LCL-413

TESTIMONIES

BJ , Class of '14 (Alumni reflection in 2022)

I went to a junior college in California and then transferred to Indiana University where I played baseball. Had a fantastic experience. Got to play for the University of Hawaii and several Big 10 tournaments, ESPN and Big 10 Network. That was mind-blowing to me. I still look back at how cool that was. I got to play for a professional frontier league, the Washington Wild Things.  You will not get more of a fair opportunity to play sports, then [at LCL].

My faith life was non-existent prior to coming here. I didn’t have that personal relationship with God. It was like hey we are going to church. Coming to LCL that’s what really changed. Chapels, bible studies, and conversations with teachers helped grow that.  You will not find a group of teachers that care more about you as a student anywhere else in the Country.  I had several teachers, in particular David Bahr, who took me under his wing. That is something that I will take with me for the rest of my life. That has changed the trajectory of my life forever. Every single teacher here is willing to do that for a student. That is one unique thing that makes LCL different.

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Preston, Class of '25

Student Community is really awesome at LCL. I am a freshman and you get a lot of friends that are Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors! You don’t get that anywhere else, that’s special to LCL because everyone is so closely knit together.

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Kendra, Class of '25

I had a really good experience [shadowing]. I felt right at home the minute I got there. Everyone was super excited to have me. It was great energy at LCL. Coming in for my first year I already knew people, had friends, and I still hang out with [who I shadowed] that day.
[By shadowing] you can see what you are getting in one day. You really get an organic feel for what it’s going to be like when you go here every single day… The best part is Mr. Cantwell buys you lunch!

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Sam, Class of '24

Everybody here I see as family because we all grow together and learn in faith. 

The teachers help you outside of school, if they see you struggling they will come to you even if you don’t feel like you need help, they will find you. 

The courses are challenging academically speaking, but every teacher doesn’t just give you homework and send you on your way. They give you the tools,  skills, and resources needed to be successful.

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Grace, Class of '23

The fine arts family is really close-knit. We hang out outside of school, like Culvers, and going to each other’s houses. We are actually friends. I’ve gained confidence, not only in myself but in working together with others. And finding who I am on stage. Getting to do this with all these lovely people, I’ve gotten to know myself and gotten a stronger relationship with Christ through acting on stage.

Tech week is fun but crazy and tiring. For the past two years, we are doing a two-week tech week. So we run transitions the first week and then do a traditional tech week the next week. It helps us prepare for the show. Our backstage people are so kind and incredible. I love them.  Teachers are definitely more lenient during tech week. They want us to stay on top of things, obviously. But they are just really supportive and come to our shows as well.

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Emily, Class of '22 

When I was a Freshman, I wasn’t really sure where I was going to be involved, maybe volleyball or basketball. One of my friends encouraged me to try out for the musical. I ended up getting the lead part. The community is so loving and caring. I have experienced a lot more confidence in myself. Before theatre I was very shy; I didn’t speak up too much. Ever since joining theatre, I’ve been able to put myself out there and be more confident in who I am. I’ve also been able to be more confident in who God made me. I was very unsure of myself, but now I can go forward and all that I do, I can do it for Christ.

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Taylor, Class of '22 

I transferred to LCL second semester of my Junior year, in the middle of COVID, from Florida… and still made friends! A lot of people describe LCL as family, which I agree, it is family, but more than family.  LCL is a home! I feel like no matter where I am these teachers care so much, they know everything about me, and they just feel like home.

I can confidently ask challenging questions because my religion teachers always present tough topics in a way that won’t be offensive but challenge the way we think and relate to scripture. 

While this is a school and the main goal is to make sure I get a good education, it is more than that, everyone (teachers) want us to develop to be a better person. 

Coming from my old school it was always “you need to perform to a certain level” or “you need to win”.  Where as here, yes we want to win, but in reality we are playing for the glory of God, an audience of one. We are doing everything for Him. When you take your name off the back of the jersey, and play for each other, God it makes it all more memorable.

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Sam, Class of '22 

 I’ve been in football, basketball, and baseball. It’s a family. Coming in I didn’t know a lot of people. So I joined football and that made a big difference. The upperclassmen treated me like I’d been there awhile. It’s a brotherhood. We stick together through everything.  [The coaches] represent Christ in everything they do. You learn to be a better leader.

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Faithe, Class of '21 

Teachers have a lot of grace here. With the community here, you have you are not alone in your struggles. [Teachers] expectations are high, but they will support you.

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Alaina, Class of '21 

At first, I was so nervous [to lead chapel]. Over time the nervousness settled and we learned it is more for our God and praising him than being good in front of the school.

A lot of the teachers focus on the holistic learning process, not just the A at the end of the day. They are teaching you what you need to know and incorporating our faith and our God.

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Hannah, Class of ‘17

I chose LCL because I knew that it would be a different experience, taking the next step in Christian education. I knew there was a reputation with this being a great school, it was an obvious decision.

LIFT is an awesome experience for me as a leader. It’s one thing that’s really helped change me since a freshman. I’m much more confident in leading, and just as a person in general. It prepares me for different things that I know I’ll have to do in the future, but it also gives me the ability to interact with students, both underclassmen and upperclassmen, who I normally wouldn’t have classes or lunch with everyday.

LCL is like a family because they genuinely care about you. You spend a lot of time at your high school, whether it’s volunteering, or just being in school or extracurricular activities. It’s like your home in that way. They make you feel like you always want to be there. They love you and care about you and want what’s best for you. They’re inclusive in the activites, even if I’m not involved in something, I can support my siblings and friends by watching their plays, or going to practices and games.

The relationships I’ve developed at LCL have formed me into the person I am today in a very positive manner. They’ve helped me get through the harder times in my life, and reinforce Christ with me and give me the ability to reinforce Christ in them. I don’t know where I’d be if I didn’t have that positive leadership roles from the teachers and the positive influence from my friends everyday around me.

A gift to LCL is so much more than just a finance thing. It’s seeing one more person in the hallway who wouldn’t have been able to be there, or having one better class than you ever could. It’s a day-to-day experience that you get to have. It can easily be taken for granted because it’s not the first thing you think about when you walk into school, but it truly is an experience and a blessing every day. It’s so much more than a check.

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Nathan, Class of ‘16

The best about LCL is the community and family of it. Not many other places have that aspect. The whole comradery with teachers and students. Even between the students, not many places see seniors talking to freshmen and having that good relationship with everyone.

My favorite class would be Newman’s religion class. We learned apologetics, which is defending your faith. It’s such a huge part of society today. LCL teaches that we need to be able to defend our faith and that class teaches how to do that in a very respectful manner. It also teaches about ways other people might ask us about our faith and we’re getting the appropriate responses to those questions. This is the most beneficial and memorable class of my senior year. We read articles from current events and respond to those situations and listen to how others react to it. We’re questioned on our responses, why we believe what we say, which makes us think deeper about the topic and ourselves.

LCL has helped be be confident in my faith and be able to respond with “I may not know the answer, but I will help you find it in the Bible.” LCL has helped me to share Jesus in my actions If I truly put Jesus Christ as my savior in the center of my universe, I can help that explode into the character that I want to show other people.

LCL has developed me as a leader through character roles. Society has kind of swept that under the rug, but at LCL, we’re taught that our character is so much more that what you say. It’s what you do, how you act, how you react to situations. Watching teachers do that makes me want to have them as a role model and imitate them, being loving and kind, giving forgiving. The biggest part of being a leader is knowing when to lead and when not to. Being humble and confident in God having a role for me. The teachers really show us that at LCL.

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Kelsey, Class of '16

I love that everything here is Christ centered. In biology we learn about God’s creation, in math we learn how God’s mind is just so great that he can create all these things like math, and in choir we learn how to sing to the glory of God. It really helps me get closer to God, and that’s what I love about this school.

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Jackie, Class of '16

At Lake Country, we not only teach about God and the Bible, we have really special relationships here. I have friends in every grade and the teachers are great. There are plenty of opportunities here to grow in your faith and relationships.

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Ross, Class of '15

My relationship with my teachers has been so special. Not only are they teaching math, social studies and sciences, they’re teaching you how to be a husband, wife, father. They’re setting the example, and they lead by example. What they say in their chapels and devotions before class, they live that outside of school. It’s awesome to have people that I look up to act the way that I know I should be too.

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Mr. Brazgel, Teacher 

(Teacher) The best thing about the kids here is that they’re not cookie cutter. They are at all ends of the spectrum which is really exciting. It gives us the opportunity to treat them as individuals. We know they’re created by Christ for a specific reason, and we get to work with their strengths and make them who they are.

Alaina, Class of '21

"At first, I was so nervous [to lead chapel]. Over time the nervousness settled and we learned it is more for our God and praising him than being good in front of the school."