take the first step down. I can promise you that much. And I’m wearing the white sash that says ‘valedictorian’, which I’m pretty sure means that my advice has to be 100 percent correct.”

The penultimate valedictorian to take the stage was Lewis, who hopes that she and her classmates will continue to cherish the precious memories made.

“Today is a celebration of the future as all of our efforts have come to fruition and we are rewarded by becoming leaders to shape the future with integrity, compassion and courage. I hope that we can each look back at this moment and cherish the memories we have had at Edwardsburg.”

The final valedictorian to take the stage was Pobuda, who encouraged her classmates to lead with pride, passion and purpose.

“Class of 2025, let’s take our pride, passion and purpose and go out there not just to do well, but to do great and dominate, like my dad always says. Let’s build lives that are bold, compassionate and true to who we are. The world is waiting and we are ready.”