Murray Ridge School graduates six

ELYRIA — Murray Ridge School's Class of 2025 was one of charisma and character. Six graduates walked down the aisle at the center of Murray Ridge School's gymnasium on Wednesday, some waving to friends and family, others stopping to hug loved ones before making their way up to the stage to accept their diplomas. Speakers noted the graduates — Patrick Boey, Ja'Laysia Brown, Tiffany Demyan, Jansen Plumb, Evey Rodgers and Jennifer Sislowski — were some of the biggest personalities to come through the school. The Lorain County Board of Developmental Disabilities operates Murray Ridge School for individuals with developmental disabilities. Although the six graduates were leaving the school-age program, that did not mean they were leaving Murray Ridge behind, classroom supervisor Stacie Starr said. "Over the last 10 years, we've shared many conversations," she said. "We've sat together in meetings, we've laughed, we've cried — or laughed and cried — but we've worked through some big decisions and really tough topics: Transition planning, waivers, guardianship and life after school. All of it leading to this moment." Those hard topics brought about decisions made with each graduate's best interest at heart, she said, and the reminder that Murray Ridge Center will still be there to support each graduate and their families on their new journey. "It takes a community and we're so happy to be a part of yours," Starr said. She recounted small anecdotes or mannerisms of each graduate, from Brown's role as a TikTok star to Boey's love of the 1980s sitcom "ALF" and Rodgers' passion for horror movie characters. Each graduate touched staff's hearts and left a mark on the small school, Starr said, her voice catching in her throat as she quoted Winnie the Pooh. "I said I wasn't going to cry," Starr said with a laugh. "Winnie the Pooh said, 'How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.' Congratulations to the class of 2025." Jenny Rivera, director of volunteer relations for Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio, delivered the event's commencement speech. Students from Murray Ridge spent every Tuesday volunteering at Second Harvest to help the food bank package some of its 13 million pounds of food that pass through its doors each year. She thanked the graduates for their hard work and hoped they would continue to volunteer in the future. She left the graduates with a few words of advice: Try new things, give it your all, even when no one is watching, do 100 percent and treat others with kindness and respect. Dann Swift, Murray Ridge director of educational and children's services, handed each graduate their diploma and presented Demyan with her tiara as one of the school's prom queens as she did not attend the dance. Kathy Oblak presented Boey with the David Elsasser Spirit Award. The award, named for Oblak's son who graduated from Murray Ridge School in 1997 and worked at Subway. Elasser, 25, died in 2000 and the school has given out an award in his honor for upwards of 20 years. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com